upgrade destop or revive laptop?

[astromech_kuhns]

so, i bought my first car, and i was ready to invest in a nice gaming rig

then my car blew a head gasket. so it will be a bit before i can build my computer i want. so i have two options and want to know opinions as well as some info.

i am currently running XP on a dell with only 512MB of RAM and a 2.8 GHZ processor. i have a laptop and its hard drive failed. it has 1.5GHZ and 2 GB of RAM.

i can either spend $60-$70 on 2 GB of RAM for my desktop, or i can spend about $60 on a new HD for my laptop.

if i buy a new HD i will revive my laptop and have a slow running desktop in which i can use as a file server or something to back up our other computers onto using samba, or i can use it for testing grounds for many things.

i have a re-installation disc of XP for both my laptop and my desktop. so i can either upgrade the desktop or can revive the laptop and put xp back on it.

what i would like to do, is whatever machine put money into, put windows 7 onto it. with either one if for some reason 7 wont work, i have a re-installation for xp like i said. although it should work under either of them.

i have found compatible RAM for my desktop thats not a problem, the laptop HD is what im having troubles with.

my laptop is the gateway 4540GZ and it used the HD: 101971 - 80-GB Hitachi 4200-RPM Hard Drive

http://support.gateway.com/s/Mobile/Gateway/4536GZ/101971/101971mv.shtml

will this HD from newegg work with it? the interface is what im having problems with, gateway has it worded weird i think.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=22-136-129&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Keywords=%28keywords%29&Page=2#scrollFullInfo
also, would this laptop be able to run the 5400 RPM of the new HD vs the 4200 RPM of the original?

so, what route should i take to hold off till i can build my actual computer, and will the HD on newegg be compatible with my notebook even? also, what does the bare drive part refer to?

Thank you!!

[fabianhjr]

Revive the laptop and install a FOSS *NIX into both.
Some links:
http://ubuntu.com
http://www.linuxmint.com/
http://www.opensuse.org/
-Search for more!

[insomaniacal]

I'd say the laptop. Especially if it's dual core processor, it makes a world of difference. Personally, I would stick with Windows XP, as there isn't much you can do that's new on Windows 7 (I think that DirectX 10 (Or is it 11?) needs a system newer than WinXP, but most D10 games will work just fine with D9 as well.) Not to mention, the laptop is portable, you can't exactly take a desktop to a week away on the beach, but a laptop fits snugly into a backpack.

If you want to squeeze performance out of it, then yes, Linux is the way to go, especially if you were to turn the desktop into a server. Install something as barebones as possible, and if you're feeling up to it, compile your own kernel with as many features as possible stripped from it.

[MimoMarim]

Having two functional machines is better imo... So go for the new hard drive.
512Mb on the desktop will be more than enough if you install a light Linux distribution.

[astromech_kuhns]

Revive the laptop and install a FOSS *NIX into both.
Some links:
http://ubuntu.com
http://www.linuxmint.com/
http://www.opensuse.org/
-Search for more!

Very familiar with linux. was using it for a long while on the desktop, but its to the point where anyone of them with functionality is slow.

i had a installation party yesterday, and i put my xp back onto my 80GB and debian onto my 40GB.

so, here is how i feel, it would be better to have two computers, that i agree with. but, if i revive the latop, it is a tad old. fast, and as far as performance goes, good, but im afraid the case might be a bit worn, granted, i wont try to be going to long with either, but i have to get $1500 for my car first...

but if i upgrade the destop, who knows how long till my HD in it gives out. under linux they still say healthy, but for how long, there old as well. there not under as much heat though either as much heat though either...

so im leaning towards the laptop, cause like i said, this is until i get my gaming rig built, its not permanent, but will that HD work in my computer?

EDIT: on the XP vs 7 thing, i agree, i reinstalled xp like i said, and...... honestly, 7 doesnt feel much better, i actually think i prefer xp. obvously when i build my gaming rig, it will be nice to have 7 for the Direct x 11 but i wont be gaming on either of these. these machines are for everyday computing to gaming will come in once i build my machine.

[fabianhjr]

Well, I will ask you. How much does a Win7 license costs?
Check this db and if all your games fall under platinum or golden then just go Linux:
http://appdb.winehq.org/

[astromech_kuhns]

im not running games on the current system. i will game on the one i build.

EDIT: still need to know if the hard drive will run on my laptop.

[Draymire]

From those links you posted and some quick googling i can't see any reason why that hard drive wouldn't work in your laptop.
As long as the drive that you get isn't DOA like a lot of the reviews seem to suggest.

[insomaniacal]

Well, I will ask you. How much does a Win7 license costs?
Check this db and if all your games fall under platinum or golden then just go Linux:
http://appdb.winehq.org/

This still depends heavily on your hardware. Make sure your video card (especially), has good support in Linux if you plan to use WINE to emulate any games that you really would rather keep playing.

[fashizzlepop]

Well, I will ask you. How much does a Win7 license costs?
Check this db and if all your games fall under platinum or golden then just go Linux:
http://appdb.winehq.org/

This still depends heavily on your hardware. Make sure your video card (especially), has good support in Linux if you plan to use WINE to emulate any games that you really would rather keep playing.

He's noted numerous times he doesn't give a rip about gaming right now...

Have you considered just buying an external (USB) HD? You could just boot from USB all the time and you could probably get a good amount of storage for the money. Make sure you mobo supports USB booting first though... xD