A hello to DS, suggestions, and my story

Budget:
$3,500ish

Expectations:
Stability, high end gaming on one 27" monitor, world peace (?)

Usage:
90% gaming, 10% stuff that is not gaming (writing papers, web surfing, etc). I enjoy FPS and MOBA games mostly. I will be playing D3 like the rest of the civilized world. MMOs are bad for the soul and I like my soul....

Special Needs:
A reinforced helmet and non-toxic crayons? (joking) :)

Saved Ticket #: 682376 OR 682377

Specifications (see below for questions):
CM Cosmos 2 vs. CM HAF Case?

First of all: Hello DS forums! :)

I have been reading many a post on here and it seems like there is an awesome community and welcoming atmosphere here as well as some extremely knowledgeable folks. I like that!

So here is a little background info on why I'm here. I made a mistake and went with a customized computer from local computer store (who shall remain nameless) and basically they did a terrible job on the build. Wiring is terrible, BIOS is misconfigured, sold me extra parts I don't need, internal components either don't work or partially work (internal card reader has some inconsistent funtionality), basically everything that someone putting together a gaming system would NOT want to happen.

The plus side of this is that I am in a position that I can afford to get a new system and from everything I have seen and read here and elsewhere it seems like Digital Storm is the best place to order. Also, the computer will not be going to waste because my fiance (who is also a gamer) :) will be entering an intensive interior design program and she will get my brand new "old" system. Before she gets it though I will be bringing it to a friend of mine who is a computer tech and hopefully we can sort it out and get it into tip top shape.

This leads me to my first question:
Does Digital Storm offer some sort of service for someone in a situation like mine? Something like sending them a system and them doing a sort of overhaul on it? Not sure if this makes sense or not.

Onto some build questions now:

Case Question:
I've been eyeballing the CM Cosmos 2 Case because, well, its just gorgeous. I guess I am looking for thoughts on the Dreadnought vs. Valkyrie line ups, but especially about the Cosmos vs HAF cases. Is the Cosmos case worth the money?

Motherboard and Chip Question:
This is causing me more of a dilemma than I thought it would.
I was thinking either:
ASUS P9X79 with i7 3930k
or
ASUS Maximus IV Extreme with i7 2700K

A couple notes on personal preference:
I would prefer to only have one hard drive with the initial build. I may add a second one later. I realize the PSU is a little overkill and thats because I may want to add a second GTX 680 later. I'll shut up and listen now. :)

Anyway, sorry for the long post and any ideas, thoughts, or feedback would be welcome.

I was thinking something like this as a rough build:

Price: $3,348

Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master Cosmos II
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 3930K 3.2GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Six-Core)
Motherboard: ASUS P9X79 DELUXE (Intel X79 Chipset) (Features USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s)
System Memory: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 1050W Corsair Pro Silver 1050HX (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (2TB Western Digital (7200 RPM) (Model: Black Edition) (SATA 6Gbps)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: Blu-Ray Player/DVD Writer (Play Blu-Ray and Burn DVDs)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB (Includes PhysX) (Overclocked EVGA 02G-P4-2682-BR)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Corsair H100 Liquid CPU Cooler (240mm Radiator) (Extreme-Performance Edition)
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Stage 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires Pro/Deluxe/Sabertooth Motherboard)
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Boost OS: FREE: Yes, Disable and tweak all of the non-crucial services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Game: - No Thanks
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty

Hi Proxxima... FrankW gave you great advice, to give you the most for your money.

Edited by bprat22 - 01 May 2012 at 8:45am

Frank and bprat22,

Thank you both for the awesome advice. I'v been playing around with the configurator and had come to some similar conclusions.

I'll work a little more on the build and post another soon.

Thanks guy. :)