Everything depends on how old your current computer is and which parts are still usable. If your computer case can hold an ATX or microATX motherboard then you will be able to use the same case, just replace the parts inside. I am currently using an old eMachines case to hold my Pentium4 processor and motherboard. I’m also using the DVD burner from my old computer. The only things I needed to buy was the processor, motherboard, RAM and power supply. At the time I bought everything it only cost me about $230.

Pricing everything currently online you should be able to get a real nice computer (processor, RAM , motherboard, power supply and DVD burner) for under $400. That’s, of course, assuming you don’t go wild on an expensive motherboard or quad-core processor. For most people who aren’t gamers you should be able to keep it well under $400.

The only thing left is the operating system; XP or Vista? If you already have a copy of XP then go ahead and stay with that, it’s much better than Vista, in my opinion. If you have to buy an operating system then go ahead and get Vista because XP support is going to end sometime next year.

Although buying your own copy of Windows Vista will cost more now, it will save you in the future when you decide to upgrade again. Any brand name computer that you buy from the store including Dell, HP, eMachines, Sony, etc… will have Vista loaded on it but YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO TRANSFER THE OPERATING SYSTEM TO A NEW COMPUTER. So, when THAT computer goes bad you’re stuck without an operating system again.

My suggestion is to do some research and price out everything that you need/want and compare that to brand name computers. Remember that when building your own you get to choose what brand of components go into your computer (i.e. Seagate hard drive, Kingston RAM, Gigabyte motherboard, and so on) If the pricing is comparable between the two then I would suggest building your own. You have more control over everything, including replacing parts easier.

Windows 95: Sucks.

Windows 98: Not bad.

Windows ME: Sucks more than any other!

Windows XP: Decent.

Windows Vista: Sucks like Windows 95.

So, there you have it, Microsoft operating systems in a nut shell.