<p>The upgrade route will take me several hours and basically wipe out the windows xp and data. cost of the software is about $100, if I buy the one in the above, I can take my time to move over the apps and can use the data immediately over the network.</p>
<p>What do you mean by a “quad speed” dell machine? What model is it?</p>
<p>I would not get the linked machine as it’s highway robbery considering it’s a Pentium D…a processor/machine released in 2005-6 era. It’s not a core2duo which is faster and much more power-efficient. </p>
<p>If you get that linked machine, you may as well keep your current machine. </p>
<p>Windows 8 is history. The current iteration is Windows 8.1, update 1. My hard drive on my Windows Vista machine died last week and I consider myself very fortunate that it died after the early-April release of that all important update 1. The update pretty much fixes all of the stuff that is so frustrating to desktop/laptop users. Basically the current iteration will boot directly into desktop mode, so you don’t really have to deal with the “Metro” interface if you don’t want to. </p>
<p>I love my new computer. There’s a learning curve, but I “get it” - that is, I am seeing where it is all going and why I want the new paradigm. </p>
<p>If you DON"T want to go in the direction that MS is headed - I’d suggest looking into another OS entirely – that is, if you just want a workhorse desktop computer without a bunch of fancy bells and whistles, look into Linux.</p>
<p>I’d add – you don’t HAVE to ditch your XP machine. Just because MS won’t support it any more doesn’t mean that it won’t run. It just means that you won’t be getting upgrades pushed out and you are on your own when it comes to security – but you’ll probably be fine with a good antivirus program running. </p>
<p>Agree with not having to ditch the XP machine…provided a current supported operating system is installed on it. </p>
<p>Strongly disagree with assuming continuing to run XP is fine with a good antivirus program. Even the antivirus vendors themselves have strongly disagree with that assessment as they weren’t designed to remedy security holes within the OS software itself. </p>
<p>As I told a client who insists on running XP past the deadline, he’ll probably be ok for the first week…but no guarantees can be made his XP machine won’t be hacked or infected by someone taking advantage of a security hole or bug that hasn’t been patched as of April 8…or hasn’t been discovered by Microsoft yet. </p>
<p>I would not waste my money on a refurbished machine, especially offered on eBay (can you trust the seller?). You can buy a new Dell with so much more memory and faster etc to last you awhile. I noticed when H recently bought a new Dell ( I actually placed the order I believe) he could get Windows 7 instead of 8/8.1 (easy to upgrade). Dell is our preferred brand based on past experiences with Dell and HP desktops.</p>
<p>Tech Bargains shows deals daily. Dell has the top of the line for us middle of the pack users for $675- core i7 et al. You can spend less for less but all will be so much better than the one you referenced. Overall you will be much better off getting rid of your old machine. We used to buy desktops and add memory et al, current specs available make upgrades unnecessary. Windows 7 and further upgrades later will require much more power than your old clunker. It seems as though a sweet spot for power/memory et al has occurred for now.</p>
<p>The only reason to not get a current model is if you are in dire financial straits.</p>
<p>I would go with a Windows 7 machine if they are available. I bought a Windows 8 and now 8.1 PC and it is absolutely horrible. I have yet to understand why Microsoft cannot hire people who can develop a good user experience. There are so many illogical and unnecessary functions of Windows 8/8.1 that the machine is often unworkable. If I had to do it all over again, I would either buy a Windows 7 or change to the dredge Apple products. Windows 8/8.1 is a nightmare and I am usually one of those people who loves new technology. </p>
<p>It would have to be a real old clunker(2001 era Pentium III with less than a gig of RAM) or the OP is a power user.</p>
<p>If all you’re doing is running basic office applications, taxes, and basic internet, the minimum needed to run Win 7 based IME is a Pentium 4 processor(2002 or later) with 1 GB of RAM or greater and a supported video…preferably one with aero glass capability if you want some eye candy. </p>
<p>Know dozens of such people who happily run such systems since 2009. Of course, having better processors or RAM is better, but someone with basic needs running a Pentium 4 with 1 GB of RAM will be fine. </p>
<p>To answer the question what "quad“ processor in my machine。</p>
<p>This is a Dell computer with Phenmon X4 processor(I beleive 3.4Ghz) and 4 GB memory, it should be fine running any current Windows system. It came with the Vista system, but I down graded it to an XP.</p>
<p>btw, cobrat, I still have a copy of vista on the machine in a separate drive(c:) and window xp is on the (d:) , can I just activate that drive and upgrade to 7 or 8.1 when I am able? </p>
<p>Doesn’t sound like a very responsible “computer guy”. </p>
<p>Especially considering corporations/government agencies who have security sensitive systems and haven’t upgraded yet are paying/tossing away $200/machine to Microsoft to keep them supplied with security updates for another year to maintain compliant with minimum computer security regulations in their respective fields. </p>
<p>BTW, this option’s not offered for individual consumers like you and me and is IMO a huge waste of money considering the ending of all XP support by April 8, 2014 isn’t something that was sprung as a surprise. </p>
<p>Everyone who even casually reads technology related news knew about this issue for the last 2+ years at least and responsible agencies/institutions who could already migrated away from XP as of 2011. I did the same for all my systems and most clients who were advised of this issue promptly upgraded to avoid the last minute crunch/panic. </p>
<p>Keep in mind with XP, we’re talking about an operating system which was first introduced back in 2001 and which had its last service pack sometime in 2008. No other commercial software vendor has supported their operating system/software for that long in recent history. </p>
<p>Incidentally, if Windows Vista wasn’t the flop it was in 2007-8 and the large corporate/institutional clients which serve as their bread and butter didn’t revolt, Microsoft was originally going to cut off support much sooner. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>You can use that as your main operating system PROVIDED:</p>
<ol>
<li>You immediately install all the Vista Service Packs as that’ll fix most of the serious bugs which gave Vista such a bad name and allow you to get continuing security updates from Microsoft. Be sure to check to see if your Vista installation is 32 or 64-bit as you’ll need that info when determining which service pack to download.</li>
</ol>
<p>We were told we could continue to use XP also ML…but our antivirus software vendor is NOT supporting antivirus protection any longer to XP machines. That IS an issue for us. So DH is upgrading the OS on the computer…a headache but doable.</p>
<p>If you’re not connecting it up to the internet and not using it for business related purposes, that’s doable.</p>
<p>If you are especially the later, I’d be concerned about security…especially if client confidential data is housed/used on that particular machine. </p>
<p>which antivirus, thumper?The microsoft internet essential, which I was using, is no longer supporting the xp and start to display red flags. But the AVG and Melware are still working. I am wondering when are they going to quit.</p>
<p>It took me a day to get used to the Windows 8.1 OS on a touchscreen. Now it’s no big deal - and I easily go from my work laptop back to my personal running windows 7. I wouldn’t give up so quickly. </p>