Honestly, I have built them in as little as 30 minutes. The software load take a little while once you have it built, but the plugs only go into one place and one way, the memory is notched so it can't go in wrong, and with some research and well directed questions to help you understand how to fit options to your application, it is as close to a no brainer as you will get. For example, if you use CAD or play games with a lot of precise and detailed graphics, you want a higher end video card. Are you going to use an internal interface for your music or an external (USB) like an M-Audio?

I suggest that the areas you do not skimp are your monitor(s) and the RAM. Get at least 8gb of RAM. Newer motherboards will have several options for RAM depending on form factor. If you get a motherboard with 3 slots, 2 4gb chips will do you. Also get at least a terrabyte drive and one that runs at 10,000 RPM. (Can you even buy 5400 and 7200 RPM drives anymore?) Basically the idea is to buy as big as you can with an eye on one year from now. Make sure your new board has a lot of USB ports. While you can use a hub, a lot of devices want to be connected directly to the motherboard for power requirements. The last PC I built had 6 USB ports and 4 RAM slots. Motherboard, CPU, cooling fan, 4gb of RAM cost me like $110. I then added my existing 4gb of RAM and my dual head video card to run dual 22 inch flat panels, my hard drive, 2 DVD drives....

Don't let it scare you. Computers are dumb machines. Humans add the intelligence.