[richlevy]

Originally posted by Dagnabit
I'm thinking about building a "killer" system that won't be obsolete in two years like every other damn PC I've ever bought.

Of course I'm been a cheap bastard in the past so I got what I asked for.

But let's say I have about $2000 to put into this.

What should I really get? Including some method of backing stuff up, including some good speakers and decent 3d graphic (I play some games). Interested in ideas.

Well 2 years ago this would have been difficult, but the fact is that software has sort of "topped out" in terms of CPU power requirements. If you get a 1GHZ system with 128MB of RAM, you can handle anything except maybe high-end digital editing.

Minimum of 2 USB ports. My Compaq has two in front and one in back included with the NVIDIA card.

Include a DVD/CD player.
Include a seperate CD-R writer for backups from your hard drive, making "backup copies" of CDs, storing digital pictures.
Internet camera (the one that sits on top of your monitor).
Buy a cheap (under $99) 1/2 megapixel digital camera to play with.
At least a 17" monitor.

Stay away from Packard Bell, Hewlett Packard (I have had friends tell me service is in the bottom). Compaq is a maybe due to some financial difficulties, although I am a satisfied Compaq User. Dell might be the most expensive but has largely maintained their customer service reputation.

Any printer with dual cartridges and a dot pitch of 1440 would be good for printing images. DO NOT buy a Compaq printer. They are essentially Lexmark printers with a cute little redesign which means you can only buy Compaq printer cartridges (not available in most stores). Buy Epson, HP, or Lexmark.