$1000 build

[veg1992]

Since you said that then I will give him by sugesstion

CPU
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors

Motherboard
Newegg.com - MSI P43 Neo3-F LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

Video card
Newegg.com - EVGA 384-P3-N851-AR GeForce 8800 GS 384MB 192-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

HDD
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives

The other parts the same as the one that surgeVel suggested

This build offers much better performance, and it will cost you much less than $1000

EDIT: If you are not a gamer then get this extremely cheap video card
Newegg.com - MSI N8400GS-TD256H GeForce 8400 GS 256MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Thats overboard then, its a great build nonetheless

Step it down some places to make it competitive:

e1400 (or w/e e2xxx or e1xxx series Allendale)
Gigabyte GA-P35-S3G
Really nice price for the drive, I might ask my parents for one, but still overboard for him
8400gs is fine..

 

[steveo1902]

Well, my only problem with your suggestions, Maroon1 is that he just wants something for general simple usage to get him out of the "dark ages" as he put it. I don't think he needs a gaming video card, that much hard drive space, or a 45nm CPU meant for gaming and overclocking. It's a good build for the higher end of his $1000 budget, but not really what he needs.

I think you understand what I want. I want it built for potential business use,
not to play games with. How much would you charge to build me something decent?

 

[NightSurge]

I don't think I am allowed to say much more on these forums without breaking the forum rules. Please visit my website and use the Contact page to find my email address. I am glad to help you out.