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Oh boy, here we go with the logic hoops AGAIN. Seriously what is it with you Apple people? It is like you have buyers remorse or something and are damned sure that if you jump through enough logic hoops you can find a way where Macs aren't expensive. But they always fail, just as in this case.

I can get software that does the same exact things as those you have listed for a grand total of $0.00 dollars. that is right-free nada gratis big goose egg. Antivirus-Comodo Firewall/AV. Works beautifully and costs zero dollars. Have no fucking clue what coffeecup is, and since I deal with Windows users all day long and have never heard of it, I'll say it is a niche and therefor don't care. I'm sure if I actually knew what it was I could find a replacement free. DVD Playback-VLC or Klite Mega Codec pack(preferred). Plays back anything from high def to funky 90s formats, a big goose egg on price. visual Studio-well there is Visual Studio Express, there is Netbeans, hell there are plenty of IDEs, again big nada cost.

So here again we see that trying to jump through logic hoops to "prove" that a boutique expensive brand is as affordable as a Ford is yet again a total failure. Do you feel like you are getting ripped off, is that it? Do you feel guilty about the money you spent? Because as I said you don't see Ferrari owners jumping through logic hoops, in fact the ONLY group that spends good money that jumps through logic hoops is Apple users. First it was "Motorola and PPC equal much more powerful than Intel performance" which of course turned out to be BS when Steve jumped to Intel. Now it is either "the Apple experience" or "OSX is cheaper" which I believe is pretty easy to prove OSX makes Vista Ultimate look downright cheap, or like you and "extra software equals extra value for money" which I just blew a nice torpedo sized hole in since Windows users don't actually have to spend money on the things you listed.

So just be happy already! Your brand is a niche, but so is Ferrari. Both are exotic, sleek, and fricking expensive. Accept it and be happy already! Because otherwise it makes you sound like you are desperate to "prove" you didn't get ripped off (and I said nobody is judging you on that point one way or another) or are having buyers remorse (which is a personal thing and again no judging here). But the simple fact is logic ain't on your side, so logic hoops will always come back to bite you in the ass. If Apple was such a tremendous deal then they would have 40%+ of the market. They don't because they are expensive and many don't give a crap about OSX one way or the other and just want maximum hardware bang for their buck. Which yet again is quite easy to prove that is Windows.

Unless you of course can show me a Core 2 Quad fully loaded desktop for $650 from Apple or maybe a nicely equipped Core 2 laptop for $580 from Apple Inc? Hell thanks to Steve switching to Intel you could even make one a Hackentosh if that made you happy. But with those specs most folks would be quite happy with Vista, and even happier when Win7 comes around. It'll do anything and everything that the average Joe wants a PC to do, except it won't take $2000+ out of his pocket like a similar Apple does. So sorry, that logic hoop don't work either. Better luck next time and thanks for playing our game! Please enjoy your consolation prize of Rice-o-roni, the San Fransisco treat!

Oh boy, here we go with the logic hoops AGAIN. Seriously what is it with you Apple people? It is like you have buyers remorse or something and are damned sure that if you jump through enough logic hoops you can find a way where Macs aren't expensive. But they always fail, just as in this case.

I can get software that does the same exact things as those you have listed for a grand total of $0.00 dollars. that is right-free nada gratis big goose egg. Antivirus-Comodo Firewall/AV. Works beautifully and costs zero dollars. Have no fucking clue what coffeecup is, and since I deal with Windows users all day long and have never heard of it, I'll say it is a niche and therefor don't care. I'm sure if I actually knew what it was I could find a replacement free. DVD Playback-VLC or Klite Mega Codec pack(preferred). Plays back anything from high def to funky 90s formats, a big goose egg on price. visual Studio-well there is Visual Studio Express, there is Netbeans, hell there are plenty of IDEs, again big nada cost.

So here again we see that trying to jump through logic hoops to "prove" that a boutique expensive brand is as affordable as a Ford is yet again a total failure. Do you feel like you are getting ripped off, is that it? Do you feel guilty about the money you spent? Because as I said you don't see Ferrari owners jumping through logic hoops, in fact the ONLY group that spends good money that jumps through logic hoops is Apple users. First it was "Motorola and PPC equal much more powerful than Intel performance" which of course turned out to be BS when Steve jumped to Intel. Now it is either "the Apple experience" or "OSX is cheaper" which I believe is pretty easy to prove OSX makes Vista Ultimate look downright cheap, or like you and "extra software equals extra value for money" which I just blew a nice torpedo sized hole in since Windows users don't actually have to spend money on the things you listed.

So just be happy already! Your brand is a niche, but so is Ferrari. Both are exotic, sleek, and fricking expensive. Accept it and be happy already! Because otherwise it makes you sound like you are desperate to "prove" you didn't get ripped off (and I said nobody is judging you on that point one way or another) or are having buyers remorse (which is a personal thing and again no judging here). But the simple fact is logic ain't on your side, so logic hoops will always come back to bite you in the ass. If Apple was such a tremendous deal then they would have 40%+ of the market. They don't because they are expensive and many don't give a crap about OSX one way or the other and just want maximum hardware bang for their buck. Which yet again is quite easy to prove that is Windows.

Unless you of course can show me a Core 2 Quad fully loaded desktop for $650 from Apple or maybe a nicely equipped Core 2 laptop for $580 from Apple Inc? Hell thanks to Steve switching to Intel you could even make one a Hackentosh if that made you happy. But with those specs most folks would be quite happy with Vista, and even happier when Win7 comes around. It'll do anything and everything that the average Joe wants a PC to do, except it won't take $2000+ out of his pocket like a similar Apple does. So sorry, that logic hoop don't work either. Better luck next time and thanks for playing our game! Please enjoy your consolation prize of Rice-o-roni, the San Fransisco treat!

I challenge you to find a similar PC that is cheaper:

This person did it a year ago. (Wonderful what a little google search can do, isn't it?)

