I am looking to buy my first desktop computer system ever. THAT'S RIGHT FOLKS! I AM IN MY FORTIES AND I AM ABOUT TO BUY MY FIRST DESKTOP COMPUTER SO IF YOU HAVE NOTHING CONSTRUCTIVE TO SAY PLEASE DON'T REPLY! IN OTHER WORDS = BE NICE BECAUSE I NEED HELP! I've used computers at work for years but never bought one. Geez it is so confusing! 800 DDDR2 which seems to be quickly becoming outdated or DDR3 1333 which seems outrageously expensive? 4 gigs of memory or 8? I definitely want an Intel chip because AMD ain't gonna be around in ten years (I can tell by following the stock/financials) but do I get a Q series (Q 9550 seems like the way to go for the price), E series, a Xeon? There's no way that I'm paying for a QX9650 or a Skulltrail chip at this price point although they seem awesome. Forget Nehalem when it's released because you have to have a business write off, rich parents, be a sports star or a US senator to afford one. What about the video card? I like to play the occasional video game. What other benefits does a good video card have? Will it help me watch a dvd or improve the quality of pictures or movies that I make/download? How about the hard drive? One hard drive or two and why? 250g, 500g, raptor, or velociraptor? Do I need an asus p5e3 mobo or an nvidia 780 or 790? What would the difference be practically? How much power do I really need? 425 watts, 850 watts, 1000 watts and why? It's very difficult to find this info out. I called Dell the other day and asked some basic questions after building/configuring a few systems on their website. The guy I spoke to was less than helpful. It was like my questions were too simplistic for him. Like I was bothering him. Sorry buddy but before I shell out 2000 - 3000 bucks I'd like to talk to somebody who knows more than I do and can explain things. I've been to cyberpower, ibuypower, falcon northwest (frag box), and a multitude of other sites. The site/manufacturer that I like best is xicomputer.com. Why you say? Because XI seems to have the most/best choices! I'm not saying that xi is not pricey but who isn't pricey these days who is any good? With Dell you don't know what the hell you're paying for! They don't tell you what kind of mobo they use. They seem to have low wattage power. Just seems like they're making way too much money off of crappy components - this is my opinion as a layperson - I have no significant knowledge base to back this up. But after a hellalot of web surfing for a new computer, that's my opinion of Dell. Buy a Dell because we're the biggest and have the most advertising. No thanks. And what of all this talk of solid state drives (cost more than their weight in gold for goodness sake) and fsb being a thing of the past in the near future? I am willing to spend anywhere from $2000 - 3000 (for the computer only - no monitor, printer, etc.) but I want a computer that I can enjoy for the next ten years. Is that possible? Just because I'm willing to spend <3000 of my net, after-tax dollars doesn't make me a rich guy folks. It means that I want a quality piece of long-lasting equipment. I really don't want to wait too much longer because I've been thinking about buying one for about a year now. The computer that I'm using now someone gave me and runs a 366 mhz chip and windows 98 (ouch!). It's getting tired and I'm getting tired of waiting on it. Now I know there's people reading this who are saying to themselves "What are you going to use this computer for?". All I can tell you is that I want to surf the net (doh!), download/create music, pictures and movies (duh), light architectural/enginering stuff, and experience the joys of computing in general. I don't want my system to hold me back regardless of what I want to do within reason. I'll pay the extra $500 if ddr3 1333 will make my computer appreciably faster. I'll pay a bit more for having to wait less. Should I wait a little longer to buy and see what the near future holds as far as major changes go (Nehalem driving down core 2 prices, bye bye fsb, solid state drives, ddr3, etc.) Anyone with anything constructive to say please respond. I could really use the insight. Also, tell me what you think of xi computer. They seem pricey but are they worth it as compared to Dell and HP? Thanks all!

Well what's ur budget?

If u want bang for the buck, I suggest taking a look at the following,

Motherbaord: Gigabyte/ASUS P35 Chipset
CPU: Intel Quad Core Q6600
RAM: 4GB DDR2 800
VGA: 8800GTS 512
HD: Seagate 7200.11 SATA II

U'll need about a 500W power supply to run these on stock speeds.

I have not been very specific on some components coz I don't know ur range.

Should get me eyes checked. Saw ur range now

A complete build with the components I listed should be in the range of 1500-2000$ and should last two - three years.

U can spend more on a better motherboard, power supply and/or a cooling solution which will give u some room for over-clocking and getting more performance out of ur rig.