Originally posted by: Corey0808
On a side note this machine will most likely contain a database of 3000 customers.
Such a small database doesn't require any special hardware. You will be able to work with it perfectly adequately with any 1 GHz (or more) CPU, and any modern harddrive will provide adequate capacity.
You need to consider what exactly he will be doing with the PC in choosing the specifications.
If this is a typical office PC, which will be used for e-mail, web, letters, billing, and a customer/stock database, possibly expanding into web-design, or printing photos - then even the lowest-end new PC you could get today would handle the task.
If the office work includes design work (e.g. CAD, etc.) or requires work with large databases/spreadsheets (many tens of thousands of entries), or graphics work (photography, etc.) then a more powerful PC may be desirable.
There is absolutely no point getting a game card (GeForce 7900) for a business PC, unless you are going to be playing games. If you need 3D acceleration for business, it is usually for design software - and a card optimised for the task would often be a better purchase (e.g. Quadro or FireGL).
Similarly, consider the need for a dual core CPU. Is a business PC going to be used for encoding video, or rendering 3D graphics? Or is it going to be used for heavy multi-tasking? (e.g. photoshop, access, word all simultaneously). If it's only going to get occasional multitasking then why go to the expense of a dual core?
Don't forget that business computers need to work - they're tools. You don't need the latest and greatest version of windows - you just need one that works and is stable and secure. If the software they are using to start with works fine, then the chances are (unless there is a change in the business) that it will still be fine 5 years down the line.
If you are concerned about WinXP being end-of-life, then that is a reasonable concern. However, MS have traditionally offered basic support (and critical updates) for their OSs for a period of 5 years after they were made obsolete. E.g. Win98 support was terminated in 2005 (5 years after WinME and 2k came out).