I just threw one together with similar specs for $350 plus shipping, and it even has wireless (g, not n, but who has an n router?). Throw Ubuntu on there and you're good to go. The case measures 11.8" x 5.1" x 8.7", so it's a little bit bigger, but I think that's worth $250 in savings :P

Case (larger than the mac mini)
Motherboard (lacks firewire and wireless n, and has an older video chipset)
Processor (much faster, 2.8GHz vs the mini's 2.0GHz)
RAM (2GB vs the mini's 1GB, but only 800MHz)
Hard drive (500GB vs the mini's 120GB)
DVD-RW (24x vs the mini's 8x)

(None of those are affiliate links, don't worry :P)

Now if you spend a little more time searching than I did, you could certainly get better parts and still stay well below the mac mini's $599 price level. One thing I would suggest is using a smaller case that includes a slimline DVD-RW, as did the person in the ubuntu forums link I started this post with. The case used by the guy in ubuntu's forums measures 6.5"x6.5"x2", the same size as the mac mini.

More to the point, for the slashdot audience - Windows. It's crap. And yet, any efforts to end the lock-in are met with all sorts of fud, both from Microsoft, and teir partners, in an effort to continue to entrap and bilk and ass-rape their customers.

The geek came into the netbook market thinking that this time he held all the high cards.

But XP on the Atom platform cleaned his clock.

Vista and Win 7 RC have five times the market share of Linux in the W3Schools OS Platform Stats

It took Linux six long years to move from 2% to 4% in these stats.

Win 7 six months from 0% to 2%. This is on a site which has Firefox at 47%. Browser Statistics Month by Month

I've seen estimates of Windows users that begin at around one billion.

That should tell the geek something about support for development, support for applications, support for hardware, the validity of the UI -
and a hundred other things that a modern, technically competent, end-user oriented OS simply must have.

The week at TigerDirect:

15.6" Acer Vista Premium Notebook. AMD Dual-Core. 3 GB RAM, Radeon HD3200 DX10 graphics, 320 GB HDD, DVD Burner. Etc. $450.

Windows isn't crap. It isn't an ass-rape.

That kind of trash-talk leads absolutely nowhere.

The Windows system is competitively priced. It runs everything in closed and proprietary software - everything free and open sourced.

This is what sucks the air out of the room.

Radeon 3850

Radeon 2600 XT

Another Radeon 3850

Radeon 3850

Radeon 2600 XT

Another Radeon 3850

I'd be concerned about having backups on just bare internal drives rattling around in a storage box.

Apart from the environmental (static/moisture etc) issues, I've found out the hard way how fragile SATA connectors really are. In 2 years of owning a system with SATA I've accidentally broke 2 connectors on drives. In decades of messing with PC's before that I never once broke an IDE connector.

Consequently I have a theory that drive manufacturers make SATA connectors so feeble on purpose just to sell more drives. I now use these things:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/search.asp?keywords=MRK-200ST-BK

The only annoying thing about these is the need to keep a key around to swap the drives in and out as they get mechanically locked in the bay. If you dont like that maybe you can 'modify' it (like I did) or find similar product that doesnt use a key.

Well if you want an affordable box that has plenty of room to expand later you might want to look at this which is what i just picked up for myself. It comes with 4GB, the motherboard can go up to 32GB, and it supports the X4 if you need to add the horses later. With the CPU fan and shipping i got out of there at $281, which IMHO is not to shabby for a dual core rig.

Of course your problem is going to be finding out whether or not your board supports Linux, since you want to run Linux as host. That will probably make it tougher for you to choose, unless you just buy on price and roll the dice. But if it will run your distro this box has the right combo of price and expandability. Of course if you ain't the DIY type I've had customers pick up the System Max boxes at Tigerdirect and had good luck with those. With one of those you simply tell them what you want on the box. But if you don't mind a little DIY work you can save a lot and design it for your needs better than anything you'll get retail. And you won't have to pay the Windows tax!

The geek thinks like a home builder, an almost extinct species.

He'll quote retail list for the most expensive box he can find - or imagine.

The hardware is never the same. The CPU is now quad core. The OS 64 bit. 4 GB of Kingston DDR2 Value RAM $50. The 1 TB HDD $90.

This is what $700 buys this week:

Gateway LX6810 Refurbished Desktop - Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33GHz, 8GB DDR2, 640GB HDD, NVIDIA GT 120 w 1 GB RAM, 500 watt PS, Vista Home Premium 64-bit

http://www.provantage.com/kensington-k33907us~7KNS904C.htm

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4431380&SRCCODE=GOOGLEBASE&cm_mmc_o=TBBTkwCjCVyBpAgf%20mwzygtCjCVRqCjCVRq

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815136002&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-Video+Devices+++TV+Tuners-_-Hightech+Information+System+Ltd.-_-15136002

Search for usb video adapter mac to find external video "cards" For less than $100 you can get an external video card.

"I know tons of people who aren't buying Vista, and since they stopped selling xp, people just aren't buying windows."

Odd.
They're still selling XP from what I can tell.

They people who aren't buying Windows now are the same people who never buy Windows.

As you can see, ANY OEM can easily ship systems with XP. Dell still does. At no extra cost on many systems. Dell. The fucking largest OEM there is. So stop fucking lying.

I bought this and when you figure in the cost of XP Home SP3($89) and a SATA DVD Burner($20) I ended up spending a grand total of $58 more than you and that INCLUDES shipping! And I got 4 TIMES the amount of RAM, a better CPU, 100GB more HDD, a DVD burner(yours comes with a DVD ROM) and I can run Photoshop and pretty much every popular app out there (including Gimp and OO.o, although I got Office 2K for $50 and Paintshop pro for $30 on sale awhile back so why bother) and ended up with MUCH better hardware for my money!

Your link points out a SERIOUS problem Linux has in the market: the fact that companies use Linux to try to sell old/obsolete hardware. Just because Linux CAN run on old and slow hardware doesn't mean you should try to sell it with such. The same thing bit MSFT in the ass over "Vista capable" with companies slapping Vista Basic on 2GHz Celerons with 512MB of DDR RAM. I have tried some of the Linux "solutions" sold like gOS machines at Walmart, and frankly the performance was horrible. The fact that you think it is perfectly reasonable to shell out $300 + shipping for a lousy 1GB of RAM and an old model Athlon shows just how far behind most of the Linux shops are, especially when for $30 more I get triple the RAM, a DVD burner and Vista Basic.

