New build for general use

certainly powerful enough.

I'd suggest a 650-750W PSU for that build

8 GB of DDR3-1600 RAM
and if you arent overclocking, get the 2500 instead of 2500K

Pick a case to your taste, though the Rosewill Challenger U3 is quite nice.

if you can, please give the full specifications of your computer. i agree with screwysqrl, you should get around 8gb of 1600 (ripjaw are my preference) and a 650-750W PSU will be fine. in addition, ditch the 2500k for the 2500 b/c the only advantage is being able to overclock. also, buy a aftermarket cooler for your 2500 since the stock cooler sucks and the processor is likely to overheat. buy a cheap hyper 212+, it's worth the investment.

i recently finished a build that had a ASUS EAH6970, you have to be extremely careful with this graphics card. you will need a full-tower case for sure (since its around 12 inches long) and a mobo that does not have vertically standing SATA drives. reason is that the card will clear the mobo and cover the sata ports.

so all in all, please finish the build specifications so comments can be fine tuned.

sorry about that i have a case a Antec P183 but i am guessing that is to small then, and i also have a Corsair 650w psu.
about the mobo thanks for pointing that out, it seems like the sata ports are pointing away from the board and not up so that should be ok.

harddrives not sure yet but that should be to hard to figure out

so new cpu cooler maybe a new case, and change the cpu
do you have any other suggestions for the memory, cause it dose not look like we have those ripjaw here

thanks again for the suggestions

your PSU is going to be fine for the graphics card, unless you plan to crossfire. if you are going to keep your case, i would suggest not to get the EAH6970 because that card has so much physical compatibility issues. you would probably have to change your mobo and case in order to accommodate the EAH6970. in terms of the case, it probably will not fit because it'll dig into the 5.25 bay area (or the area underneath it). in terms of the motherboard, this card takes up 3x PCI slots. if you don't have any of the other PCI slots being used, then this card may work.

for harddrives: most people on tom's suggest the samsung spinpoint. i went with the caviar black but that is just a preference call.

for memory: just get any mainstream brand (kingston, patriot, etc) but around 8gigs and DDR3-1600.

conclusion: if you really want the EAH6970, then you'll have to change out a lot of parts to accommodate that card (mobo & case). i recommend that you just get a stock 6970 or a custom 6950 and save the time and money. the only reason the EAH6970 is so special is that it has 2GB (high resolution gaming) and it can do eyefinity6. that was the reason i bought mine, but i don't know if you want to do six monitors. it also runs a lot cooler than stock cards, but the costs outweigh the benefits in your scenario.

it's not like i have my hart set on the card, it just seemed like a good card for the price, okay just checked, the length of the card is not a problem, but the width wow haven't really looked at that before now that is going to be a problem.
it seems i need a new case no mater what card i chose

i5 2500K - $220
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 - $125
HIS IceQ X Radeon HD 6970 - $400
Gskill Ripjaws X 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600 - $50
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB - $60
XFX Core Edition PRO650W - $60
CoolerMaster HAF 922 - $100

Total : $1015 after $30 rebates on PSU.

any idea on what card would fit, cause to me it seems like all the 6970 cards are the same size

Thank you all for the replies, saved me from a lot of grif down the road

so thanks again

A 6950 or 6970 stock is going to be taking up two PCI slots. The length of those stock cards will fit in most computers, but just to be sure get the measurements on your case and then compare it to the length/width of your case. If you are a stickler for overheating, then buy a aftermarket cooler [or buy a custom card] to begin with. For 6950s, i would suggest the ICEQ or MSI custom cards. The only thing is, if you shell out another $50 or so, you could have a 6970 stock card. So you are trading off cooling vs. future proofing in this scenario.

taking up two PCI slots? explain?

I think he means it takes up 2 *expansion* slots in the back of the PC>

Ohh.. got it..