I like the toy plane propeller in the "finished" photo up there. It really brings home the "for family" aspect of this build.

Have you tried open office? We use it even on our windows machines, and I haven't come across MS office files it won't edit. These are 200-300 page legal documents with TOC, index, cross-references, the whole nine. And if it's a prospectus, then it's being printed, so the format has to be maintaine...

I'd go with XP sp2, or look at some variety of Linux. There's a reason that MS Vista is starting to be called "Windows ME 2". As I wrote above, I need some flavor of Windows. However, just the initials "ME" are enough to scare me off. Man was that the worst OS ever? Wow I can't even tell you how ma...

Ryan Norton wrote:what I consider to be UI clunkiness

I'm curious: what about its UI do you consider to be clunky? I ask because often when I have Winrar windows open, I'll start navigating around in them thinking that they're normal Windows folders--i.e., it seems so non-clunky that I mistake it for explorer.

If you knew what you know now, would you choose the first XP release, without any service patches, over 2000 Pro? Actually I did just that, on a whim. I was writing a script to clean out a directory tree and I accidentally ran it on my entire "Documents and Settings" folder on my 2K system. There w...

Originally I had spec'ed this computer to be a P4-D with an Abit Fatal1ty, then decided to go for the C2 since I'm told it runs much cooler for not that much more $. However, now, I'm leaning more toward just getting the fastest athlon x2 and using an this Asus mobo that has on-board DVI and an HDMI...

What happens if you hit F5?

In the next month or so, I'll be building a new PC for general use, playing audio and DVDs, and remoting into work (no 3D gaming).

I have no problems with XP Pro and would be content to use it forever. At some point, though, Vista will be the norm. But is it worth buying now?

There is always this, AM2, DVI, and HDMI. :D (mATX=uATX, ya it confused the hell out of me also.) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131174 (The reason I'm still trying to nudge you towards AMD is a Pentium D system will possibly use more power sitting at Idle then the AMD sys...

I think that the chip decision really comes down to the motherboard. I've read positive reviews of the Abit and I like that it has built-in HDMI/DVI output. That way I won't have to buy a video card and won't have another fan going in there, etc. And I don't care if it's slower than discrete video b...

I must say however, PLEASE DON"T BUY THE PENTIUM D!!!!!! Go for a cheapo core 2, YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!!!!!111 Pentium D's are way too hot! Core 2's are like icicles Thanks for the tip. It'll cost $100 more to get the C2 but I suppose that's okay. Not sure why I didn't look at the Dell site to pri...

Hi all, I'm planning on building an inexpensive home machine. I plan on using it for just about everything except gaming. I'd appreciate any feedback on the components and/or the prices I'm paying--you never know who's selling for less. Case: Antec NSK3300 (b-stock, $50, from Antec) Mobo/CPU: ABIT F...