New high end Gaming machine

[3nn10]

Price is not really that big of an issue, but I want to get the best bang for my buck. I don't plan on going overboard, I've asked around a lot and read many reviews and this is what I have so far.
(Parts needed: Mobo, Memory, CPU, fan/heatsink, Graphics card, Hard drive) I already have a good soundcard and case/power supply from my last build. I will be using Win7 ultimate 64

Mobo: (going for 1366, 333, and DDR3 1600)
ASUS P6X58D Premium - LGA 1366 - X58 - DDR3 - USB 3.0 SATA 6 Gb/s - ATX Motherboard - Asus ~ $300
or
GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD5 LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard ~ $289
or ???

Memory: (going for 6GB for now)
Corsair Dominator 6 GB PC3-12800 1600MHz Triple Channel Core i7 DDR3 CAS 8 Memory Kit CMP6GX3M3A1600C8 - Corsair ~$219
or
Mushkin Enhanced Redline 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model 998805 ~$200
or
G.SKILL PI 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL6T-6GBPI ~$209
or ???

CPU: (going for i7)
920 or 930? prices right now are ranging from 269-289 for either of them.

fan/heatsink:
Cooler Master V8 Nickel Plated Copper Base Aluminum Fins 8 Heatpipes Core i7 1366 CPU Cooler - (RR-UV8-XBU1-GP) - Coolermaster ~$56
or
Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler ~$90
or
Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.B CPU Cooler, plus two Noctua NF-S12B FLX 120mm, 3 Speed Setting, Beveled Blade Tips Design, SSO Bearing Fan for Push - Pull setup
or ???

Graphics Card: (I want something that can do everything)
EVGA 015-P3-1485-AR GeForce GTX 480 (Fermi) SuperClocked+ 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support ... ~540
or
some 5970?
I would prefer Nvidia, but if they are lacking now... This is where I am really torn!

Hard Drive: (going for utilizing sata3)
Western Digital 1 TB SATA3 7200rpm 64MB Hard Drive WD1002FAEX (Caviar Black) - Western Digital ~$ 95
or ???

Please let me know your suggestions. There are so many choices for ram/cpu/mobo/gpu, I really want to get the best combination of them all which will work the best together!


Also if anyone knows of a really nice monitor ~24" or so (thinking samsung led lcd HD), I had previously been playing on my 46" TV, but that is getting to be a bit too much...

Thanks in advance for all of your advice!

 

[batuchka]

"Price is not really that big of an issue, but I want to get the best bang for my buck."

Err last i check bang-for-buck = Performance/Price and your h/w choices:

At the highest end of the GPU hierachy no reviewer from respectable h/w sites had actually rated GTX 470/480 a better buy vs HD 5850/5870 fyi

 

[welshmousepk]

dont get a 480, grab two 460's in SLI.

 

[lowriderflow]

Agreed with above ^^^

Two 460's SLI smoke a single 480, and combined make less heat and use less power than one 480. Heres a new article :0
http://www.fudzilla.com/reviews/reviews/reviews/evga-gtx-460-sli-vs-gtx-480/page-10

 

[3nn10]

Alright, thanks for the info so far. As for the price comment. I want the best quality and highest end gear which will last me as long as possible. I don't want to go to like $1,000 components, but I'm willing to pay whatever it takes to get the best components in or around the quality range I'm talkin about. (so around 300 for a mobo, 200 for ram, 300 for CPU, 100 tops for fan/heatsink, 100ish for a hard drive (unless someone has some better advice on that, and graphics cards, I'm willing to pay whatever for the best performance (but not 2k for like 2x 5970s

So two 460s > then 1 480. Will I still have room for my sound blaster x-fi fatal1ty pro if I'm running two 460s?

How do two 460s compare to 1 5870?

If I go with 2x 460s, is the Asus or Gigabyte mobo still the best option?

 

[3nn10]

I was just looking at the 460s and 465s. 465s are really not much more expensive.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130564&cm_re=evga_gtx-_-14-130-564-_-Product
vs
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130557
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130555

Looks like 2x 465s could be pretty good? Also with having two evga cards, I'm thinking having an EVGA mobo would work out pretty well, what do you all think?
I'd like to be able to have my soundcard and the 2x GTXs, is that even possible on any of EVGA's mobos?

Thanks again everyone!

 

[3nn10]

Looks like this is the only "3" EVGA X58 mobo available, at least at newegg
EVGA X58 FTW3 132-GT-E768-KR LGA 1366 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Core i7, 3xSLI& CrossfireX, 2xSATA 3.0, 2xUSB 3.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188065

 

[3nn10]

Ok I've been looking deeper into my new build and now I'm wondering if my old Case/PSU will be ok. Cooler Master stacker 830 evo is what I have, with a real power pro 1k psu.

I was using this case/PSU with my last build, only using 1 8800gtx and a core2quad cpu.
Do you think the case and psu will be up to snuff for the new h/w, or will it degrade all of the new stuff by using this old box/psu?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/NewProduct.aspx?Item=N82E16811119136

 

[Hard Line]

honestly for motherboard i would go with UD3R or the UD5. UD3R got tom's best buy pick for features on a low priced board. ( why i got it myself plus I'm not rich lol ) 2 460s are about 14FPS higher in BC2 @ 1680x1050 and 1920x1200. however they are both over the 60 FPS that ppl say doesn't matter so much anyhow. 2 460's use 8 watts more than 5870 at idle, and 114 more watts at load.. so not sure it would be worth the extra power consumption ( for me i wouldn't bother.. I would just get 5870 and call it day) here is a review with benchies so you can see for yourself. Ultimately it is up to you and how you feel about each

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3809/nvidias-geforce-gtx-460-the-200-king/11

 

[welshmousepk]

dont get a 465, the 460 is actually a better card.

read up about it, but trust me when i say you want two 460's.

as hard line said, a 5870 would also be a great choice though.