My kids have fallen prey to Spore and are experiencing lots of shutdowns due to the just-under-minimum specs of the laptop its running on (2.17 GHz vs 2.20 GHz spec). If they save more frequently there is far less trouble.
We're considering getting a new PC for them to use (and so I can get my laptop back). We're more MAC friendly than PC, so I think one of the new iMacs would suffice.
Your comments and suggestions are welcomed.

Thanks,

Scott

How is this game? I was looking at getting it before it came out but didn't hear good things, so held off. I think a lot of the complaints were about the DRM though.

My kids played it heavily for a couple of weeks, but haven't played in a while. I think my below minimum requirements laptop that keeps crashing on them has discouraged play.

Sorry I don't have a better review.

Scott

Yeah, your vague Spore score doesn't make me want to go to the store.

I'm surprised nobody here has responded to your original question. I'm not a gamer, so I don't know much about current requirements, but I would think that unless the game is demanding on the graphics side, any dual core with 3gb of memory and a decent video card would do.

I would unconditionally recommend the ATi HD48x0 series. I just got a 4850, and it's taken everything I've thrown at it at 1680x1050. Fantastic cards. I think 4 GB of RAM might be a better plan than 3 GB. Definitely go with a C2D or a C2Q.

I haven't played Spore, but as far as I know, it doesn't have huge graphics demands.

And like an idiot, I responded before re-reading the post. One of the new iMacs should be fine, but I'd really wait until Macworld to purchase that. Of course, if you don't want to wait, the top line 3.06GHz would be the best choice (mainly because of the video card; an 8800GS is a fairly large step up from a 2600XT. Which is crap.

Here's a video of my gaming rig that can handle anything you throw at it. If you click on "more info" to the right of the video, all of the components are listed.

Nice looking system, Cam, but I think you could use one more LED fan.

Scott,
What you need depends on the resolution of the monitor. I use a 22inch monitor that is 1680 X 1050. At less than this resolution your performance will depend more on the CPU and less on the strength of your graphics card. At resolutions higher than this your frame rate will be more bound to the power of the graphics card.
Without knowing more about your situation I will recommend the following: For a CPU the intel core 2 duo E8400 and for a graphics card the ATI Radeon HD4850. These will run your game at nice frame rates without overheating. There are more powerful (and more expensive) options but it sounds like you don't need them. Hope this helps.
-jason

Thanks everybody. I talked with a co-worker who apparently is a closet gamer and also builds computers. He says Spore isn't too demanding, but if the kiddies get into other games that are more demanding, and he rattled off a bunch of names that didn't sound familiar, then I would need something along the lines of Cam's setup.
So now to figure out what level to get...

Scott

Very nice looking Setup Cam.
8 Fans and a CPU cooler that looks like a turbo from a compact car! You definitely win!