Macs can be expensive, but it's all a matter of comparing reliability, power/capabilities, etc.

I've seen many comparison where someone builds a PC to the exact same specs as a Mac, and it can be over $1000 cheaper. That's what originally put me off, even if those comparisons are incredibly bias and don't take a lot of things into account.

Though, to some degree, I do believe when buying a Mac or other Apple product you're paying extra for the Apple Logo.

Hey ducky, how old is your computer?

I'd say around 2 years now, though my GPU and PSU are only a couple of months old.

That blows my theory out of the water then. I was going to assume it's the south bridge. It sounded like an audio/media card issue. It sounds like it could be any number of things. I would check the cpu temperature and pay attention to the ram usage. If neither of those, might trying defrag and hard drive optimizations. But "hickups" are a bit vague, and I don't know what your system specs are.

(>>>Arsis_von_Neaera<<< IT Tech student)

I have looked at the RAM usage, and there seems to be no correlation between that an the stutters. I've also done a Defrag, and updated all the drivers I could.

specs wise, I'm not 100% sure of everything:

Windows Home Edition 64-Bit
Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU 650 @3.20GHz
Asus 1GB HD 6770
6GB or RAM
1TB WD Black HDD
800w PSU

and that's about all i can come up with off the top of my head.

Your PC should NOT be "hickuping". You have relatively healthy specs, even for running the latest OS's. It's easier to determine if it's software issues, which it could be. I would do a deep full clean with anti-virus and anti-spyware programs, multiple programs, if at all possible. It could also be registry error based, in which case, I would recommend a registry cleaner (there aren't many free ones, you might need to pirate one, tis what I did). I would also suggest a program that I use called ashampoo; it's designed specifically for optimizing windows os's and is very awesome.

Yesterday, after one of the hiccups, my display driver failed. It was the firs time it had happened, but I can only assume it's related.

I have a couple of anti-virus and Anti-spyware programs i run daily, but I can look into getting a few others.

I'm not 100% on how to help. If your display driver failed, it could be because you have a hardware failure (meaning, you need a new graphics card or motherboard). It could mean that somehow the driver just got corrupted, but that would require malfunctioning software, which could be a result of virus or spyware. Tough for me to say without being able to play with it. There are diagnosing programs out there designed to tell you if all your hardware is functioning. I could link you some, if your interested.

One of those programs would certainly be helpful. I have a feeling is probably related to the Graphics card, since the card had some issues right from the beginning. The issues did iron out, and weren't what I'm having now, but I can help but think it's connected.

I use a program called "LookInMyPC" which I received from a pirate buddy. I believe its free software, but it also provides a tremendous amount more information than you may be ready to deal with. It's a pretty awesome tool that does a full system read out and shows you all hardware components and drivers as well as a plethora of wonderful software information. However, you should be able to use it to fully diagnose the functionality of your graphics card. If not, there are other programs you can use, but I'll have to dig them out from the cackles of the interwebs.

Okay, I'm generating a full report with it right now. It all ready look scary and well beyond my knowledge Dx

PC please

I prefer my PC. It's not because of the advantages and disadvantages though. All my life I've had a PC and in the past I tried a Mac. The Mac is too different than the PC. I guess you could say I don't like change.

My Mac has lasted for 2 years this coming March. And It's doing great. Most of my friends are happy if their laptops make it to one or two years.