The Ultimate PC For 2006The Ultimate PC For 2006

Odds And Ends
In the end, you're left to your own resources for keyboards and mice (Bluetooth remote, if it was up to me!), speakers, and a monitor as well. You'll probably choose an LCD display for the last, and it befits a system such as this.

One note of caution on this last choice: As with dentures, you shouldn't buy an LCD panel through the mail — at least not without an excellent return policy.

Sure, you can read about sizes (15-inch is out of vogue, 17-inch is currently mainstream, while 19-inch and larger are considered top tier), contrast ratios, brightness, and every other hardware specification, but you can't see what it looks like — and you should, up close and personal. You want to know what the range of color adjustment is, you want to see if black is really black or some attempt at blending purple and blue, you need to experience how white white can be before everything else on the screen washes out.

Those are things that can be talked about in ads and reviews ad nauseam, but the true cognitive quality of these features can only be experienced. Do yourself a favor, this one time, and go take a look.

Price Tag
We've been breaking it to you gently as we went along, but just in case math isn't your strong suit, here's what you can expect to spend for your screaming new system — and that's before you've bought a keyboard, mouse, monitor, and speakers (not to mention tax and shipping). But hey, ultimateness doesn't come cheap.

Bill O'Brien can be blamed for more than 2,000 articles on computers and technology topics. With his writing partner, Alice Hill, Bill co-authored "The Hard Edge," the longest-running (1992 to 2004) technology column penned by a techno duo. For more, go to technudge.com.