I've been snowboarding for just 3 years, and still consider myself to be a novice rider. I still use the same gear that I bought when I got started, and I am still quite happy with what I have.
I bought my gear (board, bindings and boots) off of Craigslist for just $50, and the only thing that mattered at that time was the right size and some cool graphics ( actually, it still does).
Your first obvious move would be to rent snowboarding gear from your local ski area. Kids who work at those rental shops know what they are doing, and will gear you up without boring you with too many unnecessary details.Now that you know your boot size and approximate length of a board, you can shop around.
#Personally, for your first set up ( board, bindings and boots), I wouldn't pay more than $100.
#If possible, try to buy the whole package - board, bindings and boots.
#Make sure that the boots fit into the bindings, and the bindings are not broken.
#For beginners, I wouldn't recommend buying "clicker/step in" boots and bindings. While step in bindings eliminate bending over and sitting on the cold ground, old school step -ins ( that go cheap on eBay and Craigslist) don't have the highback that for some people makes learning process more difficult.
A couple more tips:
You can always " figure out how to snowboard ", but my advice, take at least 1 lesson from an instructor ( not a friend who will take you to the top of "black diamond" and say "see you at the bottom")
Invest in a pair of ski or snowboard pants and a puffy jacket. It will make your experience less painful.
If you decided that snowboarding is not for you, you can always sell your gear ( if not for the same price, at least $10-20 less ).
Of course, if you can afford to spend $300 -500 on brand new gear, and you know that snowboarding is something you'd stick to for a long time, by all means go for it.
If you still need more details on how to choose your first snowboard, check out REI's very detailed ( and very lengthy ) article here.
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