Any basic Dell XPS laptop will be able to play on medium-high. I have a slightly tweaked one and am looking forward to it on high.
For a desktop, just get a dual core with about 2.4GHz, a high Nvideo 8000 series or equivilant (512mb) and 2gig of ram for XP, 4 for Vista. (with both the processor and the graphics card, bigger is better.)
Lag free, high detail, big army Empire: Total War.
As for a recommended system. Get one custom built, it will probably end up cheaper.
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