New $1300-1600 Game PC

Well if your primary purpose is gaming then there are several changes I would recommend.

First off a note on overclocking. Overclocking on any gaming mobo is the same process of tweaking various settings. No mobo is best for a beginner to learn to overclock on because its just a matter of familiarizing yourself with the BIOS. (unless you're using OC software, which you shouldn't since they universally suck) Where the difference lies is how far you can push the settings.

Unfortunately, the MOBO you choose is only half the equation, the other is how good a CPU you get. By this I don't mean which model you choose, but rather which specific i5 chip you get. You can get lucky and get one that does a %80 overclock, or be unlucky and get one that caps at %20. This you have no control over as it's a luck of the draw kinda deal.

Regardless, this shouldn't matter unless you're an extreme overclocker. For a mild say from 2.66 to 3.2 overclock, any i5 mobo from a respectable company, ASUS, Gigabyte, EVGA, etc will work.

Finally, for current games, overclocking does not actually seem to make a huge difference as most are being GPU limited, not CPU. In fact Tom's recently showed at 1920 x 1200 resolution, an i5 at 3.8 ghz has identical fps to an i5 at 2.6 ghz (the difference seen is within the margin of error).
This was done with 5770's though, so there may be a greater difference if you have say, xfire 5850's.

http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 46-16.html


- Mobo/CPU

First off, consider going with a i5 system as for gaming it performs essentially the same as an i7.

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipse [...] =3634&p=16

You can save a ton of money this way, and I'd recommend you use these savings to include a SSD with your build. While it won't increase your FPS, SSD's really speed up booting and level loading. In a good system its something like a 10x faster boot.

Core i5 and ASUS P7P55D LGA 1156 Combo - $329.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.273250

The Asus MOBO is a solid board and overclocks fine.


-PSU

Your PSU is unnecessary for your system.
http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 33-13.html

Every if you plan on xfire later its still too large. For a single 5870 a 650 watt PSU is enough.

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V -$99.99 + $20 mail in rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139005

You can even xfire the 5870's with that PSU. Though if u want to future proof you could get the 750 instead. If you decide to go with the 5850's (see below) then the 650 is more than enough even for xfire.

- Ram
G Skill Ripjaw series has been very popular lately for its Overclocking abilities
http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=650

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB DDR3 1600 7-7-7-24 timings - $94.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231279

- CPU Cooler
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus - $29.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835103065

Cheap yet one of the best CPU coolers out there for an i5. BEWARE its VERY tall and may not fit some cases. The Antec 1200 should not have any issues though.

http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm

- Hard Drives

I know you didn't say you need them, but with a new comp its worth getting new HD's especially since they are so cheap now.

SSD
Definitely a great investment for any future proof PC. Anandtech has a great article explaining all the details as well as why you should get one.
http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=3631

Intel X25-M Mainstream - $289.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820167016

You can also consider getting an Element S case combo with this for a $90 discount.

Storage Drive
WD Caviar Blacks are the best performance 1tb drives for their price (similar performance to first generation Raptors). Though for media storage you can just get a Caviar green for $10 less. Oddly, ATM newegg is sold out of the blacks o.O

WD Caviar Black 1 TB $94.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136284


- GPU
5870 is a great GPU, but value wise its $120 more than a 5850 for ~%10- %15 increase in performance.
http://www.anandtech.com/video/sho [...] =3650&p=14

Better off IMO to save some money now and xfire the 5850's later on.
5850's are a bit hard to find right now, but by November there should be enough in the supply chain.

SAPPHIRE 100282SR Radeon HD 5850 - $259
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102857

Your case choice is fine as is your cd/dvd drive


Total system cost including your case and cd/DVD selection- $1389.92 before rebates

$1369.92 after rebates

Bear in mind this includes a new 1 TB hard drive. Take that out and the cost is $1294.93 before rebates.

If you wanna go towards the high end of your range, then throw in a second 5850 for Xfire and a system cost of $1553 before rebates.

the charts linked have the i7 920 data too. In fact, the i7 920 does WORSE than an i5 in every game tested.

Definitely agree about the SSD. They are the future of storage space and much faster. There have been a couple sales lately on that model so keep an eye out. I've seen them for as low as $220.
Intel X25-M Mainstream - $289.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820167016