Good thing there are SOME smart people in here who understand that Vista is not all the hype people pass around. I've been using it since it was first released and have had no serious problems, and since the release of SP1, it now has NONE of the common annoyances that it did.

Can I ask why you don't want a dell?

Any core 2 duo will be fine for vista. Make sure you have at LEAST 2 GB of memory, it may also be the most you'll need. and 250GB+ is recommended. Thats all you really need to know, the rest is preference.

Vista ran just as good on my old dual core with 2gb ram as it does one my current quad core with 4gb ram.

Only reason I no longer have the dual core it cause the motherboard burned out and the store traded in for a new quad core free of charge. Its a Microcenter Powerspec X400 I know I could have built my own but I was feeling lazy at the time.

Thanks Golden Bullet for pointing out I wanted to stay away from DELL...

But the reason for me not wanting a DELL is, my sister got a computer from DELL that instantly had problems, they said they fixed it but when it came back even more problems with it, then my other sister got a DELL lap top and that thing is just a POS, had it get fixed several times but still is messed up..

Plus my computer teacher who I really trust cause of the knoweldge he has ( also is the owner of NJ Corp. a big computer business ) and told me to stay away..

I never ran Vista and have no problem doing so..

So should I get a HP then? If so what would I need for that?

Thats NOT a dell problem. Was it an actual hardware failure or something with the programs or software? Dell, like HP or Gateway will NOT help you with software problems unless you purchase a contract with them.

Dell, like HP, Gateway, Acer, etc will always load up their home systems with tons of unneeded software. Cheap big brand systems will barely run out of the box, especially with Vista which is a memory *****.

Got a friend a dell 1520 laptop with a 15% promotion they had a while back, total price paid was under $350 shipped for a nice laptop. However out of the box it would barely run, took about 2 minutes to fully boot to vista and was extremely sluggish. Memory usage was around 80% right out of the box at idle.

Reformatted it with a fresh install of vista and installed only microsoft word, firefox, and Photoshop and zone alarm and boom, boots up in 30 seconds and screams.

Same story with the Acer I was given a couple months ago, however Acer does not include the OEM reinstall windows disc so you would need to use a retail copy if you wanted to start of fresh.

Either way if you buy a "brand name" computer it is going to be very slow out of the box, even if it is a nice configuration.

I just want to set your expectations so you are not unsatisfied with your purchase if you go with a Big Brand system.

There was no problems with the softwares, it was just right away she got all these pops up about 15 in a minute no lie..like it seemed like she got hacked into and someone put alot of spam and crap in her computer but thats how it was giving right away...

I mean don't get me wrong my mom has a real nice DELL lap top that has no problems but I don't know..

If I was to get a Dell what would you recommend? and your telling me I have to delete alot of the crap on it and then reinstall VISTA?

by the way that link sends me to heart medicine lol

I run Vista on my self built computer, I have no problems with Vista either.

Here'* the computer I built recently below, and I would really recommend that if you have the time to do the research to find out how it'* done, that your best off building your own computer if your getting a desktop. The quality of the parts are generally better and you can choose exactly what parts you want.

If you do your research on the internet, you can really find out alot of information about this stuff.

Here'* some guides you might find useful:
http://techreport.com/articles.x/13671
http://www.nordichardware.com/Guides/?skrivelse=432

I tend to buy my parts from the following places:
newegg.com
clubit.com
zipzoomfly.com

Thanks for those site, I'll read up on them...

If you guys had to choose on brand what would you get? Dell or HP?

Even though I still am looking at a Mac...

Man this is hard! lol

Dell, hp, either one. I repair computers for MicroCenetr, and I really don't see one more than the other. More HPs get sold, since Dell has been mail order only until just recently. But my personal preference is Dell.

I have owned almost nothing but dells for the last 8 years, laptops and desktops, and have no issues with asny of them that I didn't cause.

I am typing this on a Dell Latitude D620. 2Gig Centrino Duo processor, 1 gig of ram, and Dell OEM Vista Ultimate. No problems.

Just remember, any system you buy will have software youu will want to uninstall. And, laptops are harder to repair as everything is integrated into the motherboard. We're not even allowed to crack the case on a laptop at work except to upgrade the memory or hard drive.

so your telling me that when I get my desktop all the programs that come with it I have to unistall it and then reinstall it? and whatever I don't want just unistall and delete?

Also how would I reinstall the stuff do they give you the software for everything? or is it just like Vista I would have to do?

( you can tell I have't bought a computer for awhile )