I currently have a desktop Compaq Presario. It's 5 years old and has Intel Celeron 2.8  with 759 MB RAM.

If I'm wanting something better/faster then what should I look for?

Should I get Vista or stick with XP?

Thanks! All new systems on the market now have Vista.  I suggest getting one with Vista Home Premium. What's your budget so others can help you find something that will be better than what you currently have.Anything new would be better than what he now has?   How's this deal:

Compaq AMD Athlon X2 Dual Core Processor 4450e+ computer with 19" LCD Widescreen monitor and HP color printer

Comes with Windows Vista Home Premium, 3 GM memory, 250 GB hard drive, LightScribe and NVIDIA GeForce 6150 SE graphics.

It's $449.97 this week at Best Buy.

Would that be way faster than what I have or just a little faster? I don't really need a printer or a monitor. My printer is great and my monitor is also great but it's the old style big clunky monitor so I wouldn't mind getting a flatscreen. Is it this one: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9175064&type=product&id=1218045567985

Apparently, you found it bundled with the monitor and printer.   That deal involves some mail-in rebates, doesn't it?  If so, be SURE to get them.   I think that's a great deal.  You could just buy the computer and use your old monitor and printer, but just buying the computer and monitor SEPARATELY would cost more than that package price, and you'll have a much nicer, more energy-efficient and space-saving monitor.

With the processor and 3GB of RAM, Windows Vista will run quite well.  The NVIDIA GeForce 6150 SE is not as good as many other graphics chips but it will be fine unless you're playing demanding online multi-player games.  And, you can always upgrade the video part later if  you want by installing a PCI Express graphics card.Yes it is that one. The ad says INSTANT in store savings.

So on a scale of 1-10 how much faster is this pc in comparison to what I have now?

Thanks for your input! I don't replace my pc often so I want to make sure I'm getting a good deal.

I really can't give you an answer on a scale of 1-10.  Comparing a machine with Windows XP to a machine with Windows Vista is somewhat like comparing apples and oranges.  Windows Vista is simply a larger program; if you were to install it on you old computer, it would seem slower than Windows XP.  Conversely, if you had that new Compaq from Best Buy with Windows XP on it instead of Vista, I think you'd find it blazing fast.  So, you need to keep in mind we're talking different operating systems here, and that's significant when talking about speed.

From a practical viewpoint, your perception of speed will depend on what you normally do with your computer. One of the reviews of that computer, posted on Best Buy, SAID his new computer boots up in about 80 seconds.  How does that compare to your old computer.  How fast do some of your applications launch?  We'd really need to get into some detailed facts relating to performance to make some kind of rating on a scale of 1-10.

But, just look at the hardware specs on the new computer and compare to your old machine.  That new machine has a much better processor, probably a much bigger (and perhaps faster) hard drive, and much more memory.  It has PCI Express slots.  Does your old computer have that?  And, how much did you pay for your old computer, compared to this one? 

When you think about the answers to these questions, that computer at Best Buy looks like a great value, doesn't it?I'd say that machine is a very good deal...i'd be hard pressed to build it at that price.Thanks guys! Dh ended up buying me a laptop instead. I've never had one before and I MUST say I love the portability of it.

I got a Toshiba Satellite with the dreaded Vista. It has 3 GB of RAM and a 320 GB harddrive. So far so good. I just wish it had Lighscribe instead of labelflash.

I took my old desktop in to the shop and they said it's fixable. For $80 they are going to reformat it and put a clean install of Windows XP on it. So I guess I should I have 2 good computers after this. Quote from: aces67 on February 05, 2009, 03:56:28 PM

I took my old desktop in to the shop and they said it's fixable. For $80 they are going to reformat it and put a clean install of Windows XP on it. So I guess I should I have 2 good computers after this.