That price is at the high end of where I wanted to be. I think 4 is largest I've seen around that price point, or at all for that matter. 'Course, I haven't really been lookin' closely at units $600+ 4 is about all you'll see on the market until 7 is completely out there, since XP only recognizes 3 GB. I just picked up a rehabbed machine that supports 8 GB. Once I have 7 on it, I plan to max that out. How's that processor? Solid? Dual core's are faster, correct? Dual Core is plenty for what you want to do. You can go to a quad, but I don't think that there are any applications out there for the average user that are written to utilize the quads capabilities. Roger on the former..... Never got much into gaming. Also for pictures, music, vid storage, etc I always recommend an external HD for pics, vids & music. Even with a 1/2 TB drive, it take up tons of space. Plus, laptops are more prone to catastrophic losses, and you don't want unreplacable pics or your tons of mp3 lost. Just MHO. Thanx It would sure be a lot easier without all the family/kids/sports stuff to juggle with it With ya there! Trying to decide how I manage my bachelor's program next year being a single dad.