[jsteinhauer]

The last PC I built was 5 years ago. They didn't even have dual cores yet. It's a pig. I want to be able to easily watch HD video, but I don't need an HTPC. Maybe later, when my BD player wears out.

Other than general home office use I am monitoring 5 home security video cameras and want to add another and still have more than enough redundancy to use the internet, do my taxes, play solitaire, whatever, while that package is running. I plan to leave it running 24/7 for home security purposes, so temperature and durability are the main issues. I don't plan to overclock, but could be entertained by that. I have not decided on OS yet, but will either be Vista or 7.

A couple of days of casual research have learned me that there are so many more options available today than there were 5 years ago. It is a little daunting. I don't need cutting edge, but I would like to build something that has a couple of years before obsolescence. I have always used AMD processors in the past, but with there questionable ability to survive I am leaning toward Intel. They have budget priced 7i or i7's and the quad cores, if that's what they're called still seem pretty reasonable when you consider performance per cost. But, I've been out of the game for a while, so I will consider all advice. Advice on what to avoid is good, too.

I need suggestions for CPU, motherboard, graphics card, hard drives and memory. I don't care much about sound card. I will probably put in a BD drive. I will also need a good power supply (which is more important than many people know and can make or break a stable PC).

Thanks much!