Basic pupose of the system:--- (1) word processing (2)a bit of cd writing (3)surfing the web (4) fairly long voice/ written chat almost daily with web cam.(5)occassional music playing. (6)no gaming except solitaire/chess shall appreciate very much some recommendations:- mobo--- AMD OR GIGABYTE or INTEL (not very happy with asus though have tried only one-p4ge mx) mobo chipset--intel or some other Processor---around 2.5 Ghz--- celeron or sempron power supply-- thinking of 400W on board video or stand alone (any pros/cons for web cam?) speakers--not hi fi but decent sound output. hereagain on board audio or stand alone sound card? RAM- 512 MB have a samsung monitor and atx case with a case fan and will make do finally the million dollar qoestion--o/s win xp or load win9x for time being and await "VISTA" MID 96? BUDGET-- AROUND $500.(feasible?) TIA----good day---Venkat The NOSPIN Group Promotions is now offering our special coffee mugs and mouse pads with the PCBUILD logo... at a great price!!! http://freepctech.com/goodies/promotions.shtml