[HAL]

The good news is Windows 8, once you get use to the new interface, sounds very good. 

Running the full version on a PC now and trying out different USB DAC drivers.  So far works well with even the older drivers in compatibility mode.

The Desktop is pretty simple once you find the new locations of the tools. 

There is also apps supposedly available to bring back the Start button that I am researching.

Looking at the HTC-8X Windows 8 phone today to see how well IE10 runs as a browser.   Should be interesting as a remote control.  Possibly more compatible that Google Chrome.     

[Don_S]

A big thank you to everyone who offered help.  I just ordered this from HP for my birthday.  Barely under $800 delivered including tax.  It is not the fastest machine out there but considerably better than what the local stores were stocking. And way the heck better than the specs on my XP.  The only items I upgraded were the power supply (300W was standard) and the LAN card.

HP Pavilion HPE h8-1360t Desktop PC
• Windows 7 Home Premium 64
• 3rd Generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3770 quad-core processor [3.4GHz, 8MB Shared Cache]
• 8GB DDR3-1333MHz SDRAM [2 DIMMs]
• 1TB 7200 rpm SATA hard drive
• No secondary hard drive
• 1GB DDR3 AMD Radeon HD 7570 [HDMI, DVI, VGA via adapter]
• 460W Power supply
• SuperMulti DVD Burner
• Premium Wireless-N LAN card and Bluetooth(R )(2x2)
• 15-in-1 memory card reader, 2 USB 2.0 (front), 2 USB 3.0 (top)
• Microsoft(R) Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word & Excel w/ ads. No PowerPoint or Outlook
• No additional security software
• No TV Tuner
• Beats Audio (tm) -- integrated studio quality sound
• Premium HP keyboard and optical mouse
• Adobe Premiere Elements & Photoshop Elements 10