Rather than help you spend money on an OS that will give you no appreciable benefit, I have to ask, Why do you think you need to upgrade your 1.8ghz Pentium Dual Core (E2160)/ < 1 GB ram? If you are connected to the internet with a 56k modem, what could you possibly be doing with your XP system that requires you to contemplate 200 USD to upgrade the OS? My point is that if you can’t describe a reason to upgrade then you don’t need to upgrade and spend money that you don’t have.
If you upgrade, you will be required to do a clean install. You will have to reinstall all your programs and files. Unless you need the OS upgrade in order to perform productive work, you are wasting your time and money upgrading.
If you are too broke to buy a new computer, but you are willing to drop 200 USD on an OS, then you haven’t considered buying a USED computer for under 200 USD. If you live in the US then you can find systems monumentally better than what you have for less than 200 USD. In addition, you can keep your current system active until you’ve adjusted to full time use on the newly purchased computer.
What you need is a knowledgeable friend.
I am not even going to suggest which OS version would be best for you. Talk to a neighbor, call a friend, hit up the kid down the street. Whatever you do, don’t start spending money on a computer that was built in 2007 unless you can provide a compelling argument.
The processor you have is a good processor, and the motherboard supports up to 4 GB of DDR2 RAM (4 x 1GB modules), a PCI-E x16 slot for a dedicated graphics card, but only a 250 W Power Supply. For about 60-80 USD you can find 2 x 1GB DDR2 ram and and something like an Nvidia GT 620 graphics card (any card that has low power requirements and low profile bracket to fit your case). If you NEED to upgrade, you will see a world of difference with these upgrades.
I actually have exactly what you need sitting right next to me. I’d give the ram and video card to anyone who needed them for FREE! You need to find someone like me in your neighborhood. Call your friends and family and get some computer enthusiast to set you up right.
Security is my main concern & reason for doing the upgrade as in such things as bank account etc. That and browsing compatibility. My cell carriers website doesn't like IE8 nor Firefox. Other than that it doesn't matter to me.
But for now he could get the below, and transfer it to a new PC in the furure, as i did. But this OS is only 32 bit i think, and a new PC should be 64 .
Microsoft Windows 8 Pro - Upgrade Running Windows 7, Windows XP or Windows Vista? Upgrade to Windows 8 with Windows 8 Pro Once you install Windows 8, Windows 8.1 is available as a free update directly from Microsoft