So, it's been about 3 years since I built my current computer. New technologies are blazing past my rig and new games make it want to cry. I'm not making this thread so those of Sharky do the work for me, more I want resources to help me build my next machine. I don't want flamewars, just user experiences with hardware, links to good reviews and info and possibly technical numbers (benchmarks, etc.) to help me in this process.

I figure I should be able to double the speed and performance of my current setup, if not triple it, within a $1,500 budget, which is about the amount of money I spent on the current box.

The current box:
A-Bit NF7 2.0, nForce 2
Athlon XP 2500+ (Barton) OC'ed to 3200+
2x Corsair Value RAM, PC 2700, 512MB
ATI Radeon 9700PRO
PATA Hard Drives
Thermaltake Xaser II Full Tower, 5 80mm fans
RaidMax 450w PSU, 3-Fan
Thermalright (forgot model...) HS with Thermaltake SmartFanII

What I want to have is a system that will last as long as this one did. A good 2-3 year lifespan will make me happy. A baseline of what I want is a system with a dual-core AMD CPU, an ATI 512MB video card with a GPU running at least 600MHZ, 2GB of PC4000 RAM, a nice PSU that will keep itself cool and has wrapped cables and a lightweight full-ATX case with fans that won't keep me up at night while also keeping my system nice and cool.

I have been window shopping and reading reviews like a mad-man; here is what I am thinking about getting:

ATX Computer Cases
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price 1 Thermaltake Tsunami VA3000BWA Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #: VA3000BWA
Item #: N82E16811133132
$108.99

 Internal Hard Drives
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price 2 Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 ST3250823AS 250GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: ST3250823AS
Item #: N82E16822148065
$206.00

AMD-compatible Motherboards
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price 1 ABIT AN8 Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Model #: AN8
Item #: N82E16813127197
$94.00

Video Cards
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price 1 ATI 100-435805 Radeon X1900XTX 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Model #: 100-435805
Item #: N82E16814195003
$649.00

Power Supplies
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price 1 Thermaltake Silent Pure Power W0049RUC ATX12V/ EPS12V 680W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: W0049RUC
Item #: N82E16817153021
$169.00

Fans, Heatsinks (Case, CPU, Chipset)
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price 1 ZALMAN CNPS9500 LED 92mm 2 Ball Blue LED Light Cooling Fan with Heatsink - Retail
Model #: CNPS 9500 LED
Item #: N82E16835118223
$63.99

Memory - System
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price 1 CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model Twinx2048-3200c2pt - Retail
Model #: Twinx2048-3200c2pt
Item #: N82E16820145575
$233.00

Processors
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price 1 AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Manchester 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA3800BVBOX - Retail
Model #: ADA3800BVBOX
Item #: N82E16819103562
$300.00

 Now, all of this is over my budget, but mainly what I want. Is this good? Will this really give me the performance boost I am looking for in a new computer? Can any corners be cut to make it cheaper or better while reducing or maintaining cost? Are any of the parts listed here something I should do everything in my power to avoid? Also, I want to be able to overclock for a little extra power, am I backing myself into a corner with these parts? Should I get faster/better SATA hard drives?

I have done a LOT of reading lately to try and get caught up on what is new, good and garbage. Other questions I am pondering are waiting around for prices to drop on some of this newer hardware, or if something newer/better/cheaper is around the corner.

I don't want flames, I want compelling information. My allegiances lies with Maxtor, A-Bit, ATI, nForce chipsets, AMD CPU's and Thermaltake cases, but with good information, I can better myself if there are better products out there.

For those that have taken the time to read this, thank you and I look forward to this thread and what it brings to the table, and, in hopes, will aid others in my situation or similar.