Hey guys just wondering, Im off to get a cheapish pc today - for uni work. My old one broke and the shop said I can exchange for a new one as it was under a month old (Blue screened)...

Anyways I will mainly be using it for writing essays - researching and maybe watching videos etc but also playing 'counter strike source', Im pretty clueless on video cards and direct 9 and shared/ dedicated graphics etc - and was wondering if you could tell me which out of a few choices would best be able to run it for me? Thanks for the help

Buy ACER ASP M3600 E4500 | Desktop pc - Specification | Comet

(this is the one I originally had which broke, it has 358mb shared graphics)

Buy HP A6305UK | Desktop pc - Specification | Comet

(this is a second one Im looking at but it only has 128mb dedicated graphics, Im not sure which is best)

Thanks

EDIT - you can find the system requirements for CSS on the right menu bar

Steam - Counter-Strike: Source

Generally-- dedicated Video-RAM is better than shared.
Shared means it's using System Ram for Video processing.
That system has a decent amount of System Ram-- but could you look for an upgrade in the video card-- to at least 256MB or better 512MB.
I am no Gaming Guru-- I can PM one of ours-- but 128MB is considered weak by todays standards-- to my knowledge.
Otherwise when that card becomes overtaxed-- it will start using system RAM for the difference... kind of makes having a dedicated card moot.

Here are the counterstrike recommended specs (never use minmum)

Recommended: 2.4 GHz Processor, 512MB RAM, DirectX 9 level graphics card, Windows 2000/XP, Mouse, Keyboard, Internet Connection

Thanks ih8bills - I didnt think of considering the recommended stats. - I wouldnt want the worst possible settings available.

The thing im not sure of is as 358mb seems much higher than 128mb would this be better even though the 358 is shared. Also not sure which if either are DirectX 9 level graphics cards.

Im leaning towards the HP - it has a 2.6 processor when the Acer has a 2.2 - its just this video card thing im not sure on lol XD

According to HP.com this PC has a PCI-Ex16 slot, so you can purchase a separate video card to use instead of the onboard graphics:
HP and Compaq Desktop PCs -  Motherboard Specifications, MCP61PM-HM (Nettle2) 

The difference between Video RAM and System RAM is that Video RAM is specifically designed for Video signal processing --and only that. System RAM is more general-- it runs almost everything.
I might consider calling the vendor and see exactly who produces the Video Card in that model-- it's strange that they don't list the card maker.

Once you have the model-- you can go to the makers site and get better specs -- what it's compatible with so there's no unpleasant surprises

If you plan on doing any gaming, buy the computer, then upgrade the graphics card. a Radeon HD 2600XT, a HD 3670, or a Geforce 9600GT will all work very well for you. The Acer might actually be better than the HP, because although it is only 2.2Ghz, it has an Intel C2D which is much more efficeint clock for clock than the AMD Athlon64 in the HP. So at 2.2Ghz, the Intel is more powerful (also uses less power, and runs very cool) than the AMD processor.