FFXIV:ARR Recommended System Requirements

[MyKotoShi]

I am looking for specific hardware specifications that allow the final release (ver.) to play on MAX graphical settings without loss of performance.

For example:
"Is the i5 more suitable than the i7; or was FFXIV:ARR tested with i5 or i7?"
"Is 8gb RAM more than enough for the life of the game; Is 16gb+ needed for certain scenarios, even if not needed all the time?"
"What hardware set-up is best to avoid Direct X, etc. crashes?"

I would like to minimize my PC build expense as much as possible and would love as much feedback on this as possible.

I want to add as well, which version of windows is most stable at this time with current hardware and drivers. I have a fear if I went with Win 8 half the crap I'd end up buying would crash when I go to open a music file...
After my experience with my current laptop crashing for god who knows why when playing games I get paranoid about PC builds.