Agreed 100%, but when you factor in that 99% of the problems with a windows PC is caused by windows, then the lower quality hardware starts to not matter. If I was building an "intel" PC for use with something other than windows (or with something that quality makes a difference, like a mission critical server), then I would advise quality parts. I also take a totally different stance when it comes to buying a "business grade" PC. My advice points are strictly geared towards the consumer level, home PC, running the latest home user version of windows. For the average joe consumer, that can't understand what right-click means... then the cost invested in higher quality parts is a waste of money in my book. The only parts that I avoid like the plague are motherboards made by PC Chips. I have found them to be highly unreliable. But even with those, almost always, the problems occur out of the box, so the problems will appear within days of buying the machine, so since it was bought local (one of my stipulations for the average joe consumer), they can take it back and usually get it worked out. Also, when it comes to MY windows PCs, I use certain brands that I have had good luck with. I pay a bit more for certain things, to eliminate some possible headaches. But I know enough to build my own (something I recommend others do if they want a windows PC... right after I tell them to buy a Macintosh). By learning how to build it themselves... then they can track down better parts, and when things go wrong, won't be so helpless to getting them fixed. It will also translate to more stable systems as they have a better idea of what to do and what not to do. (my home PC cost me next to nothing, has decent quality parts, with money spent where it matters, and is rock solid running windows ME, which is almost an amazing thing in its own right) Ok, you are right, I think most of the windows problems are due to the applications and not the actual OS. But again, to the average consumer, there is no difference between it being an OS problem and an application problem. It just isn't working. I have computers built with high quality hardware and ones with the cheapest crap I could find (including in many cases things I pulled from someone's trash). For the machines that run only windows, and MS applications... I have seen no noticable difference in stability. And actually, I find MS applications to be one of the LARGER offenders of crashing windows. It is not unusual for me to see MS Office being the only app installed on one of my Windows boxes, and see it crash all by itself. I have also had many problems with exchange crashing right after a default install... and problems with other MS software screwing up windows. I just chalk that up to painful irony (but at least you can't say MS is withholding info so that other apps crash, forcing everyone to use MS apps as the only stable apps... since theirs are just as, or more so, unstable than many 3rd party apps). I have found an amazing number of these cheap unlabeled mobos to be tracked back to PC Chips. I think at my last count, they were selling under something like 16 different names. And all of them were the same, crappy ass motherboard. I personally have found ASUS to be decent for the price, and so far have had fairly good luck with them (now that I said it, they are all going to blow up tomorrow... I just know it!). Alas, crappy MBs are a risk in cheap PCs... but at least in my experience, all the bad cheap ones I have dealt with, died very early on... so again, it is something that can get ironed out with the dealer. I think my point boils down to this: if you are going to buy a Windows PC, you are in for a long run of headaches and problems. So do you want them to be $2000 headaches, or $500 headaches? -chris <http://www.mythtech.net>