I was a vista disapprover for a good while, after a few months using it you'll find its alright. Paid £350 for mine, 2gb ram, 120gb hard drive, dual core something-or-other and 17" screen. Its 'refurbished'. That was at xmas time so you should be able to find something similar or better now for the same price. Keep an eye on hotdealsuk.com for dell laptops.. some good deals crop up every now and then.