thanks guys, I'll look over the parts suggested and come up with a revised build. Will post back soon.
thanks for the suggestions and more are of course welcome.

whats the general consensus on which brand for 5870 or 5850 are current top picks?

about the motherboard, whats the issue between asrock mobo with i7 build mitchymo? looks as though there should be no compatibility problems. I'm not looking to OC this. any other suggestions on which motherboard I should take a look at? I used to lean towards asus for that kinda thing but got turned off by newegg review of all their 1366 motherboards. that asrock board seems pretty solid although I haven't had experience with asrock before.

thanks for the feedback although Im sticking with mostly the original build, I like the lian li case and I trust corsair, the g.skill sticks seem to be the same timing can someone explain what would be better about them?
I know the power supply is a bit much but I want to be able to upgrade later if I want, I've had that problem on my previous comp actually where I overdid it a bit trying to get a bfg card to run on a comp with a small power supply. <.<
Im fine with the 1x hd because I have some other sata hds I'm planning to plug into this comp as well.

LIAN LI PC-60FWB Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
>>ASRock X58 Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail<< looking at other options currently.
Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail
SAPPHIRE 100281SR Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video ... - Retail
2x CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C9 - Retail
CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3750528AS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223B - OEM
XIGMATEK Intel Core i7 compatible Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail

comes out to $1,651.48 with shipping.

another thing I'm wondering is if these specs are a bit overkill as it is. I do of course like amazing graphics and want to have a powerful comp, but idk if it's really necessary maybe even 1x 4870 might be enough, save the money and perhaps get a new sound system for my room instead. That's something I gotta figure out on my own though. <.<

Give us a budget for rig only and well spec one out for you. Then buy a sound system with the left over money.

And just for the rest of the guys. You know asus makes asrock mobos right?

So the price difference between 5870 and 4870 is $200, I like to run my games on the highest settings just as much as the next guy, but am I looking at a performance difference where in the next few years it'll be a serious difference between being able to run something on high settings and not? does it warrant the extra cash put into this project or is this cash better spent on upgrading my sound system.
I'd like for this comp to be pretty solid and last me a number of years with minimal upgrades, although leave room in it for upgrade potential. Is it overkill to go for i7 + 5870 + 12gb ram at this point in time or is it worth the money since I have the money laying around. (which would otherwise be put to sound system + eating out more often + more blunts etc)

I think I'm pretty set on this build for the price but then I'm constantly questioning myself on if it's overkill. opinions?
I do game a lot and I do want to make up for those missed games over the past few years that I was not able to run on the highest settings. Most games which I play hardcore do not actually have very high reqs but I do want to be able to enjoy those types of games as well in their full glory. I also am a user of illustrator/photoshop and premiere and plan to use the comp for that as well as gaming.

This is how my build is looking pretty much finalized given Im going with this higher budget route:
SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223B - OEM
LIAN LI Lancool PC-K62 Black 0.8 mm SECC, Plastic + Mesh ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3750528AS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
SAPPHIRE 100281SR Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video ... - Retail
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail
CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
2x CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C9 - Retail
ASRock X58 Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail
XIGMATEK Intel Core i7 compatible Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail

This post was edited by Ziecheik on Oct 2 2009 12:58pm

So I answered those questions on "is it worth it?" for myself, and decided - yes, it is worth it to have a pimped out solid comp that will last me for a while.
Order has been placed on the build in the post above, expecting it to come in Monday or Tuesday and build it then.

Large thanks to all you guys that gave some feedback and suggestions, even if I didn't use them it got me to research further options and I appreciated that. Thanks again for the help.

Good case
Good mobo
Great CPU
Get a 4870x2 instead
Good RAM
That PSU is nice, but may be overkill for you. Not going to make much of a difference though.
Sound card
get 2x and make raid0
Good ODD
Get a v10

No.. Just you are retarded. They cost the same, but 5870 > 4870x2 :-/

shoulda goten a sexier psu
BUTS ITS OK IF
YOU WANNA TOUCH IT

atm the 4870x2 beats the 5870 benchmarks (5870 should = 4890 xfire based on specs alone)
problem is immature drivers, and possible memory bandwidth issues

but 4870 and most dual gpu cards are fucking retarded and have the worst problems with heat, noise, power consumption, and most annoying the dual gpu profiles