Newegg.com and maybe mwave.com -
newegg.com has good prices on computers. Some of the lesser known brands have quality mobos/processors/memory. Just make sure you read about the components and also read the reviews. Excellent customer service there too.

The only time I've used mwave was when I wanted a custom machine - I've picked out my parts and had them build it. The last couple times I did this they didn't have a part in stock - in both cases they upgraded at no cost to me. (One time it was a case and the other time it was a video card.)

I don't know jack about the dual monitor thing. Every time I've been around that setup it's um already been set-up.

Do I need to buy XP Pro with the 64-bit support if I buy a 64-bit AMD CPU?

No. You can run either version (the regular or the x64) of XP. In fact you will probably want to avoid the x64 version unless you really like spending time tweaking windows, because it requires all new drivers and many software apps do not work on it yet. And the performance benefit of running in 64 bit mode is very small unless you are using native 64 bit apps and have a special circumstances (like very large numerical computations or apps that use gigantic amounts of memory.) Remember that these 64 bit CPUs were most definitely designed to run most of the time in 32 bit mode because that is what the vast majority of Windows software out there is at the moment, so they are extremely optimized for this task.

The dual monitor card has two monitor inputs, so you just buy the one card.

Permit me to disagree respectfully with Rhomboid on the utility of the 64 bit versions of Windows being something to avoid, if you are building a new box with 64-bit clean hardware. Storport, (the new disk management architecture replacing the antiquated SCSIport/miniport driver of 32 bit Windows) alone is worth quite a performance boost for top line hardware, especially RAID disk arrays. WoW64 (Windows 32 bit compatibility layer on 64 bit Windows) works smoothly with 32 bit apps, with no detectable lag. And driver support is pretty decent from most mainline vendors, since Windows 2003 server O/S compatibility (also 64 bit and Storport) is important for most mainline makers of chipsets, motherboards, and peripherals. Research, but I think if you look, you will find drivers readily for most hardware.

Most PCI-E mid-line video cards and better can support dual monitors. There is plenty of bandwidth on a x16 PCI-E lane to support 2x high res monitors in 2D business applications, and you can easily verify this with Nvidia and ATI tech sheets for products you may be evaluating.

What paulsc said, with the following addendum:

Decide if you want a realtime 3D gaming machine or a 2D productivity machine.

Some of the advanced GPU (3D accelerator) cards out there have really, really awful support for 2D office applications, especially in dual-display-one-card machines.

Both Nvidia and ATI make *specific* GPUs for gaming or business apps (Like, say, Autocad).

The vast majority of the advertised cards are for gaming. Only one or two or a few in each line are Autocad certified.

Granted, chances are if you're just running standard Windows productivity apps you shouldn't have much of a problem with any decent card, but just be aware that "K-rad awesome mega gaming GPU video card!" doesn't automagically equate to faster video throughput in all applications - the 3D gaming stuff has long been very specialized and dedicated towards pushing higher and higher frame rates in simulated 3D environment, and uses much different methods than GPUs tuned for CAD or other complex 2D applications.


Also, if you're not going to do any high end gaming at all, I've achieved very satisfactory dual-display machines for business-like productivity with as little as a pair of very generic 32 meg PCI video cards, rather than trying to go for the pricier single-card AGP, PCI-X, SLI or whatever routes. Pick up a pair of generic (but well supported) 128 or 256 meg cards and you might even be better off financially and performance-wise for dealing with Windows apps.

(Yeah, you just install two (or more) PCI video cards in any motherboard younger than about 5-8 years old, and if your drivers are good and you're running Windows 2000 or XP it automagically detects and configures them, though you may need to go assign your cards to the monitors in the standard display properties dialog, which is an easy point/click/drag operation.)

Definitely a 2D productivity machine. I don't do any gaming at all.

I'm still a little confused about the 64-bit issue. But it doesn't sound like I'm doing anything demanding enough to need it.

Any recommendations for an online retailer? I'm leery of buying a Dell or HP, but the other options seem to consist mostly of gaming-focused custom builders, like Cyberpower.

I ran dual monitors for years, first with onboard video and a second card, then with two PCI video cards, then with a dual-head card, then a dual-head motherboard, then a dual-head card again. These days, though, I've got a single huge Dell monitor, and, honestly, I think I like it better. Much nicer for watching movies and playing emulated games, certainly. And what did I learn from all this?

Mostly what everybody else said (well, actually, Rhomboid and paulsc's discussion about 64-bit is mostly over my head, but what everybody else said). Also, Matrox makes excellent dual- and tri-head video cards that aren't aimed at gamers. And newegg, mwave and directron have all given me excellent online experiences.

Thanks for the replies y'all.