I run both XP and Win 7. Someday, someone's going to have to point out to me exactly why Win 7 is objectively a "better" operating system than XP. I'm aware there are probably features in 7 that are not in XP, but there are also features in every version of Office since mine (2000/2003) but I don't use them.

I've found nothing so far that I can do in Win 7 that I can't do, or can do only with great difficulty, in XP.

Of course, the proviso is it would have to be something I actually do; my car can't do 0-60 in 4.2 seconds, haul freight, or take corners at 90 mph, but since I don't actually do any of those things, I don't care.

A dual core laptop with 2-4 Gb of memory and a 80-150 Gb HDD will go for about $100 on craigslist all day long. That's about what I sell mine for and I have no shortage of customers.

I've sung the song before, so here goes again: don't fall into the trap of thinking that what you need in a computer and what you do with it is the norm and everybody is the same. For web browsing, email, document creation/spreadsheets for personal use, facebook foolery, etc., the above-mentioned computer is more than adequate.