First of all;
Please ignore all the talk about waiting. Yes, you could wait for Win7. Then you should wait for the next generation graphics cards. Then you should probably wait for the next generation CPUs. Then you should probably wait for SSDs to get to a decent price level. Then you should wait for hell to freeze over 'cause that'll not be far off either. Did you wait for Easter and pentecoste to fall on the same day yet?
In computerland there's always something new right around the corner. My advise is to buy exactly when you need it (or preferably a day before so you've got time to install
) as that's usually when the best stuff is available for the best price.
As for what to get:
OS: Get Vista or Win7 Release Candidate. Even with all the complaining, Vista is a decent OS and the only 64bit OS you can currently run any kind of decent on an average PC. (If you wanna be Braque then get a Mac. If you wanna be anyone else, don't
) I could advise you to get Linux but I won't as I don't think it's any good for an average consumer at the moment.
Memory: Get 4GB. It's useful! Play WoW windowed and open a host of other windows without it hurting WoW performance. To be honest; you only really need 2GB but memory is so dirt cheap I would spend the extra €20 and get 4GB. Do get 2*2GB strips though so you'll have room to expand later.
CPU: Don't really have a preference here. I generally tend to go for Intel Core2Duo or Core2Quad so I can keep systems exchangeable with eachother. AMD has some nice offers though. At the moment the Intel Core i7 is a bit over the top IMHO.
Graphics: I'm quite partial to the ATi line of graphics cards at the moment. Especially since most nVidia cards around are just relabeled cards from 2 years back and the naming scheme is really confusing. ATi 4770/4830/4850 are very nicely priced at the moment and good bang for the buck.
In total you should be able to get some very decent stuff for about €500. If you really want to spend more then my choices would be:
- 2 monitors. It works so damn nice! I'm using 2*20" but at the moment 2*24" is quite affordable
- SSD. Why? Ask Joys. I'm running off an SSD on my notebook at the moment and suddenly the storage isn't the bottleneck anymore. The notebook is still crap but less then it was before
- Decent keyboard/mouse set. It'll save you your health and pains all over the place. A decent set can cost anything up to about €150 though. My mouse alone cost me €90 when I first bought it.
In any case: Try not to overspend. I know you have 1k available but you'd probably rather spend 500 now and 500 later and have the same experience for a longer time.