But if you wanted a Linux based PC why not just get something like this and install your own? Because frankly the specs on the one you linked to ain't good, and Linux supports new hardware,right? And it is an Intel chipset so surely it will work,right? The point is you have NO way to tell if it'll work, and that is also a problem. I can pick up any hardware made in the last decade from anywhere. A hobby shop, used PC store, hell a garage sale, it don't matter, Google will show it has XP drivers. And just like the fact that nearly every peripheral I pick up now STILL has Win98 drivers more than a decade after the OS was released, so will any hardware I pick up for years and years to come have an XP disc.

My Linux buds are always complaining that they ran an update for distro X and it seriously broke something when they went to X+1. yet I can only think of ONE program I have bought since 1998(Mechwarrior 3) that doesn't STILL run in XP. Why would I want to go through all that work, hassle, and relearning just for your OS? What does it give me that Windows doesn't? I haven't had a virus since 1997, so I'm afraid security isn't a selling point, and the cost of Windows is frankly negligible compared to my $20 an hour time. So honestly what can you offer? Remember that as John Q. Windows User I am your potential customer and that if you can get enough guys like me on your side then the hardware manufacturers can't ignore you anymore, so lets here the pitch.

And I apologize about the length, but I really want there to be a "third OS" besides the Windows and Mac duopoly. The ONLY reason we even HAVE WinXP is because that damned monkey Ballmer shat a brick at the thought Linux might get a bit of market share. So for both the Windows and the Linux users I really want their to be a viable market. I really do. But ATM I have less than a 20% chance when I sell a Linux box that the customer will be happy with it. More likely they will run into a show stopper when they get home due to their webcam,printer,fax,etc and be bringing it back because it is "broke". And having to have a list on the front of the PC a mile long listing all the stuff you CAN'T run really doesn't help sell boxes. So thrill me. Give me a reason that my customers will gladly throw away their webcams and all in one printers and all their software and embrace your OS. Because until you can guys like me, which you need to sell and support your OS out in the field, simply can't justify selling Linux boxes. It is just too expensive.

I bought this and when you figure in the cost of XP Home SP3($89) and a SATA DVD Burner($20) I ended up spending a grand total of $58 more than you and that INCLUDES shipping! And I got 4 TIMES the amount of RAM, a better CPU, 100GB more HDD, a DVD burner(yours comes with a DVD ROM) and I can run Photoshop and pretty much every popular app out there (including Gimp and OO.o, although I got Office 2K for $50 and Paintshop pro for $30 on sale awhile back so why bother) and ended up with MUCH better hardware for my money!

Your link points out a SERIOUS problem Linux has in the market: the fact that companies use Linux to try to sell old/obsolete hardware. Just because Linux CAN run on old and slow hardware doesn't mean you should try to sell it with such. The same thing bit MSFT in the ass over "Vista capable" with companies slapping Vista Basic on 2GHz Celerons with 512MB of DDR RAM. I have tried some of the Linux "solutions" sold like gOS machines at Walmart, and frankly the performance was horrible. The fact that you think it is perfectly reasonable to shell out $300 + shipping for a lousy 1GB of RAM and an old model Athlon shows just how far behind most of the Linux shops are, especially when for $30 more I get triple the RAM, a DVD burner and Vista Basic.

But if you wanted a Linux based PC why not just get something like this and install your own? Because frankly the specs on the one you linked to ain't good, and Linux supports new hardware,right? And it is an Intel chipset so surely it will work,right? The point is you have NO way to tell if it'll work, and that is also a problem. I can pick up any hardware made in the last decade from anywhere. A hobby shop, used PC store, hell a garage sale, it don't matter, Google will show it has XP drivers. And just like the fact that nearly every peripheral I pick up now STILL has Win98 drivers more than a decade after the OS was released, so will any hardware I pick up for years and years to come have an XP disc.

My Linux buds are always complaining that they ran an update for distro X and it seriously broke something when they went to X+1. yet I can only think of ONE program I have bought since 1998(Mechwarrior 3) that doesn't STILL run in XP. Why would I want to go through all that work, hassle, and relearning just for your OS? What does it give me that Windows doesn't? I haven't had a virus since 1997, so I'm afraid security isn't a selling point, and the cost of Windows is frankly negligible compared to my $20 an hour time. So honestly what can you offer? Remember that as John Q. Windows User I am your potential customer and that if you can get enough guys like me on your side then the hardware manufacturers can't ignore you anymore, so lets here the pitch.

And I apologize about the length, but I really want there to be a "third OS" besides the Windows and Mac duopoly. The ONLY reason we even HAVE WinXP is because that damned monkey Ballmer shat a brick at the thought Linux might get a bit of market share. So for both the Windows and the Linux users I really want their to be a viable market. I really do. But ATM I have less than a 20% chance when I sell a Linux box that the customer will be happy with it. More likely they will run into a show stopper when they get home due to their webcam,printer,fax,etc and be bringing it back because it is "broke". And having to have a list on the front of the PC a mile long listing all the stuff you CAN'T run really doesn't help sell boxes. So thrill me. Give me a reason that my customers will gladly throw away their webcams and all in one printers and all their software and embrace your OS. Because until you can guys like me, which you need to sell and support your OS out in the field, simply can't justify selling Linux boxes. It is just too expensive.

I bought this and when you figure in the cost of XP Home SP3($89) and a SATA DVD Burner($20) I ended up spending a grand total of $58 more than you and that INCLUDES shipping! And I got 4 TIMES the amount of RAM, a better CPU, 100GB more HDD, a DVD burner(yours comes with a DVD ROM) and I can run Photoshop and pretty much every popular app out there (including Gimp and OO.o, although I got Office 2K for $50 and Paintshop pro for $30 on sale awhile back so why bother) and ended up with MUCH better hardware for my money!

Your link points out a SERIOUS problem Linux has in the market: the fact that companies use Linux to try to sell old/obsolete hardware. Just because Linux CAN run on old and slow hardware doesn't mean you should try to sell it with such. The same thing bit MSFT in the ass over "Vista capable" with companies slapping Vista Basic on 2GHz Celerons with 512MB of DDR RAM. I have tried some of the Linux "solutions" sold like gOS machines at Walmart, and frankly the performance was horrible. The fact that you think it is perfectly reasonable to shell out $300 + shipping for a lousy 1GB of RAM and an old model Athlon shows just how far behind most of the Linux shops are, especially when for $30 more I get triple the RAM, a DVD burner and Vista Basic.

