Buying a 2nd hand PC-What spec to look for?

tigs78

I need to buy a second hand PC as I will be moving into my own place soon and the one I use at the moment belongs to my sister.

I have an extremely limited knowledge of computers and would be grateful if somebody could advise me of what specifications to look for.

I've seen one on e-bay that looks similar aesthetically to my sisters' computer which is perfectly adequate for what I use it for: Browsing internet via broadband (lots of!), online shopping, sending and receiving e-mails, storing digital photographs, copying my own CD's to have a copy for the car and the occasional word document. The spec of the one on e-bay is as follows:
Chip Type: Intel Pentium 4
Processor Speed: 2.53 GHz
Memory (RAM): 512 MB
Hard Drive Capacity: 80 GB
Brand: Packard Bell, NEC
Primary Drive: DVD+/-RW
Features: Graphics Card, Keyboard, Modem, Monitor, Mouse, Network Card, Operating System, Speakers, USB.

Is this OK for what I would be using it for? I'm not necessarily going to buy this particular one I'd just like some advise on the spec.

Thanks in advance

Rave

That will be fine. Do compare the prices on ebay with the price you'd pay for a new computer- Dell would probably charge you less than £400 for a computer with a similar spec, brand new including monitor. Ebay isn't always the best value;).

StockportGerbil

Second hand PCs generally aren't that cheap and that sort of spec isn't that out of date, so I would suggest buying new may be a better bet. Dell is an obvious place to start, but also have a look at Morgan Computers (http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/) particularly if there is one near you or a decent computer shop (https://www.microdirect.co.uk would be my choice in Manchester)
Kev