I like AMD myself. I think they are better suited for graphics. I have 4 USB2 ports. Two are used now(scanner & printer). So if I need anything else I have the room. 300 watt power supply(my preference).

Have a look at the AMD web site. It has recommendations for PSUs, motherboards and cpu cooling fans. Don't skimp on the PSU and cooling fan, the AMD is thirsty and runs hot!

AMD and intel is really personal preference. Remember though, that intel is dropping prices before the holidays, when the 3gig processors are coming out. Up to 65% i think. You might want to wait a bit if you are going to do much over 2 gig.

The main considerations in your case should be drive bays, the amount of fan ventalation you can put in it, and MOST IMPORTANTLY the power supply. MAKE SURE that it has a pentium 4 power supply if you go with intel, they have an extra motherboard connector. If the dude at the store doesn't seem sure, find out. I bought my case and a month later had to replace the power suppy when I got a p4 board, 50 bucks down the tubes (need a doorstop?). Don't get anything under 350w unless you really, really have to. I would say 400. Try to get something with *more* than two big front-end drive bays and two internal HD bays. You may not think you need another big bay, but if you end up with a soundcard or other hardware that puts ports in a bay on the front, you'll need an extra.

You have a handle on the rest of it. You need to decide what kind of ram you are gonna by, though, i.e. rambus, sdram, etc. Intel made three versions of my board, each for a different kind of ram, it's not something you wanna decide on the fly. Check the customer support messageboards for any and all hardware you buy, see what people complain about before you buy it.

Decide, too, what OS you are going to use, then make sure they supply updated drivers. I have heard that anything older than ME will no longer be supported by MS, so drivers may get thin in the long run. If you are going the XP route, you'll want to be set on your hardware configuration before you install, since you'll have the pain-in-the-ass of product activation to deal with everytime you change things substantially. I like 2000, and find it to be well worth the extra money.

Don't forget the stupid stuff, either, IDE and floppy cables that are long enough, etc. Get thumbscrews for your case, they are cheap and very, very convenient to have. And when you put it all together start at the bios, there's always important stuff to set there. Once you get going, go to every manufacturer's page you have hardware from and get the newest drivers. It sucks to have to redo stuff two weeks later if something goes catastrophically wrong. Never hurts to ghost your initial install, too, for the same reason.

Have fun and watch th static.

for the usb situation, i recommend a 4 port usb hub, or two. i run my mouse, keyboard, digital camera, two printers, and smartcard interface from a pair of hubs

these run from two of the original 4 usb ports the motherboard has, with a two port expansion slot.

i run a 1 gig amd with a gig and a half of sdram running at 133 mhz, no overclocking, on an asus k board with a 400w powersup because, as baker says, it sucks the juice, oh and the pair of fans (need to get a third), in a box just barely big enough to fit it all

I changed my MoBo (from Asus P4B-F (1,6 Ghz P4)to P4B533-E (2 GHz P4))at the weekend on XP Pro without wanting to re-install all stuff. What a mess... Managed to

Tarkus,
I am late to the party but this is one of my favorite subjects. First, don't skimp on the case and powersupply. Recommend any of the Antec Performance series especially the 840 if you can find one.

For MB's Asus and Gigabyte seem to consistently get high ratings from the Tomshardware site. I use Gigabyte and love it.

Processor- I'm an Intel guy and would go for the P4 with 512 cache and 533 FSD like the 2.26 MHZ especially for audio/video. Again Tomshardware benchmarks have these chips beating the sox off AMD at a relatively comparable price.

Also, where to purchase? Googlegear has best prices on the web for CPU's of either flavor and there MB prices are also good, many with no or little Fedex shipping costs.

Finally memory - Check Googlegear and Crucial. Crucial is espicially reliable for excellent product.

Sorry I didn't see this sooner

Thanks for the input, MichaelO. I'm probably at least a month away, so you're not too late. In fact, that just might be perfect timing, from what you say about Intel's forthcoming annoucement.

Thanks again, but I've already been researching that site.

Gold screws? Do those come with the case or motherboard?

Do you think the static electricity risk warrants getting one of those wrist thingies? I've never used them before when upgrading hardware, but I've never done anything this extensive before, either.

Thanks.

That's what I thought, MichaelO. I rarely have that problem, but some people are more paranoid than others.