Help, Need a new Pc for Son

swizzle_2

Hi

MY 8 year old wants a computer, it will be used for internet,homework,watching dvd`s and as he has a small bedroom, I would like him to be able to watch tv on it aswell.

He has a playstation, so it will not be used for games.

Am I best to get a monitor with a tv turner, a media centre on or just get a tv card for it?

Also what about Vista?

Guess if I go for Xp it will be cheaper?

Thank you

Bambers

if you buy a pc monitor that is also a tv will do the job. the tv cards for pc's really arent very good in my experience. you need a fantastic ariel to get it working properly.

i brought a tv and monitor in one after trying a pc tv card

it then doesnt matter about what operating system you use. although the new vista looks more child friendly than xp.

i terms of buying the pc, you are probalby best going to pc world. then only purchasing the pc base unit on its own. the packages normally only sell pc monitors with then, not ones that can do tv too. you can then purchase the tv/monitor speratly.

i bought a 19" samsung pc.tv monitor fomr pc world for £200, i dont if they still sell the mondel still though.

Idiophreak

1) For what he wants to do he doesn't need vista.

2) Are you wanting to play the playstation through the monitor as well, or is that elsewhere?

3) I've had a couple of different tuners in my PCs and have never had a problem with them - you need a good signal, but that's true with any tv.

4) Personally I'd look on the net, dell clearance maybe, ebuyer etc - normally a good deal cheaper than stores.

5) If his room's that small, might it be worth thinking about getting him a laptop?

swizzle_2

His playstation is in another room- it belongs to him and his brother-so will be staying there.

I heared somewhere that laptops are not a good idea for kids-break easily? Also how would I go about getting tv on it?

Also is a TFT monitor better than an lcd tv with a pc input?

Sop many things to think about.

Thanks

Bambers

you do have to be carful with laptots with children. is the screen is broken, its is useless as the screen costs more than the rest if the laptop.

if you get a screen that is primarily a pc monitor, but with tv. this way the quality is very good for a pc.

if u get a screen that is primarily a tv with pc input, the quality is far lower. it will only allow a low screen resoulution.

so basically u r better to buy the screen from curryies instead of pcworld.

Bambers

sorry, the other way around, you r better to buy the monitor from pcworld than curries

this one is the sort of thing you would be aftre

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1971285570.1170266187@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccceaddkdffdhlecflgceggdhhmdfhj.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=670222&category_oid=-27763

IoweIoweitsofftoworkIgo

I was after the same thing for my 10 year old, settled on e-machines desktop from Staples at £229, plus bought a 15" TV from Comet for £129, which doubles up as a monitor for the PC and XBOX

HTH

Sheffield_Tiger

You don't need Vista - PC World if you go to that godawful place, will tell you that Vista or Media Center is a must - it's not - a TV card will suffice.

They will also pick up on the "8 year old" issue and insist that your son will meet a sticky end on the internet unless you use Windows Vista and it's Parental Controls.

Now, they have a point that unlimited access to the internet unsupervised is a BAD, BAD idea. But I would also be cautious of relying heavily on anything in Microsoft's new operating system, for the very reason that it is very new, and if in keeping with Microsoft's usual way of releasing things - "not quite finished yet".

Instead I would keep an eye out for any PC magazines when you are in the newsagents running any feature on Parental Controls and programs available. Parental Control is NOT a new thing, it is not copyrigh Microsoft, it has been around for some time.

JustCharlie

You get a lot more for your money in a desktop than a laptop. Plus there a lot easy to get repaired/upgraded

TV cards are not worth the faff. The picture is awful.

This pc covers it all.

http://www.comet.co.uk/cometbrowse/product.do?sku=355240&tab=specification

Its plays and records dvd/cd
Plenty of storage for school work/ music and fun stuff
Grab a cheap adapter and its ready for the net to.

Now heres the icing on the cake. Its got a free upgrade to vista!

Beat that! :T

JustCharlie

:rolleyes: Sorry. Forgot to add its a media centre pc. so he can watch tv too!

Blacksheep1979

JustCharlie wrote:

TV cards are not worth the faff. The picture is awful.

absolutely not true although they do need a decent signal. Get a digital one from the likes of hauppauge or black gold and team it up with windows media centre (don't bother with vista) and you're ready to go on the tv/video side.