Best spec for non-gaming machine?

[openmind]

OK I'm getting a new comp and have spent the last few weeks catching up with the major changes in the processor world and I'm having trouble deciding whether to go down the AMD or Intel route to base my new hardware round.

I've been reading a lot that with the release of the Core2 Duo from Intel, this has kind of blasted AMD out of the water but pricing is obviously higher.

I primarily use the comp for web design and development, more code than graphics though. Typically I will have Outlook open along with 5-6 IE windows, Dreamweaver and several RDC sessions.

In the background I have constantly running ColdFusion MX, IIS, MySQL etc

The most important aspect of a comp to me is speed and the ability to handle several resource hungry applications at once. I run two TFT monitors so I don't need a fancy graphics card (just twin DVI outputs) and I use the on-board sound as I don't play music etc through the PC. I do need a minimum of 2GB RAM though...

Finally I'm not adverse to building the comp myself, I just want to make sure that the parts I get will actually work together!

Advice and opinions welcome and apologies if this sounds like a noob question, my web development skills are better than my hardware knowledge

 

[rpstewart]

Firstly lose the link before you get a ban (a quick read of the rules might not be a bad idea).

For what you're looking to do a basic Conroe system should be fine, no need to go for the Extreme Edition and a fairly cheap graphics card will be fine unless you want to splash out on a Matrox card for excellent quality 2D stuff.

Someone will no doubt be along with a spec shortly.

 

[openmind]

Firstly lose the link before you get a ban (a quick read of the rules might not be a bad idea).

Thanks for the heads up, I missed that part