Best parts for building a computer...

[N1LAF]

It is an extremely loaded question, not intentionally.. I'm sure. It's like going to a NASCAR race and asking Ford, Chevy, or Dodge? There are so many options and so many purposes at this point, without narrowing down your specific needs it may be an unanswerable query. As 'HCM mentioned, so much of this stuff is made at the same place and simply rebranded.

Personally, I'm an Intel (CPU & chipset), Western Digital, Nvidia guy.. but that's primarily because that particular combo hasn't burned me lately. The 6 core Phantoms from AMD look very appealing, especially for someone into virtualization like you are.

I've always found Intel chipsets to present less problems with Linux, but even that is an extremely subjective statement.

At the end of the day, using my best judgment from the latest NewEgg.com reviews is probably the best way to determine the greatest value at this very moment.

Good post. I am looking for experiences and problems with todays components. I have a couple of Seagate Free agent USB drives (the bigger sizes) and it seems in colder temperatures 60 to 65, they do not want to work right away. Plug the drive in and it will go click click click click and it may or may not connect in. After three or four tries, it will connect. So I will avoid Seagate drives.

I will be sticking with intel Chipset, WD drives, and NVidia cards. FULL XP compatibility is a must! I fully intent to multi boot the next computer, at least with XP and Windows 7 (don't like 7, but no fool either).

I am looking for solid, quality components.

Forgot about newegg.. thanks!

[N1LAF]

So far, I am looking at Intel or Gigabyte MB
Crucial Memory
NVidia graphics card (465)
WD drives
Intel processor
and probably an LG optical drive....

Did I miss anything?