Crap, am I the only one here that prefers Intel to AMD? Everyone is right when they tell you to steer clear of the Celeron though. Especially if you are planning on doing ANY gaming or running multiple applications at the same time. The Celeron is essentially a crippled Pentium. If you want Intel, then definitely spend the extra money on the P4.
For comparison: I have a large-format printer. When printing an image approx. 2' x 3', my old P4-based 2ghz Celeron w/ 1.5 gig memory would take around 4 hours to RIP and print the image. My P4 640 @ 3.2ghz w/ 1 gig memory does the same job in about 20 minutes.
I would say if you lean more towards gaming, then consider the AMDs. If you lean more towards data-intensive applications, then lean towards Intel. Which ever way you do end up going, buy the most powerful, highest model processor you can afford. This will help you to delay that future upgrade a little.
As far as where to buy, I would tend to steer clear of tigerdirect. They charge a REDICULOUS amount for shipping, and their prices aren't all that great. Newegg and ZipZoomFly have better prices and better shipping. If you know specifically what you're looking for, then check
Price Grabber for the best prices.
