Looking to upgrade from Core2Duo

[iceperson]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming (Mass Effect 2, L4D 2, BF2, etc...), web design/development (I run dreamweaver + a web server on my desktop for coldfusion/ASP/PHP), a bit of photoshop and lightroom stuff.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$500 to $1,000. Really looking for the best bang for the buck in that range. The more $$$ I can stay under 1k the better.

3) Where do you live?
US

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
CPU+cooling/RAM/MB/PSU/CASE

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Keeping my 2 80GB X25 SSDs (plan to run these in RAID 0 for my boot drive and business apps), 1.5TB Seagate data drive, 160GB WD Raptor 10K RPM drive for games installs, Sapphire 1GB 5870. Also, I have a 5.1 speaker setup, but on board audio should be fine because I use Razer Megalodon 7.1 USB headphones while gaming.

6) Will you be overclocking?
Not planning on it, but not completely averse to it if there's a true rock solid combo that doesn't require really crazy cooling solutions. Right now I'm running an E6600 at 3.0GHz because it was the best deal at the time and didn't require anything more than a quality heatsink.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
25" 1920*1200

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Now, unless there's a real compelling reason to wait a few months; like a new processor socket or something else major coming out in the very near future that will substantially limit my upgrade path if I don't have it.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Crossfire and RAID 0

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
Yes, Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit.

Main requirement = stability. No matter if I'm working or playing I don't want buggy hardware to interrupt me.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

[tiraides]

$480 - Intel Core i7 930 & Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R combo deal (free shipping on processor)
$40 - Cogage TRUE Spirit (free shipping)
$170 - G.Skill 3x2GB DDR3 1600 (free shipping)
$170 - Corsair HX850 (free shipping)
$60 - Cooler Master CM 690 (free shipping)
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$920 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

 

[cbliss1000]

tiraides build will be very fast and upgradeable and is made up of quality components, but you could save money and achieve an equivalent gaming experience with an AM3-based build. Do you live near a Fry's? If so, they regularly have great AMD sales: you can often get the p2 945/955 + cheap mobo for under 200$. That said, the i7-930 will always outperform the p2s, especially in hyperthreaded applications.

 

[tiraides]

Here's the AMD "equivalent"....

$290 - AMD Phenom II X6 1055T & G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2GB DDR3 1600 combo deal (free shipping on both)
$110 - G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2GB DDR3 1600 (second set; free shipping)
$140 - Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H (free shipping)
$30 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus (plus $8 shipping)
(keep the case and PSU from earlier)
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$940 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

This build is designed more for the web development and photo editing tasks than for gaming. To improve your chances while overclocking, you should pick up an AMD Black Edition processor (but the X6 1090T is $100 more, even with the combo deal). The only dual x16 CF-supported AMD board is about $200 -- but then the Intel setup becomes the better buy.