will this pc run sl ok

Hi, want to put a cheap but usable PC in my lounge, as long as SL runs ok will be fine, but can't work it out HELP please; it all looks ok to me but not sure of the ATI HD 4500 graphics card. Here's the full spec http://www.g2digital.co.uk/minipcspecials/minipc-core2.php who ever replies Thanks xxx Liz

I asked my Resident Geek, and he said:

If that link is accurate, and the computer is based on an Atom processor, the answer is NO. This is a desktop version of what are being called "netbooks"...notebook computers that just have enough power to browse the web. In terms of size and performance, they are somewhere between a smartphone or a blackberry and a "real" notebook computer.

The computer you linked to has an Intel graphics controller, not an ATI. Nothing with Intel graphics runs SL okay.

The ATI HD4500 probably isn't a lot better.

Here's a quick tip. When the marketing blurb for a computer describes it as "Powerful enough to run Microsoft Office, play a DVD or browse the internet" it's a safe bet it's not going to be suitable for SL. Netbooks and nettops are for very lightweight computing only.

That said, you should be able to find (or build) something in the same price range that will work, assuming the prices in Europe aren't substantially different from those in the US. For $500, you can piece something decent together. It won't be great, but it will be usable.

Agreed.

For instance..... I just pieced together a "near-top-of-the-line" gaming rig for a friend of mine. Came in under $700.

But then again, he's a cheap bastard & thinks the $350 Walmart Special is a "better bargain".