I'm running W2000 and crashes now are so rare that I forgot they still existed ;) Faster or slower? There is no differense that I can notice. I probably could if I used an test applicatin but I can't otherwise. I prefere the stability over maybe a couple of percent speed increase. I have stayed away from XP as i can't se what it adds to the usability of an OS compared to W2000. Not when it concerns size, speed, functionality or stability. To me it's like a car with for weel steering..who needs it.. Also keep in mind that big HDs kan be a problem on older systems and they might not use your RAM the best way either.