I am a huge fan of NewEgg so I generally buy everything from them. The prices are good (for wholesale), shipping is excellent (things usually arrive <2 days), and I've been using them for years. I decided to go with a new computer since I got this monitor. It's kind of like having a brand new HDTV and using an antenna. The last PC I built (for myself) was a Pentium D 330 @ 3Ghz, Intel board, cheap case and power supply, sata 250gb wd, ATI x700, etc and I sold it for a Magnaflow catback for the T/A.

The primary function of this computer is some gaming, server-like speed and reliability, some web and graphic work, and just a tool to use when working on home or freelancing. It'll be nothing special, just something ignorant by this week's standards. Then I can use it for the next 5 or so years or hand it off to a family member in need when I get the itch to build something more bad ass and some other goodies.

I am by no means on top of the Tech world so my knowledge of the biggest and baddest hardware left when my interest in technology shifted from gaming and doing entry level computer stuff to networking, servers, and project management. With that being said, I'm open to criticism, flaming, opinions, and facts. Post up your rigs as well if you are a computer nerd and take pride in this kind of stuff. AMD fanboys can go here.

Components:
Monitor.
Samsung 24" flat panel, 2433BW Glossy screen


Case.
The case is the most important piece of the puzzle. I went with the Thermaltake M9. From what I have seen so far, it's fairly durable but certainly not the greatest thing I have ever seen. What sold me was the ports being right in the front at the top. The days of "feeling around" either in the bottom front or rear of the tower are over! Also, don't buy a case w/a PSU. The PSU's are generally junk.


CPU.
Intel i7 920, quad core @ 2.66Ghz is what I went with. Enough said.

CPU Cooling.
Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 Dual 120mm. This was real easy to install without the PSU. I had to take the plastic air tube off the case side so it would fit.

Mainboard.
MSI X58 Pro-E. This is a great board with plenty of ports. I didn't mess with it much so far, but there's a ton of good features compared to my last build which included a plain Intel motherboard.

PSU.
OCZ 700w. Best PSU I ever bought. It's very clean, everything is wrapped nicely. It also has a 3 year warranty!

Hard Drives. SDD HDD.
PQI 32GB SSD drive for the OS and 2 WD 1TB 7200rpm drives configured as RAID1 for data.

RAM.
Triple channel OCZ 3x2GB, Gold series

Video Card.
I went with a Sapphire 1GB, 256-bit ATI 4870 card. It is a big unit, with large cooling pipes on the side of it. It has two power connectors on that back of it for serious business abilities, I figure. This will be fine for the games I play - WOW, Starcraft, Unreal Tourny, Delta Force series, etc.

Optical Drives.
Drive 1: SATA DVD Burner
Drive 2: SATA Lite-On DVD-ROM
I never stepped up to the HD/Blu Ray scene yet, so I'll upgrade to a real burner some other day. For now, this works.

Peripherals.
Mouse- Logitech MX1100. I love it!!! I bought this because I miss my MX1000. It's a laser wireless mouse, with plenty of DPI.
Keyboard- Razer Lycosa. Gotta have the backlit keys. I used to have a Logitech G15 and that was cool with the LED screen and all, but I threw in the keyboard and mouse when I sold my old PC, so time for something new.
Speakers- Logitech Z-4 2.1 system. Very clear, lots of bass. For the price you can't go wrong.
UPS- Cyberpower 1350 VA, 810w, 1500 joules. I have the tower, speakers, monitor, modem, router, and a cordless phone hooked up to it and has no problem.

Other- new mousepad w/wrist support since all of mine are old and suck, Artic Silver compound is a must, and some cable management stuff.

OS
Until I fine tune the RAID config, I loaded Win7 beta just to play with it. The install was very fast! I will either run a later ver of Win7 or Windows 2008 Server x64. My Linux needs will be fulfilled in VMWare.