Really if you want to build a computer, as was said above, it's a thing of beauty. It's like putting pictures on your walls in your house, or tricking out your dinky little car. Invision what you want, then go from there.

BUT.... before you start that you need to think of one big aspect, what will this computer be used for. If this is going to be used for surfing the web and writting papers, then really any old machine will work that's got some beef to it. If you want to do some hardcore gaming and what not, you never know you might want to even go as crazy as getting a liquid cooled system and go all out.

Alsoit always does come down to price, what kind of figure are you looking to spend on a machine. As with anything, that figure is what will bring the final look of the machine into play.

To end though, make sure that you keep current with current events and what's coming out. Stay second behind what's new and you can usually really cut costs but still have a kick ass system that will be able to be run for a long time. But def keep looking into things, don't take anyone person's views on an answer to a question... with computers there are just so many possilities and what not. Form your own views, then you can do two things at once, build a nice computer to meet your needs and learn a lot at the same time.

Just a thought...
~AciD