i run a p4 1.8 gig..clocked to about 1985...shade over a gig of ddr memory..if you runnin xp youll be surprised how much memory it will eat...as for the processor..everybody has a preference..i happen to think pentium is more stable...but someone will surely disagree with me..comes right down to it their both very good in there own right...whatever you decide...DONT GO WEAK ON THE MEMORY!!!!...at least 512...if not more....and like the man said...without a great video card...your kickin your own butt...i run a radeon 7200.. it has 64 meg of on board ddr...im thinking of upgrading it...ive had for a while...hope some of this helped a little...BUTCHER