We have HP...and for close to 700 you can have a LOT of features...including front panel access to firewire, USB and camera cards. Ours came WITH CD/DVD writer/player. We did not get a fancy 3-D graphics card or top of the line sound card, but I seldom miss it...

You might need to study how large a drive you want,(we got 160 GIGS!) and weigh that against a bit 'extra' in the sound card dept...but some of the features you want in software can be had for free..(unless you have particular need for advanced features only available in $$$$ware programs...OpenOffice will do 93.873% of what M$ Word will, and there are some wonderful free photoediting programs.

Security programs is something I have never paid a dime for, and have NO problems. There are free firewalls, anti-virus and spyware guards...and more. They really work.

The old adage "you get what you pay for" is only partially true these days.....(fortunately for poor, cheap folks like me!)

Whatever machine you get, take a look at the free software available.

(Oh, one virtue of HP is that unlike Dell, it uses pretty standard hardware with almost no upgrade incompatiblities..)

Take it slow and compare advice......