But if you wanted a Linux based PC why not just get something like this and install your own? Because frankly the specs on the one you linked to ain't good, and Linux supports new hardware,right? And it is an Intel chipset so surely it will work,right? The point is you have NO way to tell if it'll work, and that is also a problem. I can pick up any hardware made in the last decade from anywhere. A hobby shop, used PC store, hell a garage sale, it don't matter, Google will show it has XP drivers. And just like the fact that nearly every peripheral I pick up now STILL has Win98 drivers more than a decade after the OS was released, so will any hardware I pick up for years and years to come have an XP disc.

My Linux buds are always complaining that they ran an update for distro X and it seriously broke something when they went to X+1. yet I can only think of ONE program I have bought since 1998(Mechwarrior 3) that doesn't STILL run in XP. Why would I want to go through all that work, hassle, and relearning just for your OS? What does it give me that Windows doesn't? I haven't had a virus since 1997, so I'm afraid security isn't a selling point, and the cost of Windows is frankly negligible compared to my $20 an hour time. So honestly what can you offer? Remember that as John Q. Windows User I am your potential customer and that if you can get enough guys like me on your side then the hardware manufacturers can't ignore you anymore, so lets here the pitch.

And I apologize about the length, but I really want there to be a "third OS" besides the Windows and Mac duopoly. The ONLY reason we even HAVE WinXP is because that damned monkey Ballmer shat a brick at the thought Linux might get a bit of market share. So for both the Windows and the Linux users I really want their to be a viable market. I really do. But ATM I have less than a 20% chance when I sell a Linux box that the customer will be happy with it. More likely they will run into a show stopper when they get home due to their webcam,printer,fax,etc and be bringing it back because it is "broke". And having to have a list on the front of the PC a mile long listing all the stuff you CAN'T run really doesn't help sell boxes. So thrill me. Give me a reason that my customers will gladly throw away their webcams and all in one printers and all their software and embrace your OS. Because until you can guys like me, which you need to sell and support your OS out in the field, simply can't justify selling Linux boxes. It is just too expensive.

Build one:
Rackmount UPS
Shallow musician-style rack case
Shallow rackmount server case
Rackmount AC
Plus server components.

These are all just random 1st finds in each category so I have no idea if they're compatible, but assuming compatible variants of each part work, it seems feasible:
- Server is to whatever specs you want
- Assuming the A/C technology is decent (never heard of the company before) it should be enough for at least a single server & UPS
- Might need some kind of de-humidifier?
- Reasonably portable. By vehicle at least, since I'm assuming you're not lugging this thing by hand through the jungle

Then take your pick from Tiger Direct.
Like I said, you can find them anywhere. The reason I chose the "gaming hunk of junk" is that it is far more functional. You just need to work on the upper body strength a bit :)

Oh and AC, yes they are warm, but I don't put them on my lap. I've never had one overheat though, and this is far from my first Toshiba.

Go to TigerDirect, 2 out of 55 are Linux. Cheapest is $229US Acer Aspire 1 16G - Windows XP. Cheapest Linux netbook is $299 HP mini.

Got to Geeks.COM, $169 for a MIPS-based Linux system, but their only x86 netbook is $329 Intel Atom-based system with XP.

If the price is so much lower, I would be tempted to get one with a hard disk and XP, repartion, and load Linux. However, this would COUNT as an XP sale.

Hmm, I don't know. Not according to here... And according to an AMD page, "Energy-efficient DDR2 memory uses up to 30% less power than DDR1 and up to 58% less power than FBDIMM."

According to here a DDR2 DIMM needs 4.4 watts. Let's round up to 10 watts and say each DIMM is, oh, 4gb (pretty low, I'd say). That's 48 DIMMs to get up to 192, 96 to get up to 384. At a whopping 10 watts (pretty high) that's still ~ 500W for 192gb and ~1000W for 384gb. Cut the wattage down to 5W per DIMM and you get half (250W, 500W). >1000W "home user" power supplies aren't too uncommon these days (1600W on tigerdirect.com...)

I think there are several poor business decisions that the company made in the past 10 years or so that can explain why they failed. Starting with their venture into the DIVX fiasco (hint: if your "partner" in a business venture is a law firm, it's probably one to avoid). They probably could have recovered after they finally killed DIVX, if it wasn't for also deciding to get out of the major appliances business. Talk about pure stupidity there -- you see, most major appliances customers are older people, homeowners, with money, and while they're buying that refrigerator or dishwasher today, in six months, they'll probably be looking for a new wide screen television or laptop. Getting rid of appliances just eliminated a huge segment of the market, and lots of sales!

Mistake #3 was just simply not figuring out your basic store structure. After I left the company, every time I walked into the store, I swear to God, they had a new format and arrangement! I could never find anything! If you can't figure out something as simple as this, you're doomed. Going along with this, Firedog was simply at least three years too late in responding to the Geek Squad -- Best Buy won that one easily.

The final nail in the coffin (and I'm sure this has already been stated in this thread somewhere, but I'll put it here just for my own completeness) is firing all of their experienced salespeople and replacing them with non-commissioned, inexperienced, Wal-Mart-esque, clerks. I do understand that ultimately, they had to ditch the commissioned model, simply because of the change in the marketplace. But they went about it totally wrong -- a better solution would be to take advantage of the high turnover rate in retail as it is, and just not hire new commissioned salespeople, and grandfather the experienced ones, who can then be a huge resource to the newer salespeople in teaching them the ropes.

So, it's sad to see them go, but not surprising based on their business decisions of the past 10 years. I did learn a lot from working there back in the 90s, especially regarding computers, installations, and technology in general, so I thank them for that. In the meantime, I guess I'll get my electronics from Newegg or TigerDirect. At least until some new entrepreneur decides to open up a Buy More,... ;-)

Actually calls for his firing have already started. When you see that The Win7 hype is just that, and when it comes to enterprise, which is where the big bucks are and where MSFT has always made boatloads of cash, that Win7 doesn't cut it anymore than Vista, I can't say that I blame them.

We have seen that under his watch he has gone from one idea to another like the whole company has ADHD, with Zune(trying to be Apple), trying to shell out WAY too much money for Yahoo(trying to be Google) and finally his very own Spruce Goose Vista, which even MSFT board members couldn't get to work with programs written by MSFT. His tenure has frankly been nothing but one failure after another, and mark my words, when Win7 comes out it will be just as bloated and slow and sell just as badly as Vista.

