Smarmy's prospective PC

Budget:
$3000.00

Expectations:
I'd like the PC to be playable for the next 5 years with minimal upgrades. Perhaps Crossfire or replace the video card.

Usage:
Games mostly but will be used for programming some. I am currently playing DAoC and Fallout New Vegas. I often try games but those are the ones I play at the moment.

Special Needs:
Fairly quiet since I sleep in the same room. I usually turn off the PC but sometimes I leave it running for long downloads.

Saved Ticket #: 459333

Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master HAF 932
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth X58 (Intel X58 Chipset) (Features USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s)
System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 1000W Corsair (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (80GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: X25-M MLC Edition) (Extreme Performance)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (80GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: X25-M MLC Edition) (Extreme Performance)
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: 1x (1TB Hitachi/Seagate (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache)
Optical Drive 1: Blu-Ray Writer/Reader (Burn and Play Blu-Ray Discs)
Optical Drive 2: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Internet Access: Wireless-USB N 300Mbps (Supports 802.11n/g/b)
Video Card: 1x ATI Radeon HD 6870 1GB
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: Noctua NH-U12P SE Dual 120mm Fans High Performance Cooler
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
Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Cooling Upgrade Recommended)
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: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Benchmarking: - No Thanks
Install/Test 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 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty

The only thing Windows 7 Professional offers that Home Premium doesn't is the ability to download and use XP Mode virtualization software. If you don't need XP Mode then drop down to Home Premium to save some.

I'm not sure what kind of setup you're going for with the two SSDs. There are no performance benefits to be had by splitting things between two SSDs, you'd be better off just getting a single 160GB Intel SSD for your OS/apps/games. That or RAIDing two 80GB ones together.

I think perhaps you have been fooled by the ATI video card naming changes, considering your high budget but only selecting a single 6870. The 6870 is only on par with a 5850 for gaming power. I'd suggest a 580, definitely in the budget.

Go for dual 580s with that budget, especially since gaming is your top priority.  You can tweak some things if necessary, but this system will remain relevant a lot longer than the one you listed.

ticket number: 459345
$3008

Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master HAF 932
Processor: Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth X58 (Intel X58 Chipset)
System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series
Power Supply: 1000W Digital Storm Certified (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible)
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (80GB Solid State (By: Intel)
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Hitachi/Seagate (7200 RPM)
Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Video Card: 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 1.5GB
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Noctua NH-D14 Extreme Performance
Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz
Boost Video Card: FREE: Yes, Overclock the video card(s) as much as possible with complete stability

Thank you for the help.

Although I put an upper limit on this build of $3000.00, that doesn't mean I want to buy more than I need.

I agree the second SSD is unnecessary. I'll remove that and get the 500gb secondary drive.
I don't use wireless for gaming at home but I do take my PC to a friends house periodically so I'll get the wireless.
I'm partial to ATI so I'll switch to the 5870. If needed, I can get a second one later on or replace the 5870.
I have some older applications I wrote that won't run under Windows 7 64. I've been too lazy to figure out why and fix them. For now, at least, XP mode is helpful so I'll get the professional version of windows.
Good catch on the warranty promo.
Excuse the brevity of my reply.
I'll post my reconfigured build later.