Help!! New Computer Build for gaming, media, and internet.

I am thinking of building a computer for gaming, etc. I am new to this, yet know my way around computers. (After owning a Compaq, you have to know something about computers to keep it running!!). What I need is some advice on what motherboard, CPU, etc. would give me the best performance. I am looking to build for about $2000. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

it hurts me to say it, but if you wanna make the best system you're gonna have to get an AMD athlon FX-55 "clawhammer" core. Get a gigabyte board, like the GA-K8NXP-SLI (nForce4 SLI Chipset) or something else with that Nforce 4 northbridge. yeah, this will run you quite a few bucks, but if you've got 2 grand then why not? a hot scsi or 10k RPM sata drive, some name brand ram, and an ati x850 card. i wish that there was an intel option, but the 700 dollar+ FX-55 is currently the best choice for said use.