Building A System from Scratch, Part I - Where to start: the motherboard
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Choose your motherboard first, and then work around this; visit the manufacturer's website and look at any diagrams or technical information about the board to see what options you have. Make sure you check the compatibility of all products before purchasing them and read the descriptions thoroughly. No matter what you'll be using the PC for, the motherboard will be the foundation of your whole system, so reliability and stability are paramount.
Even when operating on a tight budget, even if every other component in the machine is the cheapest you could possibly find, it is well worth spending money on a decent motherboard. Think about future upgrades too. A well-purchased motherboard can outlast many of the other parts, so one that has plenty of room for expansion is also a wise investment.
The components you will want to upgrade will almost certainly be the processor, power supply unit and memory. Buying a processor that has been around for a long time will hinder your upgrade path, because it is likely that the processor will change, meaning that a processor upgrade will also mean a motherboard upgrade. Similarly, buying a motherboard with only two RAM slots will not give you the space for expansion that you will probably want and need at a not too distant point in the future.
Another thing to check for on the motherboard is onboard graphics. If it has onboard graphics, this is usually a feature that cannot be over-ridden or switched off in the bios, and the board will therefore be unlikely to have an AGP port or be compatible with PCI graphics cards. If you intend to play games on the PC, it would be a better idea to find a motherboard that does not have integrated graphics.
Asus motherboards are usually very well recommended for their performance and reliability, and Gigabyte has always proven to me that their boards are stable, powerful, and a pleasure to work on. Gamers might also want to take a look at a recent awardee of the Dev Hardware Recommended seal of approval, DFI's LAN Party NF3 motherboard, with support for the latest processors and an impressive set of specs.
Next: The processor and the power supply >>
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