I'm using a dual-core 2.4 gig machine with 3 gigs RAM, and a 320gig HD. It's running on Vista Home Basic [ yes-basic ] SP1. It's a 32 bit system. I use this only for photography and music, so it has never been hooked up to the internet. If I need an patch or upgrade, I use my internet XP machine or laptop to upload. I use an external DVD-RW, CD-RW, box for burning, as the burner on the machine is not very fast, 24X I believe. I also use an external 7200 RPM HDD through a USB 2.0 bus from time to time, even though the box has 2 Firewire ports. I don't have any firewire equipment yet.

It boots up in 26 seconds and shuts down in 8 seconds. The dedicated machine runs without any anti-virus or ant-spam software. I searched the net for some sites that offered a bunch of tweaks to Vista for best performance for music and photography. This very forum has been very helpful in that regard also.

Shop around, as the current economy is begining to spawn some great deals.

Fire, the wheel, and the I IV V -- foundations of civilization.