My dad is getting a new computer. The new one will replace the two we have now and will become the main one in the house. The things we use cmputer for are: a) Burning Music b) Internet (currently dial up ) c) Photos via digital camera d) Some gaming but I dont spend much time on them because.... e) i'm doing school work (yr11) f) playing music I will have a: Scanner Printer USB HUB Modem possibly (depends, read on) We have the option of either walking into gultronics in Totenham Court Road and getting a deal on a latest Toshiba laptop: ?GB hard drive i cant remember 500oddMB RAM And extra GB memory (All based on previous deal with them) around £700 No floppy dirve, no two cd for easy burning so that will mean i have to save to hard drive all the time OR Self built base 60GB hard drive 500oddMB RAM Two CD drives Floppy drive possibly two £500 opinions on which option please. Bearing in mind the things that need to go on, printer, scanner, USB HUB ports on laptop and base (if its an isuue) Modem in laptop Not in the base option (have a modem already though) any advice would be appreciated.

My 10 cents. Go with the custom build, you can always add to it as time goes on, with a laptop you are pretty much stuck with the spec it comes with. For upgradeability make sure you invest in the best motherboard you can find & afford. It would be advisable to sacrifice some fuctionality & possibly (at a push) 256mb RAM and spend it on the MoBo if cash is an issue. Regards M