Droolin' and Dreamin'...

Intel Core 2 Duo CPU...

GeForce 7600GT 256MB graphics card...

16x DVD RW...

320 GB hard drive...

1 GB RAM...

Loaded with XP or Vista Home Premium...

1 year parts/3 years labor warranty...

All this and more, for under $1200...

Yep, I've been looking at computers again, and I feel myself getting closer and closer to actually making a purchase. Nothing against my Pentium III machine, mind you, but it's getting harder and harder to justify holding onto it when it's just a matter of time before it finally goes the way of my 386 and my 8088. (I'd say it would go the way of the Commodore, but last I checked they still booted up, unlike the later computers.) If nothing else, it's getting harder to find software primitive enough for it to handle. Most everything's on DVD-ROMs these days, and while I'm fairly certain a DVD drive can read CDs, I know CD drives can't reciprocate. Even the recommended specs of simple games seem to be getting higher and higher, and my machine's falling further and further behind the information curve. (Well, that and I'd really, really, really like to get a sleek new machine.) But, of course, it's not as simple as that. There's data transfer, for one thing. Skyhaven's still a half-finished mess on my end. If I were to update now - and I do want to update, if possible, before transferring machines so I have a backup on the internet in case something goes Horribly, Horribly Wrong - the Hunt would be obliterated, and I wanted at least a start on the new Hunt ready to go. Granted, I'd have that start if I could get my brain to focus, but the fact remains that I don't have it at the moment, and it may be a little while before I do. And then there's scrounging for all the disks of all the programs I'd want to keep, like Paint Shop Pro 8 and the support/extra software for my Wacom tablet, my camera, and stuff like that. I might also have to consider a new printer, as the HP 780c's been hanging on for a few computers now and may well be too primitive for a new machine. Then there's always the little stuff you don't always consider, like getting everything set back up how you like it on a new computer, uploading desktop pics, setting sound options, getting e-mail and internet going again, and junk like that.

But... you knew one of those was coming, didn't you? My sister just bought a computer from the local shop whose ad I quoted at the start of this entry. She actually ordered it yesterday, and it was ready today. Our old shop took about a week to get a new computer built, but this place has enough preassembled (without actually being one of those national proprietary pains in the rear) that she actually could've taken it home yesterday if she hadn't wanted a few custom features installed. Since she does a lot of gaming, and since Vista is a) showing some compatibility issues and b) too new for the bugs to be worked out yet - not to mention c) apparently, according to a person she knows who beta-tested most of Microsoft's operating systems since at least Windows 98, a memory-eating waste of money that doesn't really "do" anything better from the standpoint of the average user - she got it loaded with Windows XP. I, too, would like to stick with XP until forced to switch to Vista, as I really don't want to relearn how to do everything at the moment. The thing is, since the system itself usually comes preloaded with Vista Home Premium, they gave her a free upgrade coupon, which she has until the 15th of this month to redeem. A free upgrade is nothing to sneeze at. So this is a better machine, at a decent price, with a very quick turnaround time... and a free upgrade. If I order by March 15th. The 15th. One week from today.

I wonder how fast I can get Skyhaven ready...