I'll start...

"#1 NEED is to wisk around the web quickly (have NO patience!)."

To do this you want a fast internet connection & a fast video card. If custom computer $100 - 200 video card. doesnt make much sense to go fast on an internet connection if you can't draw and paint the page it loads fast.

No patience lol, to answer all those questions. So here is a link to help.

Here is a link that might be useful: article fast computer..

I have the fast internet speed connection- Comcast cable etc.

Ahhh, good suggestion re Video card. Can you give me a few choices for a video card?
I want to be able to UNDERSTAND how everything ties into the SPEED, and make logical choices.

Thanks.

The link I gave you is old but explains how it all ties in.

You have to be a subscriber to read that link zep.
example....

Oh my! sorry about that...

If you don't play games, almost any computer will be fast enough.

It's the software that you will be using for your businesss that might slow things down.

If it's for business, you should plan on a backup computer.

dcarch

I've got several computers, including a nine year old desktop that has never been upgraded. It whips around just fine on the Internet, and pages open just as fast as my newer computers. Your Internet experience is going to depend almost entirely on the speed of your connection. As for other software, my old computer doesn't open applications like MS Word or Excel as fast as the newer ones, but there is no problem once the program is open. If you are going to not edit movies or play resource intensive games, just about any moderately-priced computer will work fine for you. And, unless you intend to run a multi-national company, standard inventory and accounting software should run just fine, too.

well quad core with the highest amount of RAM you can afford would be the fastest typically, do you need that much no idea. Depends on how much you want to spend on this pc.
I like AMD processors myself and they are generally a bit cheaper so going with AMD would save you some and still be just as fast or faster. If you go with a 64 bit operating system then you can go with plenty of RAM and since RAM is cheap it is smart to get plenty. As to hard drive size that totally depends on how much you plan on storing and what kind of files, text don't take up much space on the other hand video, music, movies, pictures take up much more so you would want a bigger hard drive. I thing a 500 gig drive should sure get you going. Having a back up drive is always a good idea, a usb external drive is a great option. Since windows 7 has built in imaging backup program having an external hard drive to save image to is perfect.

Just read up on google and go with what you can afford.

#1 NEED is to wisk around the web quickly (have NO patience!).
- I may be running a website/business.

Dead simple, use a browser with tabs so you can open many windows at the same time. If speed to jump is associated with the financial markets use 2 screens as well

You 'may be running a business'. If so buy it right first time, this is a write off at 30% per annum (assuming U.S. rules are the same as Canada) Buy peripherals separately so each is a total write off in the year of purchase. (Bought collectively with the computer you may find yourself having to lump it all together to be written off at the 30%

The link below is dated 2010 so hopefully it has up to date info, take a squint.

Here is a link that might be useful: Computer reviews

I want a FAST computer. I'm not into games, music, or videos. Although watching TV, or a DVD would be nice.
#1 NEED is to wisk around the web quickly (have NO patience!).- I may be running a website/business.

That is not controlled by the computer, it's controlled by the connection you have. You need DSL or "business quality" cable connections. Normal household cable is shared with everyone on the block and it can be very slow.

If you plan to run a website/business, I strongly recommend you just pay a few $$ a month for website hosting - siteground.com is a good one with lots of free tools and templates - because setting one up from scratch is a technical nightmare and your thinking a fast CPU = fast internet indicates that you aren't geekish enough to do it.

***********
Any computer currently on the market is enough for web, office stuff and viewing DVDs.

Buy the cheapest one you can find and pay extra for more RAM (lots more RAM) and a good graphics card.

have an old win98/k6-450 512 pc100 ram desktop/local-network-server

People think is the fastest computer they have ever seen when they use it to surf the web. heheh
It loads and scrolls webpages really fast.

I think its really slow personally. I guess loading its old photoshop remotely from the laptop isnt so cool across the wifi network. But works fine once loaded.

It has matrox graphics card and fast hard drive, and the 7.1 dsl connection. That's why it seems so fast to people used to slower graphics and internet connections.

Thank you all. My computer is so bad that I couldn't even post here for a couple of days. LOL

This is what I orderd:

ZT Affinity 7337Xa Desktop
Phenom II X4 945 3.0GHz
Microsoft® Windows 7 Home Premium
19-in-1 Media Card Reader
Gigabit Ethernet LAN
It's 8GB memory, 1TB hard drive.

This is what I got for a monitor:

Hot Buy
HannsG 28" Wide Monitor
True 1080P with HDMI
3ms 800:1 400 cd/m2
3 YEAR WARRANTY
Integrated Stereo Speakers
1920 x 1200 WUXGA

I'm guessing that I'll need to upgrade the video card. For now, I want to zip around the web. I got these at Costco. Just in case...the return policy is great.

those sound like very good specs I would bet you will be happy with that system and monitor. Congrats on your new toy!

I see it comes with Norton 2009.
Here is one review of it. Link provided.

This is definitely the slimmest, most unobtrusive Norton ever. Its protection is top-notch where it counts, though antispam and parental controls are still weak. As the best all-around security suite yet.

Minimal performance impact. Extremely effective spyware and virus protection. High-powered, comprehensive firewall. Free, proactive support. Phishing protection. Automated log-in, form-fill. Network map with remote configuration.

Antispam misses too much, blocks too many valid messages. Rudimentary parental controls. Network map allows no remote correction of reported problems.

From here http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2330018,00.asp

dabunch-
Given those specs you should be fine for the next ten years or so! And with your described needs, I doubt very much that you need a new video card, or that you would notice any difference if you replaced the one that comes with the computer.