Hmm, lemme see what i can do, im going to give you an outline for a good PC for recording, at a good price.
The best way to look at it is to look down a list of say, amd XP CPU prices, and look at the top of the line one, then the next step down, and look at the price increments it drops in, and keep looking down the list. The first few drops will be significant, and then the price difference will start to become minimal. So you pick the Cpu in the middle, where the one below it is not much cheaper, but the one above it is quite a bit more (dont get top of the line, you pay and arm and a leg for "state of the art technology" but it may only be the difference of 100-200mhz, which you wont notice).
CPU - So i'd Get a new AMD XP CPU, i dunno exactly what the fastest one is out, but try the outline i gave you above and find the one that suits you.
Soundcard - If you browse through these forums for a bit, do a couple searches, you'll find a ton of good cards, and you'll get really confused. Basically you have to find out exactly what you want, and then it gets a lot easier. Depending on how much you want to spend, how many inputs/outputs you want, etc... But i really like the Midiman Delta cards, the 44 has 4 ins/outs, the 1010 has 8 ins/outs. The echo layla, delta 1010, rme multiface, ardvark q10, protools digi 001, uhh.. theres more i don't remember off hand.
Ram - Well, just get the fastest ram possible, for the AMD get ddr ram, i think you can get pc3100, or 2700 or something like that, whatever is fastest. I would get at LEAST 512 megs, a GIG would be nice.
Speakers - for recording, you want to stay as far away from regular computer speakers as possible. You need monitors, and probably a couple pairs of headphones. Sennheiser, akg, they make pretty decent cans, and you can get some cheap ones for tracking. And for monitors, it really depends on your budget, but, i would stay with ACTIVE monitors if i were you. They have built in amplifiers, so you don't need to buy an amp. The yorkville ysmip's are about 800 Canadian, the event 20/20 BAS are about 1400, and the mackie HR824's are about 2600. All excellent monitors, but you also have other choices, you really have to go and listen to them all, and let your ears pick.
video card - You can get a nice geforce 4, and have awesome graphics acceleration, but if its an audio computer you don't need that eh? ATI has much better 2d display than geforce. So for regular windows use, text, web browsing, etc.. is all a lot more sharp and clear. So i'd get an ATI card with Dual display, i don't know the model off hand.
hard drive - you can go for a nice fast scuzzy drive, scsi, but i wouldn't, i think its way too expensive. You can get a couple of 80 or 100 gig drives, 7200rpms, for cheap. an 18 gig scsi drive might cost you more than both drives.
brand name - don't even go there! All those prebuilt computers should be avoided. You want your computer built custom, with all the components you want, you can usually get one built for a lot cheaper but other computer companies. In vancouver canada, near where i live,
www.atic.ca has a good prices. Check around your locals stores, and some online stores, and check
www.pricewatch.com, or newegg.com. If you can get a good price at dell, custom built with every component you want, then go for it, but be weary of some of those other companies (compaq, ibm, i'd avoid them like the plague).
operating system - I wouldn't make that call unless i knew the exact sound card you have. But im using xp right now and its quite good and stable, i like it more than 98, i have less problems. But i hear win 2k is also very stable and good for audio. Just check the card your looking into, and their driver support.
monitor - Flat screen lcd displays are nice, but not in your budget, and very expensive. The larger displays give off some high frequency noises , and if your recording in the same room as your computer, its always a good idea to turn your monitor off, but, i hear this isn't an issue with the flat screen lcds. I'd get a 19inch if i could, lots of space to see what your doing. Viewsonic makes excellent monitors at a good price.
If you follow my guide, basically common sense i guess, don't get top of the line, but don't settle for crap, and you can have a very good system for 1400 US easy. You might beable to do it for 1400 canadian but you'd have to be more budget minded. Oh, and the good sound card could cost damn near as much as your computer, and the same with studio monitors, i usually consider them to be outside of the computer. If you can't afford decent studio monitors, save a little long and maybe get some cheaper ones, like some studiophiles or something like that. And for the soundcard, if you can't afford one of the good recording cards, an maudio audiophile is decent and fairly cheap. It has a stereo mic input (use a splitter to get 2 inputs) you could only track 2 tracks at once, but its a lot better quality than a sblive. Anything about that your looking at minimum 400 Canadian for a sound card...
hmm, well, thats not very well composed, and a bit of a mess, but theres info in there.
