Recommendations, please

[Nestor]

Hey guys- long time no see~.
My old system has finally reached the end of it's effective life, and that means an all-new build.
I've been thinking a lot about it, and I honestly haven't been keeping up on the processor/ motherboard tech as much as I should be, so I was hoping I could throw out some bait and maybe hook something.

I was initially thinking of this combination:
Motherboard Here $239.99
Processor Here $195.00
RAM Here $125.99
Video Card Here $319.99

But the RAM and the motherboard are actually underpowered. while it's scalable, 800MHz isn't what I'm looking for in RAM, especially since DDR3 came out and I want to build a high-end gaming rig.

Proc: What I'm looking for is a dual (or quad-capable) core processor, 3.0+ per core, AMD or Intel. (I'm currently leaning towards Intel, but as you can see, i was previously enamored with AMD)
Motherboard: SLI, DDR3 capable (though not essential), 6-8 SATA ports, and either one PATA channel or none.

Here's the rub: I'm not only looking for a high-powered engine of destruction (haha) but I'm also looking for scalability. As tech grows, I want to be able to scale it forward. My current system is shining example of this, even running a single-core Athlon XP 3200+ with an AGP- based video card, it's capable of playing high-end games, rendering video, and keeping up with the Joneses (so to speak). However, the hardware is failing, and I'd spend almost the same amount of money maintaining the system as I would upgrading it, so I've decided to retire the system and build a new one.

Any suggestions would be helpful  ;)

[pat]

Is there a budget or are we just going for it?

I'm not sold on DDR3 yet as the price to performance ratio IMHO is just not there yet compared to the low prices on DDR2.

[scuzzy]

I was just talking to my son about building a system for him, so I'll be considering many of the same issues. My son's laptop is having screen problems, which is simply not worth the expense of repairing. I suggested that he buy a nice monitor, keyboard and mouse, and hook it all up to the laptop. This will allow him to use it as long as possible while we carefully build a new system.

I haven't begun shopping since my son hasn't decided to build yet. However, at this point I might lean toward Intel over AMD for better performance. I too am a great fan of AMD, but at the moment they have a little catching up to do. The one thing that I would currently want is an nVidia 8800 series card as well as a 150GB WD Raptor for the OS. I've been using Raptors for a new years now and I'm sold on them for their performance and reliability.

In building any system I consider "bang for the buck" to be my guiding factor. Like anyone else I want a high-speed system, but I'm not willing to pay the premium for having the very latest and greatest. Still, with careful consideration I can put together a "future ready" system that can rock the house without blowing up the bank.

[Ace]

Hey Nestor; nice to see you again.  Sorry about that thing on your head, and lack of hair.

Only advice I'd give you that's become painfully obvious to me is to do the SLI thing from the get-go, and don't wait to later add a "matching" card and run it that way.  Just to ensure it's set up to do it, you've got all the pieces in place to do it, and you can enjoy the benefits of it from the onset.  My experience in trying to do it on one of the earliest set ups couple years after its build is a mess, and wish I woulda earlier (although no guarantee it would've worked, then...).

Ace; happy VD to all, too.

[Nestor]

Is there a budget or are we just going for it?

I'm not sold on DDR3 yet as the price to performance ratio IMHO is just not there yet compared to the low prices on DDR2.

No real budget limitations, though I believe a decent powerhouse could be built for $2K-$3K. (go go tax return) and I agree with you on the DDR2 vs DDR3, however I honestly don't know if DDR3 will be backwards compatible with DDR2, and the consideration that I'll have to upgrade the entire mobo in a couple years because of compatibility is a careful one. Like I said, one of the considerations is the ability to scale with future tech.

However, at this point I might lean toward Intel over AMD for better performance.

No one was more shocked than I when I found out some intel processors were cheaper than the AMD equivalent, and in some cases outperformed them as well.

I've been planning to run SLI from the get-go a pair of 8800s is a little pricey but I can take it.