I think I'd get an Acer before Compaq, but that could be because of memories of their old desktops I had to work with at my last place of employment.

I'll check out Medion, though I've never seen that brand here. I just read that Lenovo bought the company.

I know how you feel about feeling all nerdy. I had a lot of fun getting external CD burners to work, then, *poof* everything gets recognized.