Posted 07/29/2008 at 08:26:47am

Okay here is the deal: I have 2.5k to spend. I get a boring case, a mid-range psu, a entry level MB (about which few have spoken), ddr2 ram, etc. etc. NOT.

Here is what I recommend:

- scratch the extreme for a q9450. you'll take a hit but, especially for PC gaming, get that back with a larger feature set (below) ($330)

- abandon the choked p45 chipset for the x48 and get a ddr3 high end mb like the ASUS P5E3 PREMIUM/WIFI-AP @n LGA 775 or something similar (MSI or gigabyte alternatives) ($370)

- again, get ddr3. This can, in some cases double performance in-game, making up for some of the lost performance with the cpu: Mushkin ddr3 2*2GB ($270)

- I like the idea of getting a better power supply ($270 for a 1k ish).

- spend $200ish (or lower probably on a nicer looking case too but that is aesthetics).

- add in a second fully crossfired 4870 (not possible with the p45)

And we are in at a wee bit under $2.5k.