Looking for Best Bang for Buck/Trying to Reduce Bottleneck

[Nickoli77]

I am a first-time poster and first-time builder, so please excuse me if I make any forum mistakes and/or ask ridiculous questions; I am very new to the computer building world.

Background: I have an Asus X83v laptop that just isn't cutting it anymore for performance. This, along with other problems (i.e. me trashing the battery) have lead me to be desirous of a computer that will have as much power as money will allow and will be capable of lasting a long time. Along with this, my budget is around 1300$.

I have found many potential solutions to this problem and have stumbled upon 3 viable solutions.

The First: ASUS N76VZ-DS71 http://www.powernotebooks.com/configure.php?special=1294v
With the following options selected different:
System Memory changed to 16GB
Secondary HD changed to NONE (I might add the HD from my Asus [288GB] to it)
Optical Drive Changed to Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti DVDRW/CDRW Drive (I don't need a Blu-Ray Player)

Total: 1365.76
This option would be useful due to the simple fact that I will be living on a college campus and portability is desirable. This, however should not be a limiting factor by the fact that if I go with a desktop I have have a small laptop to use for classes and assignments and documents. I also enjoy the Asus brand quite a bit.

The Second: A Custom Build

Asus Sabertooth Z77 Motherboard
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2406886&csid=_61
240
EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2Gb Video Card
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=982626&csid=_61
255
Intel i7-2600 CPU
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7073160&csid=_61
300
Corsair CWCH60 Cooler
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7335485&csid=_61
70
Corsair Vengeance 16Gb 1600MHz RAM
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7025816&Sku=C13-5706&SRCCODE=LINKSHARE&cm_mmc_o=-ddCjC1bELltzywCjC-d2CjCdwwp&AffiliateID=iFudSkud_Rc-7yGSVEiYaK7cCSTyvs2u9g
97
Cooler Master Case
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6430030&sku=C283-3122
50
Ultra LSP650 650-Watt Power Supply
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3276573&sku=ULT-LSP650
55
Crucial m4 2.5" Solid State Drive - 64GB, SATA III 6Gb/s
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=365474&sku=C19-8024
80
I Will Use HD from Asus X83v as Secondary HD (288GB)
I Will use my HD 1080p TV as a monitor
Use extra copy of Windows, Office
mouse, keyboard, headphones/speakers = meh
Total Cost: $1,176.92
I've checked the compatibility of all the components and everything seems okay. I would like to find out what you guys think the bottleneck of this build would be as I have about 130$ left to spend on the build.

Third Option: An Asus Sabertooth Barebones Kit http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2580499&CatId=4910
To This I would have to add a Video Card, Probably the EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2Gb Video Card
The benefits of this build is that it comes with a more powerful processor, the i5-3570k, though from the reviews I have read it does not seem much better than the i7-2600 other than power consumption. It also comes with less RAM, but it does come with a bigger SSD drive and a 1 TB Secondary Hard Drive. I could probably also sell the Blu-Ray Player for a few bucks.
Total Cost: Around 1447 with Video Card, 8GB RAM minus the Blu-Ray

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Nickoli77]

Here is my updated list.
Any opinions on the "OR"'s would be appreciated

Asus Sabertooth Z77 Motherboard
http://www.tigerdire...406886&csid=_61
240
OR
ASUS P8Z77 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 Motherboard
http://www.newegg.co...ASUS-_-13131820
185

EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2Gb GPU
http://www.tigerdire...982626&csid=_61
255
OR
Gigabyte GV-N670OC-2GD GeForce GTX 670 2GB GPU
400

Intel i5-2500K CPU
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819115072
220
OR
Intel Xeon E3-1230 V2 CPU (If actually as good as the i7-3770)
http://www.newegg.co...D=1jomx6rkbzmgm
234

Cooler Master Hyper 612 PWM Cooler
http://www.tigerdire...=26-150821009-2
50

G. Skill Ripjaws X Series 8 GB DDR3 RAM
http://www.newegg.co...KILL-_-20231445
60

Rosewill Blackbone Black Steel Mid Tower Case
http://www.newegg.co...ID=rlorxc6nvkoa
40

Corsair SMPSU-500CXV2 500W Power Supply
http://www.tigerdire...e=33-64016851-2
50
OR
Corsair CMPSU-650TXV2 650W Power Supply
http://www.tigerdire...5036&CatId=1483
85

Crucial m4 2.5" Solid State Drive - 64GB, SATA III 6Gb/s
http://www.tigerdire...74&sku=C19-8024
80
OR
Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD1 2.5" 128GB SATA III
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820148529
125
*Depends on if I decide I need more than 64 GB for my OS
Still gunna use my 288GB from my Asus as my Secondary Drive
Total: 940 to 1234

Although my budget is large I am still thrifty enough to be concerned about getting the most bang for my buck.