OK. So I've decided to upgrade my 6yo 3GHz Pentium IV machine which just doesn't manage the new file sizes produced from my 7D. Lightroom 3.0 is just chugging along (taking a good 30sec to load an image) and using Nik software or generating HDR is not only slow, but often causes an unrecoverable error.

I have next week off to purchase the parts and put it together, there is the possibility of purchasing parts online. I've built quite a few PC's in the past so that technical are is not much of a problem.

To narrow things down a bit I'm hoping others on AP will assist on what might be required for rather quick photographic processing.

Things I won't need: Monitor, Mouse/keyboard and perhaps a DVD RW.