Thanks for the detailed response, Alan.

Sorry, I did make it sound like all I wanted it for was as a piece of furniture didn't I hehe! The main priority of course is that it works well but I guess what I meant was that I wanted a PC that didn't look like a breeze-block next to an imac. Just something a bit more modern and slimline so it doesn't take up much space.

I wonder if I could just clarify a few of the points you raised please?

- What's the benefit of choosing XP Pro rather than Home version? Are there any downsides?

- Is there a particular type of external hard-drive I should look for (I understand a min 7200 speed is necessary, but should I look for any other spec details in particular? e.g. SATA, Firewire800/400, RAID etc).

- most off-the-shelf PCs seem to have a graphics card included. You mention getting a separate one though instead. Could I ask why that is? If one is built in already can I take it out for example, or am I missing the point here?

- if a PCs specs say it has a Firewire socket is that the same as the port you mention? Or is it that you mean I'll need two Firewire sockets so I can link my camcorder and external hard drive at the same time?

Thanks again for your help. I'm starting to realise I know nothing about computers!