That is sad news on the Aspire/Apevia psu. It sounded good and looks great. I'm sure the Corsair you all like is a great psu, but it is a little too "bland" for my liking so I will have to keep looking for something else which is reliable and at least a little flashy.
As for the mobo/cpu combo. I am looking to utilize the SLI down the road. I know the gains on the second gpu are only 20-40%, but as time passes I will be able to purchase the second one for probably 20-40% less so its an even tradeoff, IMHO.
I have herard that the OCZ has ripplez on teh 12v railz0rz. You better off going wit this-
Newegg.com - XCLIO GREATPOWER X14S4P3 550W ATX12V 550W Power Supply 100-240V / 200-240V UL, CUL, TUV, CB, VDE, FIMKO, DEMKO, NEMKO, SEMKO - Retail
It is not 'flashy' but i would rather hae performance than aeshetics.
Out of interest, are you still going for the original case or the armor?
Not at all.
If that's the case than go with the DS3R mobo, grab a evga 8800gts 320mb, cruicial ballistix ram ddr2 2x1gb kit. That will handle plenty for atleast the next year or 2.
While you cannot SLI with the DS3R you can always upgrade to the new 9 series next year when the prices drop. The DS3R has been proven to majorly overclock CPUs consistently. It is also future proof as it will handle the next generation CPUs. Best bang for the buck right there.
Don't skimp on the PSU. The Xclio Greatpower will be a nice PSU you can hardly go wrong with the Corsair 620HX as it will definately future proof you.
Go with a RAID 0+1 setup and pick up a couple 320gb Seagates or if you are not fond of RAID than pick up a 500gb seagate.
I am not familiar with the case you chose, but I would go with a coolmaster, lian li or antec nine hundred case as you need to have very good airflow to keep the overclocked components cool. Those cases provide the best cooling on the market right now.
nicely said but raid 0+1 needs 4 drives
DOh. Had a brain fart. Good catch. Go with RAID 1