My only reccomendation is that if you get a new machine do not get a celeron. You can get an Athlon XP processor for very competitive prices that outperform Pentium 4's clocked at even a higher speed. (On most applications.)
Try to get a 7200 rpm drive.
If your machine comes with XP make sure you get at least 256 mb ram and you'll be ok. If you can get more go for it.
Stick with those specs and you can build your own computer for a very good price or go with a name brand for more reliability than the "budget" pc.
