I've been thinking about the "minimum" specifications for buying a new computer these days. Here's what I've come up with, but I'm hoping that others will chime in and offer their suggestions.
- Core Duo processor ... or equivalent
- 1 gig Ram
- 80 gig hard drive
- video card with 256 megs ONBOARD (not shared)
This configuration will let you run Vista with all of it's bells and whistles.
For a notebook, you also want to see if you can get something like the Centrino designation so that you'll have 4+ (hopefully 6) hours of battery life.
I'd also want a 15.5" wide format screen (ok, 17" is better, but that's more for desktop replacement than for portable). For the 15.5 screen, I like 1024x768 resolution. So if you get the wider screen, you'll want more pixels in proportion to the screen size increase.
My 19" desktop display (LCD, don't go buying a CRT!) is running 1280x1024 pixels. Visually that's pretty much the equivalent of the 1024x768 on my notebook. It's also the largest number of pixels the video driver will display at 32 bits of color ...
19" monitors are under $200 these days. For a serious upgrade on a desktop computer, go for a wide format screen say 22" wide! You'll probably have to also make sure to get a compatible video card. I've seen ads for 22" monitors that cost less than $300. They also have DVI inputs, which makes them useful as TV monitors, too.