qwiktrade -
I'd suggest starting with the Dell box of your choice (I've always had great results with Dell) - get their 3yr on-site service plan (you can get on-site installation too if you need it). The trade off between CPU, memory, disk speed/capacity is based on your particular needs.
Buying a 2GHz CPU and then only running enough stuff to use 10% of the CPU is a waste. You'd be better to step down on the CPU speed and use the cash to upgrade other parts of the configuration that are more important to your needs (e.g., more memory if you run some very thick apps or faster or larger disks or better monitors or an upgraded internet connection or ...).
Memory's cheap, so get a bunch - don't know if you'll actually use a gig of it though, depends on your usage pattern. Get a machine with some memory upgrade space at least though in case later you need more memory.
Chances are that you'll find yourself disk or network bound more than memory bound. So the difference between 512MB and 1GB of RAM will be negligible. If you're running memory hog apps or you've got a slow Inet connection and/or a primative or non-existant LAN, you can consider trading off the latest (and most expensive) CPU speeds for memory and/or faster/better networking.
If you plan to run a lot of high CPU demand apps though, you might want to look at a dual processor workstation (or at least one that's dual processor capable that you can add a second CPU to later if you need it). In many cases, especially some quotefeed/charting apps you can find better overall performance using slower speed dual CPUs rather than a single higher speed CPU - so you'll want to clearly understand the mix of apps you're planning on using. But in most cases, the average trader won't come anywhere near exhausting even a 750 MHz CPU.
You should be able to use the latest Matrox Gxxx card for an easy dual monitor config or two of them if you want a 3-4 monitor config.
Use W2K - forget about using W9x or Wme and personally I'd go with W2K over Wxp right now unless there's one of the handful of new features in Xp that you absolutely need.
If you go the CRT route, check out the Hitachi SuperScan's - they're better than the Sony's at high resolution and they have a smaller physical footprint.
If you want to go the LCD route, check out the CNET website and you can compare features and best prices for the various LCD panels. Lots of choices out there - compare resolution, brightness, etc. for your particular needs (i.e., no sense buying a 17" 1280x1024 panel if you're planning on running it at 1024x768 because you find the higher resolution too hard to read - also, don't go to a 1280x1024 panel and then run it with a large fonts setting - that's defeating the purpose - you might as well run at 1024x768 with small fonts and save yourself some cash). There should also be an LCD panel thread somewhere in the Hardware section on this site.
The final config will be based on your specific needs/preferences and a trade off between them. But you should be able to easily build a very slick config for a fraction of what those guys were quoting you.
