please help technophobe looking for ds pressie laptop or pc

[hellenback]

Ds has SEN so will really help - no idea about Gb RAM etc. We have a moniter and keyboard but driver really old and slow. As he is 11 is a laptop asking for trouble on the accidents front - he is clumsy - part of his SEN. Please help I need specific models etc that would be fast, word 7 I guess and easy to connect to wireless. Not a big games fiend as coordination poor. Been offerd a dell but need to buy another 2GB and wifi card which brings it up to £370 - am I better starting from scratch - but then throwing out the old stuff which ain't green...getting really confused and running out of time. Also what are the best parent filters for all those "funny" sites...yours in desperation

With laptops a chunk of the purchase is for the screen, but you already have monitor. Although you are looking for Windows 7, there may still be a lot of software suitable for Windows XP.

Any more details on the Dell ? Also, have you looked at just getting the 'base' unit from a company like Ebuyer.com or www.scan.co.uk

Why the need for wi-fi ? A PCI wi-fi card should be possible for under 25 pounds but there may be other options.

Have just checked on the scan.co.uk site and found this Asus EEE box but unfortunately you probably need VGA (3 rows of 5 pins) connection for your monitor.

Revo R3610 has VGA as well, running Windows 7, 4GB RAM, wi-fi built in, and 280 quid with free delivery.

It has plenty of RAM (I have a 2 GB RAM Windows 7 laptop here which is fast enough) and dual-core so it is up to date.

Perhaps someone else might spot some better option, but hopefully this ticks all the boxes.

Rats! Just spotted it was bargain of the week and is out of stock right now.

Saw this one but unclear whether this has VGA connection. Might be a starting point for you to consider though. (perhaps phone a few of the companies like Micro Anvika to check on whether it will work with a VGA monitor

If a PC offers DVI then you can get a cheap adaptor to go from DVI to VGA. (Sorry, have only one monitor with DVI and nothing yet using HDMI, which is mostly used for DVD / satellite TV to flat screen TVs.)

Personally have used Crystal Computers before and had very reliable results.

You can build your own (not literally, just tell them what you want).

Word of caution - am having lots of issues with HP machines at the moment, so if all other things are equal, I would avoid them for the foreseeable - the heat-sink is shared and this means the CGU overheats.... (longer and more boring explanation on request).

If the laptop is a concern, this desktop mgith eb just the job?

pc

Obviously you will need some sort of operating system on it...so the cost will be a bit higher than 170 quid! Though you could always run Linux and that would be free....

... except that linux might limit access to some software designed with youngsters in mind. (Found one or two of the Revo boxes running Linux and while cheaper, felt the disadvantage of available software {and perhaps installation} would tip the scales in favour of 30-50 extra quid and Windows.)

Hope the OP is still monitoring.

Not sure if this will be in budget but 310 quid gets a 4 GB RAM, 320 GB hard disk, 15" Acer laptop with Windows 7 on it.

It's this one at Misco. It is ex-demo and has 6 months warranty rather than 12 months, but is quite difficult to beat for the money.

Have seen comments about keyboards getting a fair hammering from some youngsters!

Should add if a laptop or notebook is final choice that it may be worth spending between a fiver and tenner on a USB keyboard to plug in. Some laptops may accept PS/2 keyboards but some don't have a socket suitable (not sure what keyboard OP already has).

A USB keyboard will mean you can keep the laptop safely away from the edge of any desk /table and out of harms way as far as glasses of fruit juice or similar.

Thanks one and all - nb linux limits - discussed that and worth of windows in store. Take on board entirely comments about keyboards too - useful given dropped yoghurt incident and lack of a delete key on my laptop thanks to DS

Ooops - yoghurt + sensitive components doesn't sound ideal.

Didn't want to be overly negative about linux but was concerned you might find yourself feeling like being in a cul-de-sac if you found very low level of choice for software.