The XL operating system uses less memory than the current bloated VISTA OS and so far – it seems that 1GB will suffice for my wifes computer routine – mainly websurfing/downloading articles and printing newsletters. I believe one can stuff up to 1.5 GB of RAM into this box – but that’s plan “B” – and only if needed. I attached the computer to a 22″ 16:9 ratio monitor – the shared memory video card seems to handle it ok.

I’ve attached a 500GB external hard drive to insure no storage problems – but 160 GB internal is a nice size. Setup was a snap, performance is adequate – Microsoft Office runs a little slow (compared to my Dual Core Intel laptop processor)- (EXCEL spreadsheets of any size or complexity of formulas should probably use a more capable machine). Photo editing is yet another decision point. Minor editing is ok using lite software … but this is NOT a candidate machine for photoshop editing unless it is very casual and one is not used to runing this program on a larger (RAM) and faster (processor) machine. Computer gaming – again – depends how much memory and processor speed needed by the game engine; many graphics intensive games will not run on a shared video memory graphics card … another place not to press your luck.

Eventually you will forget which machine you’re on in a multi-computer household and hit a computer ‘brick wall’ processing wise … but it hasn’t happened yet. Good value for the money – but don’t press your processing luck if you’re used to faster machines at work or at home. As said in a previous review – a great second machine and a good value for the money.

A candidate for younger school children and lite office work. A great place to start comparison shopping if you are a budget driven consumer.