I have been reading this thread and I would like to add the following information.
1) Is it fast? You could go on arguing the merits of front side bus over ram speed etc... till your blue in the face, 100Mhz over 133Mhz is irrelivant if the subsystems that support it are not well implemented. You still wont have a system to work on if you are still looking.
2) Does it have sufficient HD space? 30 Gb is not going to run out in a hurry. Even if it does adding another hard disk is not a big deal, and they are getting cheaper by the minute.
3) Will it run software that is available for the next year. Answer = probably without any problem at all, and upgrades will take it further into the future.
4) Make sure they use the largest Memory Dimm possible, ie 128Mb Dimm module. This makes sure you can add more memory should you need it.
5) Ask if they can supply a monitor, sometimes it is cheaper to purchase with the machine.
6) Coming with Office 2000 Pro is only a benefit if you need it. I have yet to meet someone who does not need to use their PC for word processing. Excel is good for expenses and other number stuff and powerpoint is good for shopping lists or company presentations. As for Access, I have yet to meet anyone who uses if for Home use.
7) As an IT manager I have been in a position to help people who want to purchase a system. Their biggest mistake has always been to become involved in the details of the system. It would be a bit like buying a car for it specs, rather that how it drives and looks.
Sure you dont buy a car alone on this spec. But then again you do not buy you dont like the look of.
8) Make sure you get some form of Backup system, whether that be a CD-Writer or Tape. If you system fails for any reason, trying to put all you data back from floppy disk is terminal.
9) Make sure you get a backup of the system on CD. If you have to restore the machine then at least you will not need to worry about where the backup of the original system is.
10) Finally make sure you calculate the cost of the system, when adding at least a printer.
I hope this is helpful and yes the AMD or the Intel processor will be fine, find something that you like and that has the biggest numbers in the spec list and cheapest price and then purchase it.
See ya