New System Build - best compatability of components, longevity

Looking for some help building out a new comp - my 5 year old system just took a dump in the case so its time to build a new one... (please point me at a pertinent thread if this is sounding familiar)...

Based on comments below:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827136152 - $24.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835186020 - $6.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227381 - $109 (instant rebate $30, mail in $20)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6832116488 - $99.99 (necessary evil I guess)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.178067 - $349.98 ($165 combo savings)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.175960 - $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.179001 - $569.99 (-$35.00 Combo, -$49.99 Saving, $30.00 Mail-in Rebate, $20.00 Mail-in Rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.179226 - $578.99 (-$15.00 Combo, -$49.99 Saving, $30.00 Mail-in Rebate)
2 year extended warranty on gpu/cpu combos - $$119.98
3 day shipping - $18.99

Grand Total: $2,059.53

less $80-$100 mail in rebates


APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Before April 10th - (playing wow on my work laptop sucks)
BUDGET RANGE: $1000 - $2000 - am looking for some longevity here.
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: World of Warcraft, Other Games, Watching movies locally and streamed, and I guess work (website development etc)
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard/mouse, Samsung Syncmaster 226BW
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com, tigerdirect.com
PARTS PREFERENCES: Looking for best in class and compatibility - have leant towards AMD in the past but if Intel gives me better life expectancy am not stuck in one camp or the other. Nvidia or Radeon same deal - if the quality of the component means paying a tiny bit extra that's fine - would rather not have cheap components crap out the system.
OVERCLOCKING: Maybe
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680 x 1050 (226bw tech spec)
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Prefer full tower cases for room (last case I was pretty happy with was http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129115 - pretty sure I did not bleed into that one when I built it which was a bonus - but old system still in there and might try to resurrect it at a later date) - prefer not to have a case that looks like the love child of Optimus Prime and a Disco Ball. I am looking for detailed recommendation here down to thermal paste if possible . So many changes since I last built my comp that I do not have time to learn it all yet.

Now for the lower-end of the budget:

Case/PSU: Antec 300 and EA500
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.178069

GPU/CPU: Saphire 4870 512mb and PII 940
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.177907

Mobo:GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128387

Ram: 4GB G Skill PI Black DDR2-800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231209

HDD: WD6401AALS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.175960

Cooler: Xigmatek S1283
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835233003
Grease: MX-2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835186020

Vista: Home Premium 64bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6832116488

Optical: LG DVD Combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827136152

Total of that comes to $960 with shipping, then $15 MIR. That will play WOW just fine on your monitor and doesn't break the bank. Its really up to you how good you want this PC to be and how long you want it to last. I think you should get that first build I put up there though, it will last longer and kick a lot more ass. Its twice as expensive, but you are getting twice the computer as well.

I hear you about those gaudy looking cases with the bright flashy lights, and gaudy looking side windows that end up making the case look like something out of a cheap sci-fi movie. This case below is somewhat convservitive (kind of anyways), and is considered to be one of the best for airflow/ventilation not to mention it's a full tower with plenty of room to spare. This case goes for $150 on newegg...and that's just because they dropped the price on it yesterday. This case usually retails for close to $200. I found it for $120 thanks to google shopping. The mobo on this build is set up for either SLI or Crossfire...it does both. The heat sink on here is rated in the top 5 at "frostytech. com" not to mention the thermal compound in this build is the best as far as a lot of people including myself are concerned. It is non conductive, and there is no set up time. The memory in this build a steal at that price. Ah and the vid card. The gtx 285 is about the best thing going right now. It's a low power consuming card, it doesn't produce a lot of heat, and it runs comparable in a lot of games with the ATI 4870 x2 with is a heat producing power hog. Later on if you get a monitor with a higher resolution and you feel the need to add another one of these vid cards to run them in SLI that option is there sans the reason for the full tower and the 850w psu in this build.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119160 <--- Better pics and reviews on this link for that case that I put in this build.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/g [...] -285-1gb/1 <--- Here is a review and comparison of the gtx 285 a long with graphs, etc.. comparing it to other vid cards.

http://www.gigabyte.us/Products/Mo [...] uctID=3020 <---The mobo I used in this build; specs, etc...

http://www.securemart.com/SMA21014 [...] gn=freeppc $119.91
Cooler Master RC-932-KKN1-GP HAF 932 Chassis - 12 Bays - Black

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139009 $139.99 ($119.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128386 $209.99
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R-SLI LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=I7-920 $265.99 Free Ground Shipping
Intel Core i7 Processor i7-920 2.66GHz 8MB LGA1366 CPU, OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835233029 $39.99
XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835186020 $6.99
ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231247 $94.99 Free Shipping*
G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814125255 $339.99 ($309.99 after $30.00 Mail-In Rebate)
GIGABYTE GV-N285-1GH-B GeForce GTX 285 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136319 $79.99 Free Shipping*
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827136152 $24.99 Free Shipping*
LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6832116488 $99.99 Free Shipping*
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM

Total: $1,422.81 *(not including shipping and rebates)

Go with EVGA over Gigabyte. They have a better warranty, the hardware itself is pretty much identical unless they use an aftermarket cooler on it.

http://www.securemart.com/SMA21014 [...] gn=freeppc $119.91
Cooler Master RC-932-KKN1-GP HAF 932 Chassis - 12 Bays - Black

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139009 $139.99 ($119.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

Total: $259.90 / $239.90 after rebate