-I'd drop to an 850 watter with up to two 6870's or two 570's
-You don't need the 2700k and can cut quite a few bucks off ya cost if ya use a 2500k. The 2600k/2700k have Hyperthreading and HT's claim to fame is running mutithreaded apps. Gaming is not a hyperthreading thing .... tho that is now starting to change. The fact is however, a 2600k is fater than a 2500k and a 2700k is faster than a 2600k.
So if ya have the disposable income, there's no reason NOT to get a 2700k/2600k. It won't be much faster but it is faster outta the box. There is the argument that w/ HT on your CPU (2600k / 2700k) it runs hotter and this can limit your OC depending on cooler used. However, it is a very simple matter to save multiple BIOS profiles which deflates that argument completely. I typically make at least two with a 2600k.
24/7 Boot - HT On, 4.6 Ghz .... temps in low - mid 60's
Extreme Gaming Boot - HT Off 4.8 or more GHz ..... temps in low 70's
The question is ..... Is it worth it to you to spend an extra $150 for a 0.2 - 0.3 Ghz improvement (6 - 10%)
-The same argument can be made for GFX. Two 580's will cost ya $1000 and give ya 10% more fps than two 900 Mhz 560 Ti's. Will the box built w/ twin 580's be the better performing box ? Of course, but to mind, the extra $690 for the 580's plus PSU upgrade is too much to pay for just 10% more fps ..... I have no issue with peeps who find that small of a return on investment attractive.
-The DH-14 was my favorite LGA 775 cooler....but it has not been redesigned for 1155/1156/1366 and it has fallen outta the top tier into the 2nd tier on those platforms as you will see here:
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_conten...
For Sandy Bridge, you can see some of the top coolers compared here:
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_conten...
At $80, I'd go with the Thermalright Silver Arrow
At $50, I'd go with the Hyper 612 PWM or Scythe Mugen 3
At $30, I'd go with a Hyper 212 variant
-For GFX, look at the chart:
Guru3D uses the following games in their test suite, COD-MW, Bad Company 2, Dirt 2, Far Cry 2, Metro 2033, Dawn of Discovery, Crysis Warhead. Total fps (summing fps in each game @ 1920 x 1200) for the various options in parenthesis (single card / SL or CF) are tabulated below along with their cost in dollars per frame single card - CF or SLI:
$ 240.00 6950 Frozr OC (484/759) $ 0.50 - $ 0.63
$ 320.00 6970 (526/825) $ 0.61 - $ 0.78
$ 215.00 560 Ti - 900 Mhz (495/862) $ 0.43 - $ 0.50
$ 340.00 570 (524/873) $ 0.65 - $ 0.78
$ 500.00 580 (616/953) $ 0.81 - $ 1.05
The factory OC'd 6950 and 560 Ti above finish pretty evenly in a single card configuration (495 fps for the 560 and 484 fps for the 6950) so call it a wash ..... but in CF / SLI, the 560 takes a huge 103 fps lead. (862 fps to 759). The 560 also has tons of OC headroom .... I have seen some peeps bring it up to 30% over reference speeds ...
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1104/pg19/asus-ge...
As for one or two ..... one will serve you well in 95% of the games out there ..... if Metro 2033 and BF3 are in your line up, then I'd opt for the pair ... you certainly have the budget room ..... neither card will hit 30 fps in Metro 2033 but get close to 50 with SLI / CF.
I note in your other post, you listed video editing as one of your primary uses.....That not only eliminates ATI cards from consideration as you won't be able to use CUDA (a nVidia only thing) but it confirms the choice of the 2700k and the 16GB
-For RAM, make sure it's low profile...and again for the video editing, might wanna gear up on the speed and / or CAS latency.
-The vertex 2 is last generation and is about half as fast as the Vertex 3. Out of the current "Tier 1" products (Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 240 GB, OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS 240 GB, Patriot WildFire 240 GB, Samsung 830 SSD 256 GB), the Samsung is about the cheapest newegg special deal apparently ended yesterday .... The Chronos and Wildfire have the fancy smancy premium 3Xnm Toshiba Toggle Mode Flash Memory which the pundits are all jiggey about.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/4328/mushkin_chronos_d...
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/buy-ssd-recommendat...
-On HD's "Green" is code for "slow"
Barracuda XT is my 1st choice but $240
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_conten...
Caviar Black
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
If ya looking for cheaper but fast, this is new:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
-I'd want the ability to at least play BR given your setup
DVD Writer - $ 59 - Asus 24X DRW-24B3L w/ LS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
-No reason to buy a sound card when ya have it already on the MoBo.
Here's a $2,217 build
Case - $ 120 - Antec DF-85
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Why ? $190 case, discounted to $150 w/ $15 MIR and $15 off w/ promo code EMCKJKG38, ends 1/9 You did mention quiet and I can tell you that the Case / PSU combo runs extremely quiet and very cool..... Finally, the Hot Swap 2.5" drive bay is a superb way for you to transfer movies / videos. I don't go for the LED's personally so tun them off if ya no likie.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article971-page7.html
Case Fans - $ 15 - Antec Red 120 mm
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
PSU - $ 115 - Antec CP-850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
10.0 performance rated PSU per jonnyguru..... CPX form factor allows for unusualy quiet and cool operation.
MoBo - $ 200 - ASUS P8Z68-V Pro /GEN3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
CPU - $ 370 - Intel Core i5-2700K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Cooler - $ 83 - Thermalright Silver Arrow
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/11676/cpu-tri-77/Ther...
It comes close to topping the field but unique in that it does so quietly .... Son No. 3 has the same case and PSU w/ the arrow and you don't hear anything overclocked to 4.8Ghz
TIM - $ 5 - Shin Etsu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
It matches As5's thermal properties but doesn't have AS5's curing problems.
RAM - $ 160 - (4 x 4GB) Mushkin Redline CAS 7
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
CAS 7 and 16GB will help that video editing
GFX - $ 230 - Asus GTX 560 (900MHz)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
GFX - $ 230 - Same
HD - $ 230 - Seagate Barracuda XT 2TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Covered this alreday
SSD - $ 400 - Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 120 GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
DVD Writer - $ 59 - Asus 24X DRW-24B3L w/ LS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Covered the above 3 already