What the company desperately needs is a new leader that will focus on their core strengths instead of trying to be Apple. Their big money comes from corporations NOT home users who frankly as long as it doesn't crash and runs their games are happy little campers anyway. Yet instead of releasing a low resource backwards compatible enterprise OS it looks like with Win7 they are AGAIN releasing this giant bloated pig of a multimedia OS with more bling per square inch than something off of "pimp my ride". There is a REASON why you find lots of articles including on MSDN giving step by step instructions on turning Win2K8 into a workstation OS. Because WinVista is too damned bloated to be a good enterprise OS and frankly Win7 will most likely be more of the same.

They had better change their direction, starting with a good firing for Ballmer and the bringing in of someone from Office or Win2K8 that knows business. Because I have never seen this kind of mass abandonment of a MSFT OS ever, even when WinME came out. My customers happily pay me chunks of money to make Vista go away, and more and more SOHOs and SMBs are asking me "what do you know about this Linux thing?" and yet Ballmer still tries to force everyone into this multimedia nightmare of an OS instead of keeping business/home separated like it was for WinNT/Win9x. But he ain't Steve Jobs and Win7 ain't no OSX. If they don't change their direction, which I seriously doubt will happen under Ballmer, then their stock price and sales are going nowhere but down. I mean have you EVER seen companies BRAG about giving you the previous MSFT OS THREE YEARS after the new version came out? Nope, me neither.

friends don't let friends shop at the rat shack.</smartassery>
a much cheaper (per device) alternate cord

Well said. And it isn't just that they don't care, it is that they are getting a nice double dip by claiming "Vista sales" on their little PPTs for the investors and charging the OEM(and the customer) for a more expensive Vista Business license they don't want just to get what they DO want. I mean look at tigerdirect BRAGGING about "Xp Pro downgrade rights" in big bold letters in the middle of the page. How big of a clue stick do they need to be hit with?

And while I appreciate the Linux guys thinking that Linux is a choice, it really, really isn't. The consumers want their apps, not the OS. And Linux doesn't run their apps anymore than Vista does, and requires a lot more brains to use. If they have a problem in Windows it can usually be fixed with a driver. With Linux they get "Bring up bash and..." which will never work for 90% of the Windows buying public. CLI is just too hard, too strange, and frankly too powerful to let them use. With Windows everything has a GUI and I can't remember the last time I HAD to use CLI to solve a problem. So for the home users it is get screwed over and get Xp or....well that is pretty much it.

It must be nice to have a monopoly so damned powerful you can give your entire customer base the finger and they have no choice but to take it. We should have split them up when we had the chance. But if they actually bothered to listen to customers we would have ads selling "XP SP3: Reloaded" all over the place and the abortion that is Vista would be kept for high end system as an option instead of the other way around. Personally I hope the Linux guys figure out the Winprinter problem, because if they do instead of telling guys like me on the forums "LOL...get another printer luser!...LOL Winprinters" then maybe we can see Linux get some real market penetration when Vista SE flops. Until then I am stuck just like the customers having to buy MSFT.

Don't forget surround sound. My pc is louder and has more speakers then my tv. yes i have all that and even http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1578906&csid=_21 to make my mouse decent from bed. doesn't make me like my xbox any less or care less that a lot of people are working hard on making something....different.

Thank you ! I am serious...thank you. I am so tired of being treated like a nut and being marked "flamebait" and "troll" for saying that Win7 is going to bomb. I swear, it is like I woke up in an alternate reality where the past 3 years never existed. Does NOBODY remember the pre release hype for Vista? Does NOBODY remember how the press gushed on and on and on about how wonderful it was? The first time I loaded up Vista Beta 1 my first thoughts were "Oh...My...God. What are they thinking? This is going to bomb SO hard! The home users will hate it and the businesses will too. Who did this? It is awful!"

And here we are, three years later, and companies are offering machines with With XP Pro downgrade rights! in giant letters to sell their PCs. Why? Because the users have spoken, and the vast majority HATE Vista! Just like you they have either tried to like Vista(I did too. I used it for over a month and couldn't take it anymore) or they have watched a family member fight it and have decided not to go that route. I know that this will shock many Slashdot guys, but most of my users don't even want the "fisher price" look of XP. They want the "classic" that looks like Win9x.

With any other company, they would have in all likelihood listened to their customers and given them what they wanted. What does MSFT do? More bling bling! The majority of the public HATES your OS, in a large part because of the awful GUI, and your answer is to add MORE bling bling onto the GUI that they hate? Does that make ANY sense? And as for the earlier poster asking "why would they switch to Linux?" Simple-1. The GUI can be EXACTLY like XP,or even Win9x. That is what they know, that is what they want. 2. The OEMs are going to have to push SOMETHING if Win7 turns out to be another turkey, because I can't see Ballmer admitting defeat and allowing them to keep selling XP when Win7 comes out. Whether folks will buy Linux or go to guys like me to get XP machines, who knows.

But mod me down all you want. Say I am a troll, or flamebait, or whatever makes you happy. But mark my words, and mark them well. Windows 7 will B-O-M-B. It will bomb just as hard, possibly even harder than Vista, thanks to that confusing taskbar/quicklaunch with almost no way for anyone with even the slightest vision troubles to be able to tell if a program is running or not. And then when it does, just like with Vista, all those bloggers that were gushing over Windows 7 will be "I knew it! MSFT has another turkey on its hands!". But when even Thurrott puts out an article simple VS easy about how Win7 looks simple but isn't easy to use, and Mary Joe Foley is saying "If I wanted a Mac-like environment, I'd buy a Mac" then you know there are problems in paradise. Mark my words, folks aren't going to like Win7 anymore than they like Vista. Maybe the next one after that they'll listen to their customers and give them what they want.

BINGO! Give that man a cigar! Home users have no freaking clue how to actually use a PC and I seriously doubt anybody at MSFT, which seems to have seriously been bit by the "I can be as cool as Apple! Really I can! Quit laughing at me!" ever bothered to actually test the GUI with actually home users. I can tell you that home users HATE change! They absolutely positively HATE change! They know where the buttons were before, they knew what to do to do what they needed before, and now they are nothing but frustrated.

