I have come to the conclusion that configuring a PC online rather than buying individual components is more cost effective, particularly as it avoids the situation of parts not quite fitting together, or the PC not functioning properly after building, and trying to find where the fault lies. I am unlikely to change my position on this.

Taking this into account, can anyone recommend a good online PC builder that will build from an almost limitless range of components rather than having a few token choices? I have looked at PC Specialist, Power Computing and Cyber Power so far.

Secondly, one area I really not understand much is the mother board. To me MBs are rather like Windows in that both are there to make everything else work but you don't do that much with either.

Two of the choices typically offered are the cheaper ASUS P8H61-MX and the more expensive ASUS P8Z77-V LX, but what am I actually getting by choosing the more expensive one?

I am wanting access to the latest technology in SATA3 and USB3, plus I intend to use a SSD as by boot and programme drive, so my ideal is to have a specification that will be relevant for 5 years +, but will not be doing any serious gaming, using more than one monitor or anything else fancy, so I'd also be interested to know which would be the best value for money graphics card that will not be obsolete in 3-4 years time.