Computer for 7 year old, what spec?

swizzle_2

Hello

I am going to get a computer for my 7 year old son, but don`t want to waste money on things he doesn`t need. Plan to replace it in 3-4 years.

It will not be used for the internet-he will have to use the family one for this so I can keep an eye on him.

He has several cd-roms, some you just play and others need to be loaded on to the computer, but these are mostley bbc educational ones. Not high powered mega graphics ones. If he gets into stuff like that then I will buy a PS2 or something.

My starting point was something like the Dell that they advertise on tv at £299. Also would a tft be ok as he- but mostley younger brother do touch the screen quite a bit. Although if deal came with tft i could swap it for my crt!!

Thanks

Browntoa

that Dells fine for basic games like that, worse case you can use one of the spare PCI slots to get a better graphics card

Why not sell on the TFT , you will get about £150 for it , brings the cost of the base unit

thewizard

Another thing so your son doesn't end up like me, you can either do it manually or put software on the computer that turns the computer off after it has been used for x amount of hours a day. And why do you want to swap a TFT for a CRT because TFT is more evironmentally friendly, takes up less space and is better on the eyes, also they dont make noise like some do.

swizzle_2

thewizard
Thanks for that-but what is wrong with you?

I will limit the amount of time he spends on the computer-like i do with tv.

But he is not interested in `normal` toys and at mo he is on the `family` compter when i would like to us it.

Am i right in thinking best to buy a cheap one now then upgrade in 3-4 years time?

chunter

A P2 or P3 will do you (500-1000MHz)
128 /256 Mbyte Ram
Win98 or WinMe
£40 tops

a 14/15 crt monitor should cost you a tenner at most

try the local loot/buyandsell papers.
- usually bundles of these things kicking around.
Don't get a Tiny or a Time.

thewizard

Well depends what he will be doing in 3-4 years time, thats is probably the norm, but if hes still only using it to play games and cd roms that he uses now then an upgrade wont be essential but if he moves up to start using software and games that require alot of resources an upgrade would be reccomended.

Also in 3-4 years you would be getting a completetly different OS, as Windows Vista would be released by this point, so upgrading will also allow your son to gain skills in the next generaion of PC's as Vista will be taking us down the root of 64 bit processing.

And whats wrong with me, I'm on my computer for a long time every day.

crompton

why dont you try your local cash generater, as he is using it for basic games he will be fine, i do a lot of web design and i baught a computer, which was fine, but for what i do, i needed more space, so i put in a bigger hard drive and updated it from win98 to xp and its awesome, ive had it for around 3years and its never failed me! just an idea you could maybe consider - best of all it only cost me £120

Astaroth

3-4 years is a fairly long time for a young kid - by the upper end of the scale he will be over 11 and almost certainly wanting to play much more demanding games.

Personally I would say to either buy the cheapest thing from Dell you can find or by a second hand PC - PCs dont retain their value at all and for a very small amount you should be able to get a P3 if not a P4 (or equiv) based machine. I would however expect to replace it in a shorter time frame.

wobbley

Browntoa wrote:

that Dells fine for basic games like that, worse case you can use one of the spare PCI slots to get a better graphics card

The Dells are excellent value but some of the cheaper ones have very limited scope for upgrading. Most don't even have free PCI slots.

I got my daughter one of these -

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/102520/rb/19013583552

for last Christmas. She's nearly 7 now and has used it and learnt a lot on it. You would need to get a seperate monitor though.

If 'touching the screen' with a TFT worries you then I remember Xerox doing some very nice affdordable screens with glass fronts. Alternatively CRT monitors can now be picked up for next to nothing.