That first one you spotted wasn't bad and Toshiba will flog you a warranty anytime in the first 12 months so you can spread the cost, check their website. Cost seems to vary with the model you buy so worth enquiring first. I think Acer, Lenovo, HP do the same kind of deal. The Acers often get good reviews but personally I found the cheaper one's to be a bit 'bendy'.
Make a check list, this is a starter for 10
Most important?
-Graphics card and screen capable of 1280x800 minimum, 24bit colour
(
if she's doing photography/video she'll need this)
-Min 1Gb memory -
Important for Photoshoppy stuff
-80Gb upwards hard disk (AtA 150 5400rpm)
disk speed becomes important for video capture
-DVD/CD writer
- Wireless networking card
- extendible warranty
Nice to have
-firewire (video capture - more important for heavy video editing)
-Bluetooth card
-Card reader
-webcamera (keep in touch with her parents
)
Accessories
Case
mouse
memory stick
external hard drive for backups (really look at that Mozy link I posted)
Note the processor isn't on the list there. This is because most processors will do all of that stuff including Celerons. Where it becomes more important is if she goes down the video capture route or for gaming. Dual core is better but you know what; I think the other stuff is more important. That one's up for debate.
Just to give some perspective. I was an early adopter of video capture using Hi8 cameras. My processor: 500Mhz Pentium III - much more important was the graphics card, memory and hard disk. Slower processor just means it'll take longer to do things, not that it can't do 'em.
