[chris b]

I have to second never using the 1st release of an OS, wait till its out for 3-6 months then get it. Are you building a machine or buying it from like dell or alienware? Dual core are the new chips, but as its been said before the second you buy something its already outdated. The problem with the dual core chips is that yes vista will support and utilize the capabilities but realistically there are not any programs that are set up to use the full power of them. Its really a waste of time. Your better off getting a P4 or an older AMD chip. If you want the best of the best right now your going to want to go with a mobo that supports PCI Express video cards, if your not doing gaming than the SLI isnt needed. I just built a semi budget gaming machine. I had a video card, but everything else I bought new for ~ $800. P4 3.6 chip, 1 gig ram, mobo (non pciE), dvdrw, 80gb SATA hd, case and 500w PS. I play some pretty decent games on there, farcry, battlefield 2, etc with no problems. I think for poker and lilstening to music its more than enough, if your doing the datamining and storing a lot of music your going to want more HD space, but other than that it would be perfect.

Maybe a little more info on to if your purchasing or building, budget and confirming that its only for Poker playing, internet, and music listening we could give you a better idea.