Buying a new computer... computer specifications opinions/thoughts needed

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This week I'm starting a computer science/software development degree at uni. After making a few phone calls the past couple of weeks in regards to getting my current pc upgraded (purcahsed January 2004) with some more ram (currently at 224mb), and possible larger harddrive, most people didn't really want to touch it. Others litterally just said buy a new one. I did manage to get one quote although he heavily suggested also just buying a new one. Today I spent a bit of time going to different shops to price desktop pcs. I have a low end laptop for the basics and portability, so am absolutely wanting a desktop. However, found myself walking away a little dumbfounded as to what to get, what I really need, knowing very little about todays processors, sound cards or video cards. The following list is things I want my pc to be able to handle/do with very little hassle. I'm looking for something that will last at least my three years of my ba degree. Something that will handle whatever is required of my in my computer science/software development course. I'm an absolute entertainment junky and can guarantee that I will use it to watch tv shows, movies and music realted things. I'm not much of a pc gamer, although I do love my playstation so who really knows what might occur in the future with me in those regards. I love messing around with graphics, although my current experience only lies in paintshop pro/animation shop and photoshop. However I was split two ways in regards to a uni course. One obviously being the one I'm enrolled in, the other still being IT related but largely arts based in regards to multimedia, animation and the like. I figure if my course doesn't turn out to be for me, I'll probably try and transfer over to the other. My electives if I stay in my current course will largely come from the multimedia course I looked at.So the computer would also need to be able to handle such activies. Getting less than 1gb ram is something I'm not even considering, so no issues with that. However, I would absolutely love any advice/opinions in regards to processors I should (or shouldn't look at), sound cards and video cards that would be suitable. One of theplaces I looked at today actually had a nice little computer sale going on, so I'm looking at making a decision in the next twenty four hours (it finishes Sunday my time) so any information/opinions would be greatly appreciated.