Best Buy could set you up My HP has been really reliable 5 years old and NO signs of wear. A comperable AMD might be faster though. If you're into games a fast processor 2.4g or better 2g ram a good video card at least 128m memory. ATI and nVidea are the video card equivalents of  the ford and chevy  in the long ago.  My HP has an Asus motherboard which has worked out well. hard drives maxtor - period. sound cards sound blaster please.. nrtwork cards nlink. cd/dvd  rom drives dont know what to tell ya except use nero software for any whiting tasks. On cpus make sure you're not getting an overclocked unit but see if you can get one capable of that same with the video card.

Good luck and don't spend too much. Many times you can find a good stock unit that will meet your needs.