My motherboard died a few weeks ago so I  haven't been online for  while.  It actually happened at a good time.  I'm finishing our basement and TF2 probably would have been a little too distracting.  Anyway I've got two more weeks unil I'm done and with the basement.  Then the next project is building my next computer.  Suggestions for a good component mix are welcome.   I can't believe how long I was able to play on 1 GB of Ram, AMD 2200+ and a Radeaon 9500 PRO, no wonder I killed the motherboard.

 

See you guys back on Tempest in about a month.  I'll try to make it on the forums in the meantime, but it's hard to do during work hours.

I'm pretty much looking to get all new components.  I'm going to try to use my HDD for at least a little while, but eventually will want new ones.  Since Uncle Sam stimulated me recently I've got a budget of about $2000 to build my new gaming rig.  I won't need a monitor.  I've got a 20" LCD that works just fine.

Word.

Well since you have done your own research I would merely offer a few pieces of advice.
First off stick with intel. Intel will remain dominant for a couple more years.
Secondly I would not recommend going for the 9800 series cards just yet as it's a waste of money. just pick up either one or two 8800gt's and turn around and sell them six months down the line in order to pick up the real next-gen cards when they hit the market.
Unless you really don't mind throwing away you cash here's what I recommend.

e8400
4gb DDR3 1333 or 1066
8800GT sli
If you spend the cash on the fastest quadcore, 1800fsb memory and the 9800dx2's you'll be spending a lot more $$$ for very little performance gain.
Before you decide all that however make sure you get a top of the line motherboard that supports all the latest features.
Never skimp on the motherboard. This gives you plenty of options for quick and easy upgrades in the future when the prices on what are now the absolute high end components come down.
All this is called getting the most from your money.
If you are having a particularly difficult time picking out specific components such as a motherboard just say so and I will provide more input. Also I am very curious if you have decided upon a motherboard as this is far and away the most important component in the system.

I only buy ASUS and Tyan motherboards.  I have used several vendors and love the stability and support of the two listed.

You can't go wrong with 790i unless you buy a Stiriker 2 Extreme. At the same time, the only reason to buy 790i is for SLI. If you aren't going to go SLI just get a P5Q Deluxe of P5Q3 Deluxe, the latter being DDR3. I HIGHLY doubt that you will want to go SLI in ~2 weeks, unless of course you like spending 2x the money for the same performance ;) (48x0 series is being released)