Pros: Runs very smoothly with the right hardware. Interface with Aero looks very pleasing and is definitely a nice upgrade from using XP for the past couple of years.

Cons: Some issues with compatibility, but nothing for me to complain about. Installation sort of hung on the starting screen and I thought there was something wrong with my computer, but it turns out installation just took longer than I was hoping for. Vista is a system hog, as you've probably heard from many others. My memory meter reads around 33% with even 4GB of RAM, but with the right hardware configuration this OS will fly.

Overall Review: Although I wasn't as impressed with my transition from XP to Vista as I was from 98/2000 to XP, I feel Vista has the potential to have a promising future, provided Microsoft doesn't blotch anything up drivers and SP1. If you plan on upgrading to Vista/64-bit, do a bit of research with the applications you plan to run and verify your hardware configuration. I just built my new system last week and I'm running on a Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R, Core 2 Quad Q6600, 4gb Crucial Ballistix DDR2-800, and EVGA 8800GTS 320mb. I couldn't be happier.

Pros: Low Price, worked right off the bat! Performance gain from 1GB to 4GB in Santa Rosa Macbook went up noticeably. No more swap with Hard drive.

Cons: absolutely none

Overall Review: I don't know if this has to do with the RAM upgrade or what but the CPU temperatures went down after I upgraded the RAM. Fan speeds and CPU temps are both lower now :)

Pros: The mouse glides very well on my table top and there is no need for any mousepads. I also like the ability to change the responsiveness on the go. The shape of this mouse is ideal for any situation and is also extremely accurate. USB cable is very sturdy and lined with extra protection making it seem very sturdy. Adjustable weight cartridges are also a very nice thing to have.

Cons: I'm probably going to be a bit picky here...but I don't like the feel of pushing down the center scroll wheel. While using firefox and tabbed browsing I'm used to pushing down the button for closing tabs, but the button feels a bit stiff and takes a bit of extra pressure to push down compared to my previous mouse. I also don't like how there are only 3 settings for speed adjustment on the mouse...

Overall Review: Overall, a very happy buyer even with the minor cons.

Pros: Performs incredibly well even at 1920x1200. Will run very demanding games such as Oblivion and Bioshock at max settings with very good framerates and rarely ever chokes.

Cons: Prices for this card and other cards are ridiculously high, especially compared to the prices of dirty cheap and high-performing CPU's such as the E2140-Q6600. This card performs sub-par with S.T.A.L.K.E.R., but I hear most of it's issues are from Vista and 64-bit OS as it randomly crashes and exits.

Overall Review: I was initially deciding between an 8800GTS vs GTX, but I figured I'm in college and I don't have as much time for gaming. Even with a 24" LCD, I opted for the 320mb version over the 640, because I didn't want to pay an extra $100 for extra VRAM. I'm very happy with my decision. I personally don't have trouble handling texture heavy games such as Oblivion and the frame rates rarely ever go below 25-30 with 1920x1200 max everything. I see no reason why anyone should purchase the 640mb version over this. I however, plan to upgrade to the next best thing once Nvidia/ATi puts out their new flagship cards. System configuration: Core 2 Quad Q6600, 4gb (2x2gb) Crucial Ballistix DDR2-800, Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R, Vista 64-bit Home Premium

Pros: I just upgraded from my old laptop which ran a 1.6ghz Pentium M Banias and this thing totally flies. It will handle any amount of programs I throw at it and I've experienced minimal to no delay with any programs/games I've been running under this chip. Vista 64-bit is insanely fast with this chip.

Cons: Runs hot. If you plan on overclocking, I suggest purchasing a nice aftermarket heatsink such as the Tuniq Tower or Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme with good thermal paste such as arctic silver.

Overall Review: While I haven't tried pushing this chip to it's limits, upon finishing installation of windows, I went into the BIOS and changed the 266 FSB to 333 having it run at 9*333 = 3ghz, or QX6850 speeds, and it runs decently cool and very stable. I have an indicator of the Core usage on my Vista sidebar and rarely are all of the Cores used simutaneously or are stressed. I can only imagine how this chip will perform with true multithreaded applications and games... =] System configuration: Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R, Core 2 Quad Q6600, 4GB (2x2gb) Crucial Ballistix DDR2-800, EVGA 8800 GTS 320mb, Vista 64-bit Home Premium. Might I also mention that this chip is very well priced for high-end performance and if you're planning to build, now is the time! Penryn is only expected to bring slight improvements over the current Core 2 so if you need a system now, I don't see any reason to wait.