As you can see here, they hit 4.4 Ghz easily with the Intel Stock cooler....no need for water.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-980x-efficiency,2590.html
And yes, With AutoCAD, Adobe Suites, 2D graphics, you definitely want an nVidia card.....
To allow for OC'ing (4.4 Ghz +) and twin GFX cards, going full tower....drop to mid tower if dropping one of those.
Full Tower Antec 1200 w/ CP-850 PSU $230 And yes, the blingy LED things do thankfully have OFF switches
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.345233
Alternate Full Tower HAF 932 w/ Corsair HX850 $330
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011
Mid Tower HAF 922 w/ TX650 $160 (180 - $20 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
Alternate Mid Tower Antec 900 w/ EA-650 $180
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129064
ASUS P6X58D-E LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 w/ Intel i7-980 $1300
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.379022
RAM - (avoid tall heat spreaders which may interfere w/ heat sink).
Fastest available is Mushkin redline CAS 6 ($250 x 2 = $500)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226121
Alternate RAM CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 CAS 7 Model CMX6GX3M3C1600C7 $200 x 2 = $400[/b]
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145286
Hard Drives - Check out the performance charts and pick whatever 500 GB per platter drive performs best under your usage patterns. The 2 TB WD Black and XT from Seagate are good choice but at smaller capacities, you are limited to the Seagate 7200.12 or the Spinpoint F3. The 7200.12 excels in gaming, multimedia and pictures whereas the F3 wins at music and movie maker. See the comparisons here (copy past link in manually, link won't work in forum):
(http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2009-3.5-desktop-hard-drive-charts/compare,1006.html?prod[2371]=on&prod[2770]=on)
Look at the tests that reflect your usage and choose accordingly.
2 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS $180
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148433
Heat Sink - For top notch performance and ease of installation
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=492&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=4
Prolimatech Megahalems ($100) ($65 for the HS, $7 for TIM, $11 each for two PWM fans and $7 for a Y cable splitter).
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/8807/cpu-pro-01/Prolimatech_Megahalems_Rev_B_Intel_CPU_Heatsink_LGA_775_1156_1366_AM2_AM2_AM3_Hot_Item.html
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/7038/thr-41/Innovation_Cooling_Diamond_7_Carat_Thermal_Compound_-_15_Grams.html?id=BZWnrfIC
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/10026/fan-639/Scythe_Slip_Stream_120mm_x_25mm_PWM_Fan_-_SY1225SL12LM-P.html?tl=g36c365s936
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/8418/cab-150/FrozenCPU_PMW_Y_Splitter_Cable.html
If that's a budget breaker, look at the Xigmnatec S1283 or one of the others here:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/Recommended_Heatsinks
http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm#INTELHEATSINK
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=432&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=23
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=492&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=4
pick a TIM from the top few here:
http://www.hwreviewlabs.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=64%3Amega-44-thermal-paste-round-up&catid=32%3Around-ups&Itemid=47&limitstart=3
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/thermal-interface-roundup_10.html#sect1
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=138&Itemid=1&limit=1&limitstart=3
GFX Card - ASUS ENGTX470/2DI/1280MD5 GeForce GTX 470 (Fermi) $350 x 2 = $700
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121372
Optical - Wanna watch movies ?
Plextor Blue Ray Combo Model PX-B320SA LightScribe Support and 50 LS disks $125
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827249055
If not, Alternate Optical
Any $25 burner
Option - SSD - Intel G2 160 Gb for OS and scratch disk $444
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167024
2 optionl case fans $30 for GFX cards $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835209011
AFT card reader $34
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820176016&cm_re=aft-_-20-176-016-_-Product
Totals $3199 w/ bolded items (no SSD)