[FFXI] computer help ~> new computerFollow

ok, so i've been out of FFXI for a bit over 6 months now because my old computer crapped out on me (it was old and used 5 years ago when i got it =X) and i recently got a newer computer that is also old and used and it doesnt seem to be ANY better than my old one before it crapped out on me so i'm looking for some help in what to do:

for my new computer, i need to know a few things about FFXI because my old computer limited a lot of what i could do in game. i know the system requirements, thats easy enough to find online. but i also know the system requirements are bare minimum to play the "main" game, but not enough for other areas such as conquest/znm (large groups)/dynamis/sea/sky/weather effects/etc.

with my old computer (1.3Ghz single core, yeah, old) i was able to ~attend~ (that is go to, but not able to really do much because of how laggy it was on my computer) conquest, a few ZNMs and that was about it from my previous list. i was never able to even think about dynamis/sea/sky/weather effects without knowing it would become useless as my computer would not be able to keep up. so i'm looking for what people are able to run on their machine and still go to those types of events.

i know the game is made for single core systems, and multi cores dont really do much. i havent really been able to find any/many good deals on "cheap" computers that would be able to run the game at all, so i'm wondering what resources you all use for when you need a new computer.

i have checked newegg, craig's list, fry's, best buy and a few other little local shops, and havent found anything that would be a good "cheap" (ie in the $300 price range) for computers. i dont want to spend that much on it, because once FFXIV comes out, i plan on playing that as well, but i dont want to build a system for that until they have published the system requirements for that game. so i'm in a bit of a bind.


any advice anyone can offer for this would be fantastic as i'm missing the game and more specifically a number of old friends from the game and i really wantn to come back and try out the new content as well

anyway, thank you all for your help and advice.

Any computer with a dedicated graphics card will run 11 fine. If your wanting to be cheap get the cheapest box with dedicated card and your read to rock.

Anything you buy now is gonna blow your old system out of the water. If you dont wanna be a cheap ***, look into an i5 or i7 build.