koala

I can recommend the Asus P5Q Deluxe. It runs cooler and uses less power than previous versions, and also has a built-in mini Linux OS that can be up and running within seconds of switching on with no need for a hard drive (a bit of a gimmick, but a nice one). Suitable for your CPU. Plenty of ports, probably more than you need.

Some people might disagree, but I wouldn't go for 2 9800GTX cards. A single high quality card like an overclocked high-end 8800 or HD4850/4870 will allow you to play modern games at maximum settings with good framerates. A single card will use less power and require less cooling than SLI/Crossfire cards.

The PSU is the most important component, especially for a gaming machine which is running fully stressed for hours at a time. It needs enough watts for your existing components and allow for future upgrades, and enough amps to comfortably power your graphics card and other devices. You need to be looking around the 650-750W mark from a company like OCZ, Seasonic, Corsair, Thermaltake, etc.

You say you want at least 4gb RAM. If you're using a 32bit operating system, it will only be able to use 3-3.5gb of the RAM. Anything more than this could lead to problems. 64bit XP/Vista/Linux can use 4gb and higher.

If you have any spare money after selecting your components, you might want to consider a new case (without PSU preferably). This will be quieter and cooler than your generic case, and probably have more room for upgrades.

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