First, my qualifications. I have been a PC tech for over 12 years, have installed hundreds of hard drives, built similar number of PC's, A+ certification Instructor, Novell certified, HP laser tech, MS, etc.

I am astonished by the number of people who have ONE problem with ONE product and therefore conclude that ALL products from that company are crap. Do you really believe that companies such as Seagate, Western Digital, ATI, etc would be in business over 10 years making complete shit?

I have had failures of virtually all types from almost all manufacturers. When I buy or recommend hardware, I stick with long-established companies and products, unless nobody but the new company makes what is required. Bad drivers, continous updates, buggy software are NORMAL throughout this industry. If you want simple and easy, buy a VCR. If you want the latest and greatest, be prepared to improvise. How thoroughly tested do you think a product can be when developed and produced to standards which did not exist 1 or 2 years ago?

Sure some companies could improve in certain areas. Some have multiple problems. Having worked 5 years for a Compaq Factory Authorized Warranty Service center, I know that Compaq's support policies are the worst I have experienced, and their machines contain too many hard-to-obtain parts. However, probably 70 to 80 percent of Compaq users never have a problem. ATI drivers have been buggy for many years, but they ARE updated regularly and their hardware is very cost-effective.

Summary -
Hard Drives - Western Digital, Maxtor (NOT Quantum), Seagate
Processors - AMD far more cost effective than Intel
Cooling fans - CHIPFAN VERY IMPORTANT, add more case fans
Motherboards- too numerous to quantify, DO NOT buy el cheapo
Memory - no difference among brands, speed and type more important
Capture Card - MANY choices but have owned several ATI wonders, NONE have failed, latest AIW 128 giving me near DVD capture quality, and I could still get drivers for my five year old (or more) PC2TV Expression +, which still works
Surge/battery - APC hands down the best, guarentee covers DIRECT HIT from lightning bolt (Very important in SW Florida)
CD Burners - GET BURN-PROOF (or equivalent), burning speed really not that important - After a 12-hour encode, do 10-20 minutes saved in burning time really matter?