Want to build ultimate Photoshop workstation, need help

[photostu]

I need speed and storage across the board. I've started to work with really large photoshop files and my current box just can't handle the load. We're talking layered .psd files that are over 500MB, so writing these on save takes forever.
I haven't built a rig in several years, so my parts knowledge is no longer up to date.
Let me paint the overall picture, then I'll get into the specifics/questions I have so far.

Timeframe: within 4mos (or waiting on HDD prices to come back down to Earth)
Parts not needed: Monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers.
Purpose: Photoshop monster
Trying to stay ~ $2K, want separate storage for OS, scratch disk and data storage.
I am totally open to options across the board, again, I don't know what is best for each:

Case: RAIDMAX SMILODON
MB: ASUS P8Z68
CPU: i7-2600 3.4GHz
Cooler: Cooler Master
RAM: 16GB
Vid: GeForce GTX 460

Boot HDD: Crucial M4 128GB
Scratch HDD: Crucial M4 64GB
RAID Controller: LSI 9240-8i/IBM M1015 (ebay NIB)
Data HDD: 4x WD Caviar Black 1TB

So, my prefs:
For the case, would like quiet, cool and large enough to hold all the disks.
For the MB, really just need something that can handle the RAID card reliably, the ASUS I found looks fairly high-end.
For Vid, I'm not a gamer, so this is not that important, anything will work for the most part.

The biggest questions I have are regarding storage. I know I want a separate SSD for boot and scratch, that seems like a no-brainer. Is there a better SSD to choose?
For data storage, what RAID setup will work best? I need speed to write out large files, but still need decent storage to house my image collection.
Considering 4 disks in RAID 10, but this will limit to 2TB usable.
Would also consider running RAID5, to get 3TB usable. May want a 3GB backup disk though
Should I consider full RAID controller card (LSI 9260-4i) or will the host adapter I have listed be ok for my needs?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[gcmax]

The best hard drive in the world wouldn't save you much time when writing large files and I mention this as you seem to be much more focused on storage than processor, motherboard and ram. Performance is not really related to storage capacity.

If you value the quality of your work and clients satisfaction it is best to maintain stability when handling large amounts of virtual memory. Server grade "ECC" ram does this job: ECC or error correcting code memory as it is known has a built in algorithm to protect against data corruption.
Couple that ram with a server/workstation board and you will have a much more capable machine that will rarely (if ever) let you down.

The components listed are very average and would not be considered a professional setup, or a proper workstation. So once you have a decent workstation parts list...

Workstation motherboard (single or dual socket)
1 or 2 (Intel) processor - 2.6 - 3GHz or over (quad core > dual core)
ECC Ram 16-64Gb DDR2/3

...then look for a storage solution! Doubt you would need a raid unless you are going to be running a server and hosting a fairly busy website. Multiple SATA II or III hd's in standard configuration should be fine.


My set up;
Supermicro X7DAL Dual Socket
2 x Intel Xeon E5472 @ 3GHz
Supermicro 8Gb DDR2 ECC
Radeon HD4870X2
1 x Western Digital 75gb o/s drive - o/s and progs only
1 x Western Digital 300gb working drive
1 x Western Digital 1.5tb storage drive

*Data is backed up to disc and pen drive.

 

[photostu]

So your suggestion is just moving to workstation quality components, but this does nothing to address the issue of saving very large files very quickly.