I don't use AV or a software firewall and my XP system is still nice and quick. Installed AVG the other day to have a full scan anyway. Nothing found - After 9 months of being 'unprotected'.
As long as you don't visit dodgy sites, or open suspect attachments from Hippy, you're fine.
i have sony vaio laptop my other half pinched from work and thats ok, but does crash a bit. laptops are sooo cheap though. same price as an ipod now. i could probably stop the vaio from crashing but i'm a bit shit on computers, but the mac, it was flawless for years.
its funny how the new windows looks like a mac OS though innit? since mac had the icons at the bottom of the screen each new windows os has slowly moved them down too.
macs rule! until they die after 8 years or so and it costs so much to buy a new one. But windows based laptops won't last that long. I had 0 problems with my ibook till it died last year. 0. it never crashed, froze, nothing. PCs will never be that good.
i use condoms and spermicidal cream too.