How-To Geek

Sorry, I know this topic happens all the time. Just need some suggestions on the direction of my build. And all advice is greatly appreciated. First I get to entertain you with a story.
I actually did my first computer build 2 weeks ago. My brother happened to visit after a 1 and a half year absence from home, and I gave it to him as a gift after it was completed. It had a 6700 cpu, 780i ftw mb from EvGA, Blu-ray, Dvd burner, 8g ram, etc. etc. I had my eye on something else, and it put a smile on my brothers face anyway. Now I'm doing another build and getting the parts now. I'm in no big rush, so I buy the parts piece by piece every 4 or 5 days. I tend to read alot about what I can expect from the components. Enough of that here is what I have so far. Forgot to add, I'm trying to build a great gaming system.

Case: Thermaltake Armor+ VH6000
Psu: SilverStone Op1000-Evolution (1000 Watt)
Dvd Burner: Sony DRU-V200S
Keyboard: Logitech G15
Mouse: Logitech G9
Cpu: i7 920 ( got it for $229 at microcenter in my state.)
Fan Controller: Zalman AM-MFC 1

Here's the items I plan on getting to fill the rest of this gaming machine out.

Hard drive 1: Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB Hard Drive - 10K, 16MB, SATA-300
Hard drive 2: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (bare drive) - OEM
Blu-Ray: Lite On IHES206-08 Blu-ray Disc Reader with DVD Writer Combo - 6x BD-ROM, 16X DVD+R, 8X DVD+RW, 16X DVD-R, 6x DVD-RW, SATA
Speakers: Logitech G51 Surround Sound Speaker System
Ram: Corsair XMS3 Tri Channel 6GB PC10666 DDR3 Memory - 1333MHz, 6144MB (3 x 2048), (I want a total of 12 g's)
Dual Monitor Stand: Ergotron 33-322-200 Dual Horizontal Monitor Deskstand up to 22" LCDs - Black

The parts I'm having trouble deciding on:
Motherboard: I really like that MSI eclipse, and am leaning heavily towards that. But I have read some reommendations about Asus P6T. So picking my brain over that one.

Monitors: I'm getting 2, but they have to be able to play at full blu-ray specs. It just doesn't make sense to me to get a blu-ray drive and not make the appropriate use of it. i saw a 24 inch spectre that seemed to fit my bill. The were about $289 each.

Cpu Fan: I'm still researching it. Looked at liquid cooling, but I'm too scared to even attempt it.

Video Cards: I realize that this decision is the heart of my machine. With The MSI eclispe board, I can run either Crossfire or SlI. I'm leaning towards (2) Sapphire 4870's. I would really need some help on this choice.

I don't have a budget for this build, but I want to get as much value as I can. I might have left out some small things. But any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks for your advice SSSammy, it is greatly appreciated. I am going to take it. From what you say, and from what I have been reading you are echoing everything I have been reading. I am now looking at nvidia cards now, especially that 260 you mentioned.

I have changed my mind also on that Seagate Barricuda. Plenty of stories of how it just wasn't ready for release. And most people who have installed them have about a 40% chance of getting a "Lemon". So I'm going to get another Hitachi 750MB, no problems with that one I installed for my brother last month.

Still bouncing back and forth between the Asus P6T deluxe and the MSI Eclipse. But leaning still towards the MSI Eclipse.

I have a great job, but funny hours. Going to be ordering CPU fan, additional case fans, blu-ray, hard drive, speakers. And still kicking around my MB choice.

Ok, just an update of how this build is going. I have purchased a few more things.

MSI X58 Eclipse SLI LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Corsair XMS 6 GB Kit (1600 mhz)
LITE-ON Black 6X Blu-ray DVD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal 6X Blu-Ray DVD ROM & 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Model iHES106-29 - OEM
ZALMAN CNPS 9700 NT 110mm 2 Ball Ultra Quiet CPU Cooler - Retail
ZALMAN ZM-CS4A Socket 1366 Clip Support Kit for CNPS9500/9700 - Retail
(2) Thermaltake 140mm TurboFans

So what I'm lacking is:

Speakers: Logitech G51 Surround Sound Speaker System
Corsair XMS 6 GB Kit (1600 mhz), I'm still going to max it out at 12GB
Monitors: (2) Sceptre x24wg-Naga 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor - 2ms, 4000:1, 1920x1200 (WUXGA), DVI, VGA, Black
Dual Monitor Stand: Ergotron 33-322-200 Dual Horizontal Monitor Deskstand up to 22" LCDs - Black
Soundcard: Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer PCI Sound Card.
Vista Home 64 bit

As you can see I'm still waffling as far as video cards. Just alot of options out there. I was leaning 4870, then 260. I'll have my mind made up by Thursday. That's when I will purchase my first video card. Any tips or comments would be appreciated.

Oh, and I'm still thinking of getting the Western Digital Velociraptor.....waffling on that also.