Computers
I built my last two systems from components (I posted the story of the most recent one here.) Unfortunately, things change at such a rate that almost all the research I did back then is now pretty much useless. I have to start from scratch each time. I haven't even looked into dual-processor chips, 64 bit systems, or any other new crap that's out there.
Not even sure if Intel is the baseline for me any more.
You seem to have some pretty good specs in mind. Remember my rule for picking out hardware:
1) Find out where the cutting edge is.
2) Go back one step from that.
This generally results in a good balance of performance versus not having to deal with the bugs inherent in new tech.