I am looking to build my first PC to take to uni with me and am not sure what to buy.
It will be used for coursework, internet surfing and also storing plenty of music and video files.
Can anyone recommend what parts are going to offer me the best value?
I have already mostly decided on AMD but not sure whether to go for socket 754 or 939 as I want cheap but I do want it to last at least 4 years of computer advances. What type of hard drive (I have found cheap SATA)?
If anyone can please help me choose the parts I can finally put my electronics skills to some use!

Well if you are taking it to UNI and don't really need much in the way of great hardware then may i suggest getting a laptop.

Basically nothing you can buy at a reasonable price will survive 4 years in the technology market. I would suggest saving yourself a few bob now and upgrading in a few years.

Do you really need a 64bit processor? Are you planning on buying any software to go with it? Why not just get a fast Socket A processor?

I can highly recommend an ATi Sapphire 9550 256MB graphics card as they are cheap and are quite capable cards. RAM is so cheap now it is basically growing on trees so get 512 MB of PC3200. (This can easily be upgraded later) Get a 300W power supply at least. Always go for SATA these days because they are nearly as cheap as PATA drives. Unless you are planning to do any high capacity backups a normal DVDRW drive will suffice.

Hope this helps you.

As music and video files are important to you, I suggest you concentrate on plenty of hard drive storage. The processor and video card only become important if you want to play the latest games. Basically the cheapest components will do what you have listed.

If you need to choose between socket 754 and 939, remember that 939 will be supported with future processor releases. Therefore has an upgrade path.

Another consideration is that lower end computers are less attractive to thieves.

I have been looking into laptops for a while now but have realised that paying nearly £100 ($180) more than a desktop is probably silly. Plus they can be stolen easier and I would have to settle for what the manufacturers give me as I can't home build it.

Will just getting a sempron or something be ok for my needs then as gaming's gonna be done on my console? Or is it not worth getting a sempron?

I've already taken advantage of the cheap memory prices to upgrade my bro's computer so will be doing that again.

I suppose socket A could be a possibility but I have seen 754 mobos for less than £50 ($90) and the semprons start from that price.

If only I put this much time into work! Hehe

You need to work on your shopping skills. I recently upgraded my daughter's computer with a Gigabyte 7NF-RZ motherboard, a Semperon 2200+ and 256 MB Kingston DDR400 RAM. The total bill including overnight courier was about AUD 225 or less than 90 quid.

Where did you get that?
Was it on the internet or the shops?
Can anyone in UK advise me where I should be looking on the net for the best prices because I only know a few companies.
The UK seems a lot more expensive for hardware.

Sorry Miles, this was a shop in Melbourne (Australia) that advertised in a local magazine. I won't bother giving you the details as the freight and import duties will make it much more expensive than you can get locally.

I'm sure that you can find similar deals in your part of the world.