I have always put together my own computers, because I can buy only what I need and don't have to pay markup for a full system. I really don't enjoy following every PC hardware trend. Historically, every few years, I would pull up the system guides from Ars Technica and buy all the parts for one of their systems. It appears that this guide has gone away and the closest thing I can find is a ton of articles from Tom's Hardware which don't really compare.
Is there anything online that just tells me what to buy.
I'm looking for the equivalent of a friend that keeps up on all the hardware trends that can tell me what parts he would buy if he had $500 to spend.
