[JerBear]

Find a good brand name system that has what you want, you'll get more bang for the buck. Going custom will only cost you more for less.

My experience is with HP and have used them for years without any hardware problems.

I picked up a "HP E9107C Desktop C2Q 2.33GHz 8GB 750GB DVDRW WiFi" about a year ago at "Costco" with a 27" monitor for $1,200. Comes with a 2 year guarantee, and if you pay with your A/E card they will add an extra year for a total of 3 years! I added a extra 1gig HD, extra monitor and that is all. It runs 64 bit and has been said, some plug-ins for photoshop only run in 32 bit, but like it was said, you just run the 32 bit version when you need those plugins. I think that in time the plug-ins will be updated to 64 bit compatible anyway.

The big difference between 64 and 32 bit is that 32 bit will not allow use of ram past approx 3 gig, (Some here think they can, but show no proof, don't fall for that), 64bit will and as much as you want. Highly recommend at least 8 gigs. When I run photoshop CS5 (highly recommend) and lightroom3 together, they scream fast.

Bottom line, if your loaded and money is no problem, you could build a custom system, but it will cost you compared to a off the shelf system. Warranty probably won't be as good either.

I like my system so much that I looked on Ebay and just picked up another exact system, HP E9107C Desktop C2Q 2.33GHz 8GB 750GB DVDRW WiFi, for $350! no monitor and no warranty, but it works like a charm and now I have the exact system in both of my offices.

Good luck

JM