Well, if you want the biggest bang for your buck, go AMD. I have built several AMD units, and they are the most cost effective and very fast. That's why most geeks are fanatical AMD fans. And many of the CPUs are overclock-able, so for the same money and a few minutes of tweaking you get an even faster CPU that runs at the same temperature!
I built two AMD units for two graphic arts majors, and they run Photoshop CS, Illustrator, Quark Express etc. Sometimes they will have Illustrator and Quark Express open at the same times and flip back & forth between with literally no waiting. That's fast, man!
Here's a case I use that really wows 'em- the
Aspire X-Dreamer II. If you follow Newegg, occasionally they put it on sale for a bargain. It's every bit as good as it looks, and I really like the front digital CPU temp readout.
If you are willing to spend around $500-600 for the computer alone, I should be able to put you into something really hot. But only if you want AMD - Intel platform is going to cost you more.
BTW - if you want a good CRT monitor, there is a used monitor site that I have bought two 21" Sun Microsystems monitors from for approx. $270 each; view only "grade A" monitors, not "grade B". Remember, these are used, not new. Most of them come off company leased units, but the two I purchase do not have one mark on them, and after 3 years are still going strong. I am really spoiled now, a 19" looks SOOOO small.
HERE'S the link.
Now remember, the newest and most expensive are the new 64 bit processors from AMD; I am talking about the regular 32 bit procs. Until Longhorn is released and software companies come out with their 64 bit apps, you aren't going to get the full benefit of 64 bit processing, and that seems a waste of money to me.