New computer

Soooo I'm going to buy a new computer and I figured who best to get opinions from then all of ya. I'm an artist and I'm looking for something to run Maya on. Yes, most artists go for macs but I prefer to stick to my PC on this one. I need one that has at least a 2GHZ processor and at least a gig of ram. . I'm wondering though, should I wait for Windows Vista? Or is that like waiting for rain in a drought? Any brands that stand out for laptops above the rest? I've always just had my desktops from my local BestBuy or ones I've built myself. I'm a bit unsure when it comes to laptops.