I'm the one with the Dell Dimension E310 I bought four years ago. I just checked, and it has 504 MB of RAM, and a 465GB HD. I'm confused as to why it has SO much less RAM than the computers built nowadays, but in some cases, MORE HD capacity!

I just checked a Wal-Mart site and wrote down the info on several computers to compare them. I wouldn't know one processor from another, so that will have to be research all on its own, but I can easily compare HD and RAM sizes. Right now that guy's recommendation at Staples is looking right-on as far as a good deal goes! The only other thing that catches my eye (in the affordability range) is an HP S6120F-E running Vista but with an auto-upgrade to W7, with 8 GB RAM and a 750GB HD. IT's $578. Any idea which is the better buy? The Compaq has a AMD Athlon II x 2 215 Dual-Core 2.7 GHz processor and the HP is running an Intel Pentium E6300, if that matters.