1. XP or Vista? If Vista, what flavor?
If that is what you are limiting yourself to, hands down...XP. Vista is just not ready for prime time, the EULA is a nightmare, and many applications just cough up hairballs on it.
2 Processor. Single, Core 2, Quad? What speed?
Depends on your intended usage. Since you mentioned Media Center, I’ll use that. Core 2 Extreme. Best all around processor on the market today.
3. Hard drive. Size? Two on board or just one? Portable back up?
I always prefer two hard drives in a mirrored array. This provides complete backup of all of your data, programs, settings without a performance hit. You’ll need to specify that in your order, or buy software after the fact.
4. Graphics Card? I’m more of a Civilization-type/Strategy gamer than anything else. I don’t need bleeding edge graphics but would like room for growth.
Graphic cards have come a long way in the last several years. What you buy depends a lot on the manufacturer of your machine and/or motherboard. No matter what you wind up with, you’ll want a graphics card that has it’s own GPU on board.
5. Networking. Probably will use the new machine as the hub of network and use the old one as a kids machine. I’m inclined to worry about this later, so all I really want are expansion slots and (I’m guessing) some kind of network card.
I’m old fashioned and security consciences (hey, I still use NetBEUI internally LOL). So, for me, any backwards compatible 10/100/1000 card will do. I haven’t noticed any functional differences in the lot of them.
6. Monitor. The 19” flat panel seems like a good trade between cost and screen size. Thoughts?
19” is the largest I’d go. To be honest, even at 19”, I find myself physically turning my head left and right to see everything. I much prefer two or three 17” flat screens to work with.
7. All in one. HP is offering All-in-one printer/copier/scanner/fax machines for $100-$200. Does anyone have any notable experiences with these?
I have grown away from mainstream HP Printer products in the last few years. They just don’t seem to last as long. Their commercial stuff is still up there, but consumer level has dropped in quality. I prefer Brother or even Lexmark.
8. Data transfer? HP pushes a Belkin transfer cable. Is this anything more than a USB cable? Or should I just set up a network and deal with data transfer that way?
If you’re staying with windows, just configure your network, prepare the files and settings you want to migrate, and use the transfer wizard. It does work well and it’s simple.
I can’t be more strong in my caution of Vista. That’s all I have to say. LOL
Good luck! :O)
Jeff did mention something I forgot. Networkable printer. What a Godsend.
Although I do like wireless, and I use a Brother 665CW for that. Don’t forget, printers can be “shared” also across your network, so it’s not mandatory to get a networkable one. It’s nice to have because you can print, scan, copy, etc. to/from it even if the other machines are off.
Curious why you pick Core 2 Duo Extreme over Quad?