Then add on top of that the fact that Vista feels slower than their 4 year old XP machine, the HDD thrashes constantly and takes forever to load(most folks shut down their machines cold at night and so do a cold boot at least once a day, usually several) and sucks RAM and CPU time worse than a drunk sucking down Mad Dog, and you have some seriously pissed off consumers. It has gotten to the point that when a new customer comes in and say "Help! I got this new machine and I can't stand it!" that I just say "You got Vista'd,didn't you?" and the answer always is "Yeah, real hard! And I hate this damned thing! Can you put XP on it?". I'm sure that it would shock most here, but most home users I've dealt with didn't even see the "fisher price" GUI of XP because one of the first things they would ask is "Can you make it look like the old one?" so they would happily take home a machine that looked like Win9X. And don't even get me started on Office 2K7. Not placing an easy way to default to the GUI that everyone has been using since Office 97 was just plain stupid.

Allow me to make a prediction. Write it down, and you watch it come true. If MSFT doesn't fire whichever ass has decided "We can really be like Apple with Win7! No really, we can! Stop making fun of me!" should be the direction of the company instead of making boring, low resource desktop OSes that everyone knows how to use because that is what they have always used, and instead replace quicklaunch and the taskbar with that damned stupid Apple Dock then Win7 is going to go down in flames even faster than Vista. If folks had wanted an Apple they would have freaking bought an Apple. What folks want from MSFT is the same boring as shit they have always gotten, with a little more stability and more drivers included. Add a few little things like native DVD burning and a simple picture editor and they are happy little campers. But if they try to force everyone into this giant Apple ripoff multimedia nightmare then they are going to stay away in droves. I mean have you EVER seen a case like we have now where a new MSFT OS has been out nearly 3 years yet companies like Tigerdirect are bragging Comes with XP Downgrade Rights! in giant letters to sell their machines? Hell I didn't see folks run from a MSFT OS this fast when WinME was unleashed with all its evil upon the world(Bill STILL owes me an apology for THAT one,asshole!)

EXACTLY! I tried Server 2K8 and I was like "Why? Why in the hell can't you just add a basic GUI on top of this and sell it to business users for the desktop? Why?" It is low resource,doesn't have tons of bloated multimedia junk that has NO business being in a business OS, and runs solid as a rock. So why can't those of use who just want to get our work done buy this on a machine without shelling out insane money for a server license? Why?

And as for the one who marked me troll, accept it: Vista is a flop. It is a giant festering turd of fail that the general public can't get away from fast enough. Why do you think EVERY single ad we see and every blog is either "I'm a PC" or Win7? Because MSFT knows that wasting more money on Vista is pointless because the public has spoken and they don't want it. For those of you that have gotten Vista to work or like it,congratulations! You are in the minority! I have sold more machines in this past year and a half and built more custom PCs than I have in the 15 years I have been in PC repair. Why? Because folks are happy to shell out extra money to me so they DON'T have to take Vista. I have been working with MSFT products since the days of Win3.1 and I have NEVER seen folks go so far out of their way to avoid a MSFT OS, even during the horror that was WinME.

Sadly from what I have seen of Win7 instead of learning from their mistakes and going back to their roots and making a solid, backwards compatible, low resource business OS they are instead going to pile even MORE bling bling on top and then really insult the customers by getting rid of quicklaunch and replacing it with an Apple Dock which they will probably screw up on the implementation anyway. I swear if I didn't know any better I would think Ballmer was trying to burn the company down on purpose. I just don't get who exactly they are trying to please. The home users HATE change, the gamers want an OS that sucks as little CPU and GPU as possible to give them better FPS and the business owners want low resource usage so they don't need expensive hardware along with backwards compatibility with all their old business apps. So who exactly are they pleasing with this desire to copy all things Apple? Because from the way my customers are happy to shell out for even older off lease business machines just so they can have XP over Vista it sure ain't them.

The one nice thing about all this is we may finally see real competition brought back into the OS market like we had in the 80's. Because I have the sinking feeling that Win7 is going to make MSFT customers run away even worse than Vista did. Oh, and before someone points out the Vista sales numbers please note that ALL Vista downgrades are counted NOT as an XP purchase but as a Vista sale. And you know it is popular when even Tigerdirect is using "Includes XP Downgrade rights!!" in giant letters as a selling point.

I don't see why it is even considered cheap when you can pick up Dual core kits for $200. And since x86 has been around forever you know you'll be able to run your code years from now. So if I wanted a cluster for cheap I would just pick up some of these along with some CUDA capable PCIe cards(which are going down in price as Nvidia and AMD have it out) and be good to go.

Does the OEM downgrade come with an XP OEM CD, or a Dell half-assed "only works on this particular product line" restore CD?

For $150, I'd much rather have an XP Pro OEM CD that's not tied to a Dell Computer. This way, when the computer eventually dies in a couple years I can install on my new one.

--bornagainpenguin

I would get a cheap desktop and focus on your input devices. I'd recommend a tough, washable keyboard and mouse and let the kid go nuts.

I would get a cheap desktop and focus on your input devices. I'd recommend a tough, washable keyboard and mouse and let the kid go nuts.

I would get a cheap desktop and focus on your input devices. I'd recommend a tough, washable keyboard and mouse and let the kid go nuts.

[quote]8gb MicroSD: $27 The problem with my phone is that it needs a USB to 2.5mm adapter, then a 2.5mm-3.5mm adapter. (They might make a USB to 3.5mm adapter, but it is probably overpriced. The USB to 2.5mm adapter came in the box). I also have the wrong kind of 2.5mm-3.5mm adapter, so I have to put it in a certain amount (but not all the way), otherwise my phone crashes and I have to reboot it or I get no sound in either the left or right headphone.[/quote]

Ok, my info is out of date. The new egg price with shipping is $33.98 Slightly more consistent price is is $40-$50. From Sandisk.com $50(SDHC) or $70(M2) M2 from new egg $55.98 shipped.

Let's just say $34 for or $56 for M2.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3402958&Sku=S153-7012&SRCCODE=GOOGLEBASE&cm_mmc_o=TBBTkwCjCVyBpAgf%20mwzygtCjCVRqCjCVRq

$37 for a 2gig model shipped.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3481118&Sku=S153-7022&SRCCODE=GOOGLEBASE&cm_mmc_o=TBBTkwCjCVyBpAgf%20mwzygtCjCVRqCjCVRq

$67 for a 8gig model shipped from tigerdirect, $150 realistic price from sandisk.com, $80 also realistic.

