I want to get a laptop but don't know where to start.

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Title says it all really, I would use it for internet access, some study type work & playing games. I'm happy to pay between £350-£450. What do they come with when you buy them.....ie vista, word etc ( I can get office very cheaply through work)
TIA

When I got my laptop last year, I looked for special offers and ended up getting one from PC world for around £500.

I looked at memory size and went from there. I didn't really know what to go for, but figured if it was on offer (with money off) then it must be a good deal!

Most laptops don't come with Office these days, just Works & maybe a demo version of Office that lasts about 60 days. Vista is pretty much standard on the high street these days, but you may find an independent supplier who will downgrade to XP for you if that's what you want.

I like Toshiba or HP laptops - you can get some good bargains from Acer, but I tend to find them less reliable (I look after computers at a junior school so I've ordered a few in my time ) - the last 3 have been HP Compaq Business Notebook 6735s,
which are proving very good.

It's not really a gaming machine though - if you play fast graphics-hungry type games, you'll need something with a bit more power, but if you just play card & flash games like me, you can get away with less.

Get a Toshiba. It doesn't sound like you need anything special, unless you're playing graphics intensive games, but make sure it has 2GB RAM.