Thanks again to everyone who helped me with this. You all agree that 3K is way overboard. I'll take that as a sign to save my money. BTW where do I find these items? (newegg?)
Yep. The upper limit is generally around $2k. The items I suggested are all from Newegg. It's the best e-tailer out there.
Also once I get them all then what? am I missing anything? a Raid controller?
Nope, I think you'll have everything you need. The RAID controller comes built-in with the motherboard.
Also, a lot of you have stated that I can upgrade again in three years. What do you mean? upgrade the pc I just built or start all over again?
We mean "build a new PC but reuse those parts that are still useful", like keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, optical drives, maybe the case, etc.
So what do you think? Liking any of the proposed builds? vernong1992's build was also very good (similar to mine). You'll have a kickass system for around $1500.