I'm willing to concede that microSD memory seems to cost less than the mp3 player. Even slightly more spendy M2 is cheaper.

Basic player on sale for $40. 8 gig player $67
8 gig stick $34 or $56

Cost savings $33 or $11 (M2)

You are correct, the player now costs more.

Ok, how much will an mp3 phone run me? Oh, free under ideal circumstances? Nokida 6263? And it comes with a 512meg card?

The winner, it's you, well, save the 2.5mm tri channel to 3.5mm stereo adapter, which I think is your issue. Phones have microphones, which adds an extra channel.

[quote]8gb MicroSD: $27 The problem with my phone is that it needs a USB to 2.5mm adapter, then a 2.5mm-3.5mm adapter. (They might make a USB to 3.5mm adapter, but it is probably overpriced. The USB to 2.5mm adapter came in the box). I also have the wrong kind of 2.5mm-3.5mm adapter, so I have to put it in a certain amount (but not all the way), otherwise my phone crashes and I have to reboot it or I get no sound in either the left or right headphone.[/quote]

Ok, my info is out of date. The new egg price with shipping is $33.98 Slightly more consistent price is is $40-$50. From Sandisk.com $50(SDHC) or $70(M2) M2 from new egg $55.98 shipped.

Let's just say $34 for or $56 for M2.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3402958&Sku=S153-7012&SRCCODE=GOOGLEBASE&cm_mmc_o=TBBTkwCjCVyBpAgf%20mwzygtCjCVRqCjCVRq

$37 for a 2gig model shipped.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3481118&Sku=S153-7022&SRCCODE=GOOGLEBASE&cm_mmc_o=TBBTkwCjCVyBpAgf%20mwzygtCjCVRqCjCVRq

$67 for a 8gig model shipped from tigerdirect, $150 realistic price from sandisk.com, $80 also realistic.

I'm willing to concede that microSD memory seems to cost less than the mp3 player. Even slightly more spendy M2 is cheaper.

Basic player on sale for $40. 8 gig player $67
8 gig stick $34 or $56

Cost savings $33 or $11 (M2)

You are correct, the player now costs more.

Ok, how much will an mp3 phone run me? Oh, free under ideal circumstances? Nokida 6263? And it comes with a 512meg card?

The winner, it's you, well, save the 2.5mm tri channel to 3.5mm stereo adapter, which I think is your issue. Phones have microphones, which adds an extra channel.

I, for over 20 years, have supported LucasArts and Lucasfilm.

no more.

Their decision not to build a PC version has crossed a line.

the producer in charge of TFU Cameron Suey stated that the game would be a "watered down experience" on anything less than a $4,000 PC. couldn't be more watered down than ps2 or psp or DS! a $699 pc can play crysis warhead on high @30fps, so it ought to be able to smoke the pants off an xbox360 or ps3 running in low resolution.

so I have chosen not to consume lucas made goods or services. I decided not to see the new clone wars movies, and I can say definitively, I won't be buying my son any lucas toys over the next 15 years. I was a loyal fan and customer. It's no surprise they have chosen payday over their fans. They are a business at the end of the day.

I like to use TigerDirect since they usually have a great price and/or deals. I have been using them for 10 years without a problem. I tried Newegg once and hated it. They sell bad ram and other things. Plus they have a place in NJ so we get charged 7% sales tax.

Third here.

This is some of the communication I had with them....it didn't get any better.

We sincerely apologize for the situation that you encountered. We just saw the comments that you left on Resellerratings.com. We are dismayed over your perception of our company, and the feedback you posted. We are dedicated to satisfying our customers, in hope of making them âoelifetimeâ customers. If you would, please respond with details of you latest situation, and how, within reason and the boundaries of our contracts, we could make TigerDirect a place of business for you again.

Sincerely,

XXX XXXXXXXX

Customer Service/Web Response

Most of the problems I have had with your company started with the purchase of this item:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=3564505&sku=TSD-500AS5

As you can see as the top of this product info it states:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB Hard Drive - 7200RPM, 32MB, SATA-300, OEM

The 32MB is the spec for this drive's cache. However, when I received the drive, it was labeled 16MB. I sent it back, again and again continuing to receive the wrong product. Finally in frustration, I stopped returning the drives, and settled for you had shipped me even though it wasn't what I purchased and of lesser value. I even opted to keep the two additional drives I had been sent to replace the last set, meaning I was paying for four, not two drives, that weren't what I ordered simply to get this behind me. I received a bill in the mail for these additional two drives and I called in and asked them to bill my credit card on file and was told they would do that.

At that point I thought the fiasco was over, but then just a couple of weeks ago I received another call stating my account had gone into collections. Finally after much time spend on the phone and speaking to customer service representatives and managers, I finally got some person to actually bill me for the product instead of just saying they were going to bill my card then send me to collections when they didn't follow through. On top of all that, I was billed something like $7.50 for late fees. That just bothers the hell of me since it was tigerdirect's own problem and inability to correctly process transactions that caused the dilemma.

The $7.50 or whatever really isn't the issue, I wouldn't even notice that was gone from my bank account. The issue is that this event in conjunction with several other problematic transactions, have left me with a large amount of doubt as to the honesty and integrity of your company for several reasons:

        * You shipped me a different product than advertised
        * Your representative's stated that the specs on the product I received were correct, as opposed to the specs listed in link above.
        * If the above is true, then tigerdirect engaged in false advertising. Bait & Switch
        * Your frontline representatives were incapable of resolving this matter in regards to both billing and sending the correct product.
        * It is very time consuming to find someone capable of resolving problems. It is so time consuming it is easier to ignore problems related to tigerdirect rather than pursue them.

Like most consumer's, when given a choice between equal products, I'll chose the less expensive option. Once I have experienced quality transactions with a company, I'll continue doing business with them even if their price isn't always the best. That company will no longer be your company. In my mind, TigerDirect is now to internet sales what Best Buy is to a brick and mortar store.

i guess the AC thought this one was about al gore releasing open source video drivers.

in seriousness though, VIA solutions are used in thin client workstations all over the place. here's an example: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3074732&CatId=120

so i guess AC was playing "six degrees", VIA video drivers -> VIA boards -> thin clients -> green computing -> an inconvenient truth.

a stretch, certainly, but i'm sure that AC was ether trolling or fulfilling a god-sent mission to bother techies with issues we have almost no control over. on the other hand, that thin client jazz looks pretty good, i bet i can win over the cats in management on using them as end-user stations.

