Currently I am using a 7 year old computer which has been upgraded several times. Soon I would like to purchase a new computer. What advice could you give about types of systems? The computer would be used as a gaming and work machine and I would also like the ability to burn CDs and DVDs.

Giving advice of which type of computer to buy is a bit of a mine field considering the vast amount of brands available. To avoid steering you towards any particular brand, I will give some generic advice which I hope you find useful. As you would like to use the computer for gaming, you should aim to get a decent video card. It pays to research the type of card you are going to buy, so when you look at advertisements for systems, note down the video card make and model and search for reviews on the internet. Unless you are playing high performance graphic intensive games, you really don’t need an exceedingly expensive card. However, you would want a good amount of RAM. If you were not using the computer for games you could get away with 256 MB RAM but, since you are using it for games, a nice amount is generally 512MB. DVD writers have come down significantly in price over the past year, and most DVD writers can also write CD-Rs. Be very careful when selecting a DVD writer, as there are several formats including DVD-R, DVD-RAM, DVD+R, etc’¦ Have a look at www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Hardware_Software/2003/DVDFormatsExplained.asp for a short explanation of each format. The next decision you will have to make is whether to buy a brand name machine (e.g., Dell, HP, Acer) or a no-name machine (i.e., one from your local PC shop). The advantage of the brand name machine is you are backed up by support from a reputable company and you have confidence that your machine is made from quality parts. On the other hand, the advantage of no name machines are they are much easier to upgrade down the track as they use more generic parts. The price of brand name machines are now quite competitive relative to no name machines and the speed of delivery is also very fast (one well known brand delivers in approximately 10 days after receipt of payment). It is always worthwhile to shop around. Have a look at the computer classifieds in Saturday’s Canberra Times for prices of machines from local retailers, and then have a look at sites such as www.dell.com.au where you can build a comparable machine online and get an instant quote. Good luck!