this is going to turn into a huge debate, ill put my 2 cents in
PCPartPicker part list:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1Y9j9
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1Y9j9/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1Y9j9/benchmarks/
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1245 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($279.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.75 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M500 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($154.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($88.34 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($502.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Titanium Grey) ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 850W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus PB278Q 27.0" Monitor ($549.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $1994.02
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-06 02:18 EST-0500)