what is included on windows xp

robby-01

do you get powerpoint ,word ,etc.I haven't a clue and need to buy a pc for daughter for school work etc.
If anyone can advise me on what is basic spec I need .
Price really is an issue.I have seen deals about but dont know a good one from a bad one.
Machine needs to have tft monitor .Be able to store/download music and games and have a dvd burner
thanks in advance robby..

Malestrom

What about this Dell for a cheapie. I'm not keen on Dells customer service to be honest but this is a good price, doesnt have a DVD burner as standard though. Add one from Dell or fit one yourself. Also, it depends on what sort of games will be played on it, this may not be at all suitable but more info is needed.

Xp doesn't come with any of the Microsoft Office components (Word, Excel, etc) but you could try OpenOffice which is a free download.

sjh_3

Word, Excel and Powerpoint are all part of Microsoft Office and don't come bundled with Windows, although some computer manufacturers will include both Windows and Office with your new computer - but this is less common with non-business PCs, where the manufacturers seem to be opting to include Microsoft Works instead of Microsoft Office. Works is a poor clone of Office - probably designed to persuade users they need to move to Office.

If you're buying the computer for student-use you can buy Microsoft Office Student Edition (try Amazon.co.uk) for around £100, which includes Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook - all the basics you need.

sjh

robby-01

probably wont be downloading games .but will use machine to play simms,
cheers

sjh_3

robby-01 wrote:

probably wont be downloading games .but will use machine to play simms,
cheers

The Sims or The Sims 2?

For The Sims 2, I'd recommend a fairly powerful graphics card, which I don't think is included in the above-linked Dell - although the rest of that particular Dell's specification is suitable for The Sims 2 (good processor, 512MB RAM, reasonable hard disk).

sjh

Malestrom

sjh is correct, that Dell isn't suitable for SIMS2 and there's no much possibilty of upgrading it to make it possible. Its fine as a school machine but not for games.