u don't need to purchase a copy of windows 7 there are a more "cheap" way ^^

Also running STO on a MacBook Pro via bootcamp.

Great advice in this thread so far, hope my additions are helpful.

Regarding a copy of Windows;
As darramouss1 mentioned you may be able to reuse the copy of Windows from your old machine. But depending on the version of Windows and the PC manufacturer it may not be possible reuse your licence key.

jim940's OEM suggestion is an option to save money, if you have no plans on moving the copy to another machine you should be fine.

Another option you may wish to consider is using the Windows 8 Release Preview (Wikipedia Link) which is currently free to download from the Microsoft website. Keep in mind though that this is beta/preview software and it may not have the stability* of a final release.

Windows 8 is due for release in late October, and its been suggested its pricing will be cheaper than Windows 7 was at release. Regardless, it may be a good idea to wait 'til nearer that time as retailers will likely reduce their prices on Windows 7.

Partition Size
I'll second darramouss1 in making sure you create a healthy sized partition to run Windows on, as its not possible/very risky to change its size later. I'd personally say 50GB minimum (20gb Windows, 10gb STO, 20gb free space for updates/swap file/etc.)

Security Software
My personal favourites and recommendations are; Microsoft Security Essentials for free, or Kaspersky Internet Security as a paid solution. Kaspersky also make security software for Mac OS X, and their Kaspersky ONE product allows you to get both Windows and OS X versions for a good price.


* Stability is a relative term.

Good suggestion, Jim. Got the latest nVidia drivers and am now running at full res. Thank you!!

I'm glad to have helped.

See Apple's limited options hardware wise, made it easy for them to bundle the dozen or so drivers you need, and make sure they will work for the hardware. And the MacOS updates automatically push the newest drivers onto you. Which is why there are less complaints about that kind of thing on Macs.

Microsoft Window's machines have a ton of basic drivers to atleast get your system running, but the latest drivers from the actual manufacturer is always best. As Window's does not actually update your drivers for you. Its a bit of a pain, but we must live with it.

Jim

Thanks again for all the feedback guys. You've been a real help. I'll take a look at all these options and see what is better for me. Any other feedback you guys may have is welcome.

Dude, never go through a "Storefront" Perfect Example, Here in Australia:
Retravision in this town sell Windows 7 Home Premieum, for $350
PC Case Gear (Melbourne Company) Sell the SAME THING for $95
Point is, if you buy it legit, you can find it cheaper than most stores if you know where to look.

And as for needing a USB of it, that's easy. Go to a friends house who has a PC. install Win2Flash on his PC.
Put your Flash Drive in, and your Win Disc, it will then convert the Disc into a Bootable Flash Drive.