Looking at the world through a Penguin tinted lens?

In the states, OEM consumer Vista is 32 bit Vista Premium SP1. Dual core is a given. 2 GB RAM or better is a given. [You will find the single core Athlon LE at entry level]

The $1500 HP Elite at Walmart.com:

64 bit Vista Premium
2.66 GHz Intel Quad CPU, 4 GB RAM, 1 TB of storage
512 MB NVIDIA 8600 GT graphics, Combo Blu-Ray Drive and Lightscribe DVD Burner,
HDTV Tuner, Wireless multimedia keyboard and mouse, Remote Control...

Etc., etc. You get the idea - buy from Tiger and you might even save a few bucks.

The versatility and raw horsepower of a system like this does not strike me as a compelling reason to migrate to Linux. But you can go - far - down the food chain and the specs and performance will still look good.

Tiger Direct dot com...
You're welcome. =)

get yourself one of these usb trackpads for your desk when docked & have the best of both worlds.

Which is quite odd, because you can still buy Windows XP OEM edition from TigerDirect. I think the best way to get a computer with XP would be to buy a barebones PC, and then buy an OEM copy of XP to go with it.

Tigerdirect still sells PC's with XP, both desktops and laptops. You can even buy a barebones system with XP (not preinstalled)

They have good prices too.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/

I was able to get 16 Y510s from TigerDirect without an OS on them. Of course, that was the corporate account and I think they were sold out of them the last time I checked. They work beautifully with Ubuntu right out of the box!

I'm confused by many of the replies here which talk about auto sheet-feeders and 'double wide' flatbed scanners, but they all seem to ignore the original problem: the spine would be damaged or require disassembly of the magazine itself.

There are special flatbed scanners such as this one which allow scanning without flattening the spine. And you could also try a palm scanner, which I think they also have wider "stick" versions which can do 8.5" sizes too.

IMO these would be the best options to not ruin your original collection. I think the palm scanner I linked is a really old greyscale one, and the special flatbed might not be the best brand... But I'm just providing an example of the type of scanning technology I would use, not suggesting the specific products themselves.

DO NOT get a SATA card, unless you're putting it on a very fast (high speed) bus. A regular PCI bus is too slow.

I've found that MOBO's with SATA Raid on board are better performing and cheaper than separate MOBO and PCIe SATA Raid, but there are features on the PCIe SATA RAID controllers that many people might want.

ASUS makes a couple of MOBOs with SATA RAID, that I've found very good. I really like the NVIDIA SATA RAID setup on this board. Though you may be able to find a similar board cheaper somewhere else.

You could have asked whether CP/M was ready for the desktop:

However, CP/M's concept of separate user areas for files on the same disk was never ported to MS-DOS. Since MS-DOS had access to more memory (as few IBM PCs were sold with less than 64 KB of memory, while CP/M had to run in 16 KB if necessary), more commands were built in to the command-line user interface logic, making MS-DOS somewhat faster and easier to use on floppy-based computers.

There has never been any great mystery behind Microsoft's success on the desktop:

Its focus had always been on the non-technical end user.

The balance between what he wants and what he can afford. The core hardware requirements will be midline at introduction and priced at entry level a year or so later:

Lenovo 3000 Notebook PC
Vista Premium, 14" Wide Screen Display, DVD Burner, Intel Dual Core, 2 GB RAM, 250 GB HDD, Integrated Webcam, WiFi, Firewire, etc., etc.
$650 after mail-in rebate.

My friends, their friends, and their friends (like, people I've never heard of), always end up coming to me for this same advice.

    Sometimes I give/sell them parts out of my garage, because their old equipment also somehow ends up in my garage. :)

    I tend to like SuperMicro equipment, so if you have a few bucks to spend, go find yourself a nice SuperMicro 1u. But since this is your personal machine, and you don't have a huge budget, you'll have to shop like I do.

    Check out the VisionMan machines on tigerdirect.com. For about $550, you can get a 2Ghz dual core with 1Gb RAM, 2 160Gb SATA drives

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/search.asp?page=2&mnf=1286&sort=Price%20asc

    I haven't bought any yet, but if I ever run out of parts in my garage for new servers, I'll probably buy one. :)

    You can always go browsing on eBay. Sometimes you'll find a good deal, but generally you're not going to get much decent for under $500. There are resellers on there all the time, who grab up anything cheap (or bid them up to over $500), that they're going to sell to their customers. If you do, be cautious of home built machines. They're the best thing in the world if they're done right, but if they weren't, you can experience lots of nasty problems. Like, if there isn't enough air flow, the CPU can overheat, and in a week or two you may end up looking for a new machine again.

    I was building my own 1u machines for quite a while. When we approached 1Ghz, I had to start doing some special cooling. After that, since the company was making good money, it was cost effective to get the SuperMicro machines.

    The final option is... I needed an incoming mail server to filter viruses and spam. This was a rather urgent matter, and I didn't really have time to go through my garage piecing a machine together and test it. I also didn't have time to order anything. I went down to CompUSA (they re-opened close to my house), and picked up an eMachines AMD64 with 1Gb ram for $250. It's a tower case, but if I felt ambitious (which I didn't that night), I could have easily rebuilt it into a spare 2u case. The memory was not seated well when I unboxed it, but that's the only problem that it's had so far, and it's been running hard for a few weeks.

Perhaps, but you can buy your tigers direct - though I hear they're inferior Chinese tigers, and you'll never actually get your mail-in rebate on them.

If $500 is too much then it's probably not a great time to be trying to upgrade your machine anyway, at least not if you want a gaming rig. But I have to point out that if you shop around you don't have to pay top dollar like that. For instance, the Asus P5B is a perfectly workable motherboard equipped with Socket 775 (for your Core2Duo) for $120. The lower end Core2Duos can easily be had for another $120, Memory is cheap. And you can even get a pretty good graphics card for under $200. Granted, this isn't top of the line parts (you have a lot of headroom on the C2D), but it would last for years assuming you don't want to run whatever the next Crytech-based game is.