He has really gotten into making his animations using freeware like anim8tor and has started doing his own HTML stuff (loves graphics and such and just made a page showing how to solve a Rubiks cube with animation and such). Our laptop barely suffices for this, so I told him if he would save his money that I would spring for 1/2 of a new one. We are looking to spend a total of $1K.

What do ya'll suggest to look for as I'm completely dumbfounded by it all?

Any suggestions

A few years ago I had a new PC done by a local computer shop. For less than $500 I got a 1.2GHz AMD Athlon processor/motherboard, 40mB hard drive, 256k memory, CD writer, 350 watt power supply and a decent graphics card in a nice case. They also took care of a few issues that popped up afterward on a morning to afternoon basis. That's why I like dealing locally rather than Dell or Best Buy, etc.

You should check your local shops and go to CNet for reviews and commentary on components to know what you want.

My best friend used a Mac for years. He does publishing and such for his jobs through the years, plus runs his own photography studio, and he swore by them. But he recently went to a PC due to the fact that the software he was using for the Mac was getting way to expensive to upgrade. His PC is way beyond anything I could afford. I mean, he uses a top of the line Nikon digital camera and needs all the computing power he can get to deal with his pics and magazine publications.

Believe it or not I would recommend looking at Dell. For %1,000 you can get a very nice computer, and Dell comes with a one year on site warranty. Second year is depot only.

You could always have some one knowledgeable, pick up the parts and put a good system together. Dollar wise you can save a couple $200-$300 for a comparable machine, but you loose the warranty.

Spec wise, I would look for the following:

Intel Core 2 Duo
1 to 2 Gig of memory
250 to 350 GB hard drive
A decent video card nVidia 7600 or above, ATI makes some great cards as well, but I tend to lean towards nVidia in preference.
Any system built around a current nVidia chip set, for Core 2 Duo, will be very fast. nVidia chipsets always perform at the top of the pack in any price category.

Shop with these suggestions in mind, and you will end up with a very nice machine indeed.

Joe

PS. Microsoft will not sell any more copies of Win XP after the end of the year. Vista, while newer, demands more resources from your computer, and so tends to run slower in a head to head comparison to XP. So you might want to purchase this fall and go with XP.

Buying computers like that, it has become smart to shop for the best deal at the time of purchase. It usually is either a Gateway or Dell, something like that. I used to buy my own parts and put them together, both to save money and to hand-pick my peripherals so I get exactly what I want. That approach doesn't usually save much money anymore, but it is a way to cherry-pick your parts for best performance. Running graphics, especially if you want to render 3D images by ray-tracing, you may still want to cherry pick your parts. You'll want a fast dual core processor, a lot of memory and a good graphics card. Spend your money on those options and you'll be happier.

Yes, this will be a Xmas "present" for him. So we may be able to pick up an XP unit still at that point.