Many parents are now buying home computers for their children to use, so they can access the educational resources of the Internet, and use word processing and graphics software to produce their homework and coursework. But which one to buy?

PC or Mac
Although some schools in Wales, especially in the primary sector, still run Acorn machines, and a few might even have the odd Apple, the computer your child is most likely to use in class is a PC, running the ubiquitous Windows software. So it certainly makes things simpler if the home computer is also a PC.

Power
When it comes to deciding which particular computer to choose, it's wise to buy the kit with the fastest processor and the biggest memory that you can afford - as long as you resign yourself to the fact that it will already have been superseded by something far faster and far cheaper long before you've even got it out of the box!

Desk top computer or laptop?
Both types of computer offer you the same processing power and run the same software.

The decision depends on how you plan to use it:

• the desktop's larger screen is far better for playing games, manipulating graphics and such like
• the obvious advantage of the laptop is that it's portable. So if you want to keep a watchful eye on your child when they're surfing the net, you can set up the laptop in the living room. Then it can easily be moved to their bedroom when they need peace and quiet to type out homework. A laptop also means that if you have more than one child, each can take turns at 'owning' the laptop by having it in their room.

Do:

• consider buying your PC or Mac from the adverts in computer magazines rather than from the high street - they're often cheaper.
• go for a Intel Celeron or AMD Duron processor if you want a fast, cheap machine.
• get as much memory as you can for the price as it affects the speed - 256 MB is ample.
• consider buying a CD rewriter drive - they can store 650MB on blank CDs costing just 40p each.

Don't:

• buy a 2GHz processor. You don't need it unless you're doing specialised graphic work. Consider getting something like a 1GHz.
• buy an expensive graphics card unless you want to splash out for the best 3D games performance.
• fork out for a 50GB hard disk - 20 GB is more than enough for most.
• go for a 32X CD Rom drive unless you want a super-quick model for the majority, a 16X or even slower is fine.

Read about Menna and Seren's experiences of using the computer to complete their schoolwork and to explore the Internet.