[quote name='jaykrue']The mobo (motherboard) won't work unless it has a CPU to go with it. Most mobos today have a minimum of 4 USB slots which are more than enough for the standard home. If you need more, USB cables can daisy chain up to 128 USB devices (IIRC), and USB hubs are relatively cheap at $10.
If you're gonna get a hard drive, get something around 200GB. Most ppl say they'll never use it all but then come back a few months to a year later and tell me I was right. Besides, 200GB HD's can be found for $75 or less if you scour and scrounge around. Plus there's always deals happening. If you're going for brand, Seagates tend to be stable but very expensive while Maxtor/Western Digital round out the other 2 brands.
For RAM, I go for these brands in descending order of reliability:
Corsair XMS
Corsair Memory
OCZ
Mushkin
Kingston
Crucial
Kingmax
Any brands off the list and you're on your own.
There's the usual debate of Nvidia vs. ATI and the fanboys argue to no end which is better so I'll leave that to you. For the Nvidia side, I'd start off with a 6600gt or higher and ATI, go for a X800 XL or above.
Get the NEC 3540A (or 3520A if you wanna cheapass it) burner as it's pretty sweet. It'll handle almost any blank media you throw at it and then some. It's quite fast on the burn as well (make sure you have fast media to go with it though). It will take care of all your burning needs. If you think you want to separate your burning/reading needs get a sony 16x dvd-rom as it's fairly reliable.
For fans, get Zalman or Thermaltake as they've given me the best results in cooling.
For a case, any brand will do as long as the material is made out of predominantly aluminum. You can get a steel case but aluminum cases absorb heat more efficiently and thus gives you better internal case temperatures. If you had to go with a brand, Liang Li is good but be prepared to pay out the ass for it.
Go to
http://www.newegg.com to buy all your parts. They're a pretty well recommended as well as reliable site. If anything is broken down, they'll usually replace it if the broken item is returned in a reasonable amount of time.[/QUOTE]
Agreed on everything, I'd also get at least 1 GB of RAM. Most min specs require at least 512 but there is no way you're going to be able to run newer games, like BF 2, at 512 it's impossible.
Edit: Okay yeah you can run it at 512 with everything turned off but it looks like shit, just do yourself a favor and get at least 1 GB or higher. RAM is the most inexpensive upgrade you can do to a PC.
