Best + Most Stable Shell Replacements & OS & Other apps

davil

Ok guys I'm having trouble deciding/running on different desktop apps etc. and I would like some advice as to what to run on me pc. Most of the time I like play games like UT2004 but sometimes do a bit of video editing with adobe premiere etc.

I would like advice on OS/multiple OSes in the line of

1. Stability
2. Performance
3. Features
4. Style

Also I have been having trouble getting a good shell replacement [one that replaces
explorer.exe altogether and takes up a similar or less amount of memory]
I was using Aston 1.9 and that's exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for with a top menu but my trial ran out so I'm not sure what to do there.

Anyone wanna tell me what kindof stuff they're running to keep their machines tip top [details would be great]- OS, antivirus, firewall, whatever.

and even apps they use for tweaking, gaming, anything you find useful.

My machine is:
Asus A7N8X Deluxe
AMD AthlonXP 2600+
512MB Twinmos PC3200 [1 stick, running at 333]
120GB SEAGATE S-ATA HDD
40GB IBM IDE HDD

Windows XP Pro installed on S-ATA HDD

The kind of info I'd be looking for would be something like:

"Yeah, u should partition x way and keep a yMB parition for swap space and then dual boot 2000, linux and XP and you should install drivers and apps in this order, etc. etc."
Cos I am a bit of a software n00b and I never can seem to get it just right.

One piece of kit though I use all the time is VoptXP 7.13 - It's the fastest defragger I've ever seen and it's packed full of other great tools.

Anyway, enough rambling, Does anyone want to impart their wisdom??

davil

Oh and stuff like

Object Desktop VS StyleXP VS yzdock VS whatever
Winamp VS QCD VS Media Player classic VS whatever
Norton AV VS Mcafee VS Antivir VS whatever
Zonealarm VS Blackice Defender VS whatever

etc. etc.

Your views please