They're definitely not the types to build a custom set-up, so it's going to have to be something they can get from the usual Circuit City, Best Buy, etc. sort of places. I always try to suggest the AMD processors (I love mine), and I do wish they'd go with the external storage route b/c they're just so damn handy.

Thanks for the Vista info. I'm trying to avoid Vista myself for now, but maybe by the time they buy it'll have some of the bugs worked out.