Whether you buy a New or used computer should be decided by your pocketbook.

I have been a computer tech for 20 years & most of the computers that people buy have never met their neds after only 3 months of ownership.

So always buy a computer with more memory & hard drive then what you proposed to, because once the memory is used up starting programs that you don't need & they give you with the computer, the computer will resort to using the hard drive as a swap file and it will make it become much slower.

As a matter of fact, always start with 1 GB of memory.

When i build my systems ,i start with a motherboard that holds 8GB of memory, and at least a 320GB WD hard drive,with xp not Vista unless people insist.

If you Email me i would be happy to send you a copy of "10 commandments of Computing ". This should help you keep your computer running fast & ID protected.

As a 20 year vetern of building systems , i also suggest you get at least a 450 Watt power supply. ( in case you add a Laser printer to the mix.

You will see these Custom Made Systems listed on Ebay and i guantee that it has the most up to date information and software upgrades available.