High-performance build (please comment)

Hello everyone.   I'm new to the forums and hope to learn while I'm here.

Last time I built a custom system was in 2003 so I'm out of the loop so to speak! Just to remind you folks, that was the time P4 w/HT was considered the holy-grail of computing, the Radeon 9800Pro would make gamers drool and 1GB of RAM was considered overkill. How things have changed!

So now I'm in need of a new system. It's main use would be emulating networking hardware, i.e. routers and switches on a software platform called Dynamips. Those of you who are into this stuff can relate to my username as well.   Therefore, what I primarily need is computing power and memory and lots of it! I'm not a gamer so the video card/sound card are not a priority for me. I just want a decent enough GPU to comfortably handle HD media and the like and the audio should be decent. I also haven't decided on the LCD right now as I'm concerned most with the MB/CPU/RAM. The system is basically a very high-end gaming machine without the high-end video card.


My requirements:
- Lots of computing power (running multiple instances of emulators)
- Lots of high-speed RAM for large-scale emulations (upgradeable to 12GB)
- Motherboard to comfortably handle the above w/ support for future expandability
- Reliable primary and back-up storage (possible RAID setup in future)
- Strong, reliable PSU
- Spacious, well-designed case with good air-flow
- Excellent CPU-cooling
- Decent video card/sound card (no gaming)


I've done some initial reading to get up to speed (so I don't sound like a dinosaur!) and I've put together something as you can see below. I didn't want you guys to do all the hard work so here's something you can start off with and critique so that I can get an idea of what's appropriate for the requirements I have. I'm based in Toronto, Canada. The prices are in CAD from Canada Computers.


Initial Build

Asus P6T SE Socket 1366 Intel X58 _____________________________________ 189.99
Intel Core i7 920 Quad-Core Socket LGA1366, 2.66Ghz _____________________ 316.99
Corsair XMS3 Classic 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz _________________________ 189.99
Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB SATAII 7200RPM 32MB Cache (OEM) ______ 59.99
Western Digital Caviar Green 2000GB (2TB) SATA 3 Gb/s 64MB ______________ 119.99
PowerColor ATI Radeon HD 5770 Chipset (850Mhz) 1GB GDDR5 ______________ 154.99
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE 7.1 Surround Sound Card _________________ 29.99
Intel PRO/1000 GT Desktop Adapter, PCI ________________________________ 37.99
Antec TP-750 Truepower New 750W Continuous Power Supply ______________ 139.99
Antec Nine Hundred Two Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Ultimate Gamer Case _____ 129.99
Noctua NH-U12P SE2 CPU Cooler for Intel Socket LGA1366 __________________ 79.99
Logitech Illuminated USB Keyboard /w Palm Rest, Backlit -Black ______________ 52.99
Logitech RX1500 Black 3 Buttons Tilt Wheel USB Corded Laser Mouse _________ 46.99
Samsung F2380 23" Professional Widescreen LCD __________________________ 259.99
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
__________________________________________________________Subtotal: $1809.86
______________________________________________________________HST: $235.28
______________________________________________________Total: $2,045.14 (CAD)
______________________________________________________Total: $1,980.56 (USD)


Basically, what I want to know is if the above build is:

- appropriate for the above-mentioned requirements
- components are compatible with each other
- if a better CPU than the above with significant performance gain can be had under $500CAD
- if better RAM than the above with significant performance gain can be had under $300CAD

I'd appreciate all the help I can get on this. Please feel free to comment as you wish.