Here's a recent $2,382 Build .... it's driving a 120Hz 3D monitor.
Case - $235 - Corsair Carbide 500R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_conten...
As you can see by the ratings it tops many more expensive cases.
PSU - inc w/ case - Corsair HX850
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=...
Lower Ripple and better voltage stability than AX850
MoBo - $642 - ASUS P8Z77-WS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/asus_p8z77_ws/1...
Lotta money but oh what a sweet board ... and nice spacing between the GFX cards
CPU - incl w/ Mobo - Intel Core i7-3770K
Cooler - $80 - Phanteks PH-TC14PE
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/phanteks_ph_tc14pe...
While some (I.e DH-14) can just about match it thermally, none comes close in the warranty and aesthetics department. Expect 3-5C lower temps than a Hyper 612 and 5-7C lower than a hyper 212
TIM - $5 - Shin Etsu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_conten...
Same thermals of AS5 but w/o AS5's curing issues.
RAM - $110 - (2 x 8GB) Mushkin Redline CAS 8
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$0 Free Hawken In Game Credit w/ purchase, limited offer
Nice price for CAS8
GFX - $400 - Asus GTX 670 DCII
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
GFX - $400 - Asus GTX 670 DCII
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GeForce_GTX_670...
Only 10.0 rating ever given by techpowerup
If playing at 2560 x 1600 or above, I'd look at the 7970 Ghz
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_7970_GHz_Edit...
At 1920 x 1080 .... here's techpowerups results....
Asus GTX 670 DCII
Alan Wake 77.8
AvP 53.0
Batman Arkham City 90.7
BF3 72.9
BattleForge 129.9
CoD4 223.1
Civilization 4 85.9
Crysis 55.4
Crysis 2 67.4
Dirt 3 229.4
Dragon Age II 67.7
Hard Reset 92.4
Metro 2033 28.7
Stalker CoP 99.2
Starcraft 2 113.3
Shogun 2 62.4
Skyrim 79.1
WoW 142.5
Total 1770.8
7979 GHz
Alan Wake 84.3
AvP 59.5
Batman Arkham City 77.5
BF3 64.4
BattleForge 145.7
CoD4 222.0
Civilization 5 83.0
Crysis 55.7
Crysis 2 62.2
Dirt 3 174.6
Dragon Age II 58.2
Hard Reset 82.7
Metro 2033 33.9
Stalker CoP 91.7
Starcraft 2 113.4
Shogun 2 61.8
Skyrim 74.4
WoW 102.9
Total 1647.9
HD - $200 Caviar Black 2TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
SSD - $250 - Samsung 840 pro
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
DVD Writer - $60 - ASUS Blue Ray Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Whaddya need to change to get within your budget range ?
Save $70 - That's a 5 year warranty fast HD, you could pay half as much for a 2TB drive but likely 1 - 2 year warranty.
Save $100 - Save $135 with the Asus Saberttooth .... 5 year warranty
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...
+ $15 off w/ promo code cmptupgrd1, ends 2/11
Save $100 by dropping to a 3570k if its a gaming box, the 3770k's hyperthreading wont benefit ya much.
Save $16 by dropping to CAS 9 memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Save $40 by dropping to 8GB....thats the absolute minimum tho......games do in fact do better > 4GB .... even old gamed like half life
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ram-memory-upgrade,...
And I can't agree on the SLI is useless thing @ 1920 x 1080..... Not all games will trouble a single 670 but some will. Metro 2033 w/ one 670 is about 30 fps at high settings .... two gets ya to 50.
http://uk.hardware.info/reviews/2725/15/nvidia-geforce-...