help a noob plz

My year old hp crapped the bed on me so now i need a start in the right direction. I am not sure what kind of chip set and motherboard I need for the basis for a new computer. Really the ?'s are endless because I am a noob at life so thanks for any input.

What do you want to do? Buy a pre-built system, build your own, or try to salvage the old parts out of your current system?