What would you recommend for a mobo? Size isn't too much of an issue as I have a cooler master HAF full size tower.

that depends entirely on the chipset you use. ATX is the most common used form factor due to the price and the expansion slots you get. i run a mATX board because it was cheaper than its big brother, but it only has 4 expansion slots rather than 6 (not like i need the extra ones).

i can give you a quick rundown of the best system you can get for your budget if you like?

Yeah that would be awesome.

quick question - what resolution is your monitor?

1920x1080@ 60hz

Intel Core i7 2600K
Asus P8Z68-M PRO
4x2GB Corsair Vengeance 1600Mhz DDR3 Cas8
Nvidia GTX570 (GPUs are a tough one atm. both Nvidia and AMD are about to release their new gen cards early 2012)
Corasir 650w PSU
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
Coolermaster HAF-X (already own)
Optical drive etc

id really hold on until early 2012 before upgrading.

nvidia, intel amd AMD are about to release their new line of CPUs and GPUs (early 2012) which will mean you can either purchase the above system for a cheaper price or get the brand new gear which will perform slightly better. whether the price : performance will be justifyable is completely up to you. however the above is the best system you can get for your price in todays market.

im personally holding on until the new line of nvidia GPUs. i kinda want to upgrade my GPU (currently running a gtx285 - which is fine for the games i run) but i believe ill need more power for BF3.

again, if you decide to buy now then the above system is the best. however if you can wait (till Q1 2012) then do. itll give you much more options

Thanks Mika! I think I'm going to go for it!!

well i would recommend holding out for a bit longer but thats your call

Well after doing a bit of research AMD is going to release their bulldozer chips which are supposed to come out in the next month or two. From what I've read they will compete with the i7s but lots are speculating that the i7 will still out perform. If I were to wait for Intels new chip would it cost the same as a i7 does now or more? I've read a bit about intels Ivy bridge but I don't really know what that means. lol.

this is what im saying - nvidia, ATI, intel and AMD (ATI and AMD are now the same company) are releasing brand new GPUs and CPUs all round by the end of 2011 / start of 2012. it would be silly if you were to start purchasing a new system right now. but for those who do, youre still getting a fantastic setup.

you never really know what's gonna outperform what until the actual release. there are too many fake charts and bullsh*tting comments from fanboys thats its not even worth bothering reading into until theyre released. id hold out for another couple of months (which isnt long, im sure you can cope ) until you have solid reviews and benchmarks to compare.

Well I think I'll plan on waiting for now. lol. We'll see though.

But the characteristics of computer components affect performance on the track?
Here are my components:
Windows XP Professional
Intel core 2Duo
CPU E6750 2,66GHZ (8X333)
NVIDIA GEFORCE 8800 GT 512MB
DIRECTX 9.0c

obviously if you have a smooth running game youre at an advantage as to someone who struggles with their fps. the smoother the game is, the better youll run. nkp isnt that GPU or CPU intensive meaning you can run the game on quite an average specced PC.