It is becoming clear in recent days that I need to get a new PC. Mine is just getting too slow. I'm not sure if I need to reload the OS, but if I need to go through that again I would rather get a new PC. I have a Dell XPS 400 3.2 Ghz Pentium 4 with 2 GB RAM and Windows XP Pro SP3 now. I'm not out of RAM so upgrading that won't help. My current PC was almost top of the line six years ago. I don't do video games or video editing. I do Internet browsing, email, and Microsoft Office. I do tend to keep a lot of programs open, but even with eight programs open right now I have 500 MB memory free.

What Intel processor will work for me and also get me five or six years down the road? I'm not sure sure if a Core i3 is good enough, or if I need a Core i5 instead. The Core i7 is probably more than I need. I looked at doing another Dell XPS, but the price is up there.

I figured I might get a more reasonable here than a computer forum.