Computer advice -- what features do I need?

[Willow]

maxtor used to make great drives, over the years thier quality has dropped along with their warrenty.

[trilinearmipmap]

DDR vs. SDRAM -- can anyone explain the difference?

[Zerandise]

DRR = Dual Data Rate SDR = Single Data. DDR is all that is used in todays computers. SD Ram is a thing of the past.

[LostMind]

For us, the worst drives have been WD raptors. We've rma'd 14 outta 25 we've purchased. No more believing the HYPE. Total Crap but at least they have a decent warranty

Maxtor we have returned a few.

Seagate has been a very solid drive for us actually (looking thru inventory).

Samsung? Never bought one except I believe my old laptop had one and we had to replace it - might have been hitachi though, dont recall.

[Samw]

I've had unusually high failures with Western Digital drives. I think heat is the major hard drive killer (cooked bearings??) so spend some bucks on cooling your case. Maybe get a temp sensor and display.

[trilinearmipmap]

Thanks for all the advice.

Any ideas whether it is worthwhile to upgrade from Windows XP Home to Windows XP Professional?

Also any input on a video card would be good. I thought AGP video cards were the right thing but do I need AGP or is PCI OK?

[Samw]

Well, Windows XP Pro gives you ability to run IIS without hacking it. Windows XP Media Edition is the same as Pro but it gives you features for setting up a HTPC. I have found this to be very useful as an entertainment center especially for saving TV Shows. I never miss my favorite shows now since they are all saved to hard disk when I am not home. If you don't care for those features, XP Home version could be fine for you. OEM price difference between Home version and Pro/MC version is only about $40 anyways.