$4K Budget Rev2:: Z68/1155 vs X79/2011 (Sandy Bridge vs Sandy Bridge-E)

OK, after tons of research, several phone calls, and going back and forth, I have 2 systems which are almost identical with the exception of the Motherboard / CPU combo.

One thing I am very keen on is future expandability. I am not so patient that I am willing to wait for Ivy Bridge to come out. I am wanting a HIGH QUALITY gaming system, with overclock ability (even though I am not an extreme overclocker)....a system that will last me many years, operate nice and cool, and eventually allow me the flexibility to upgrade major components (graphics card, motherboard, CPU, etc). With the money I am putting into this system, I expect it to still be powerful for MANY years to come!!

Here are my two almost identical systems. I have applied red font to the CPU and Motherboard that set both systems apart:
Core™ i5 / i7 Z68 3-way SLI® / CrossFireX™ Custom Gaming System: $3331

INTEL, Core™ i7-2700K Quad-Core 3.5 - 3.9GHz TB, HD Graphics 3000, LGA1155, 8MB L3 Cache, 32nm, 95W, EM64T EIST HT VT-x XD, Retail
COOLER MASTER, Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler, Socket 2011/1155/1156/1366/775/FM1/AM3/AM2, Copper/Aluminum
ASUS, Maximus IV Extreme-Z, LGA1155, Intel® Z68, DDR3-2200 (O.C.) 32GB /4, PCIe x16 SLI CF /1+2*, SATA 3Gb/s RAID 5 /4, 6Gb/s /4, USB 3.0 /8, HDA, BT, GbLAN /2, FW /2, ATX, Retail
KINGSTON, 8GB (4 x 2GB) XMP HyperX PC3-10600 DDR3 1333MHz CL7 (7-7-7) 1.65V SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC
XFX, Radeon™ HD 7970 1000MHz, 3GB GDDR5 5700MHz, PCIe x16 CrossFire, DVI + HDMI + 2x mini-DP, Retail
CRUCIAL, 128GB M4 SSD w/ Data Transfer Kit, MLC Marvell 88SS9174, 500/175 MB/s, 2.5-Inch, SATA 6 Gb/s, Retail
SEAGATE, 3TB Barracuda® XT, SATA 6 Gb/s, 7200 RPM, 64MB cache
RAID, No RAID, Independent HDD Drives
SABRENT, CRW-UINB Black 65-in-1 Card Reader/Writer Drive, 3.5" Bay, Internal USB
LG ELECTRONICS, WH12LS30 Black 12x/16x/48x BD/DVD/CD Blu-ray Disc™ Burner, SATA, w/ Software, OEM
D-LINK, DWA-556 Xtreme N™ Adapter, Draft 2.0 IEEE 802.11n, PCIe x1, Full-Height/Low-Profile
THERMALTAKE, Level 10 GT Black Full-Tower Case, EATX, 8 slots, No PSU, Steel/Plastic
CASE FAN, LED Fans Maximum Package, UV
AEROCOOL, Touch 2000 Black Controller Panel, 4-Channels Fan / Temperature, Touch Screen LCD, 2 x 5.25" Bay
CUSTOM WIRING, Standard Wiring with Precision Cable Routing and Tie-Down
LOGISYS, 12" Single Cold Cathode Case Light Kit, Red
SEASONIC, Platinum-1000 Power Supply w/ Modular Cables, 80 PLUS® Platinum, 1000W, 24-pin ATX12V EPS12V, 6x 8/6-pin PCIe, Retail
MICROSOFT, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition w/ SP1, OEM
ACCESSORY, AVADirect System Documentation and Media Binder
THERMALTAKE, Tt eSports Challenger Pro Wired Black Keyboard w/ Cooling Fan, 256 LED Illuminations, 14 Function Keys, 2x USB, Retail
GAMING PC, Silver Warranty Package (3 Year Limited Parts, 3 Year Labor Warranty)
SERVICE, Freight Courier Delivery (Package is double-boxed and shipped on a pallet)

Core™ i7 X79 3-way SLI® / CrossFireX™ Custom Gaming System: $3775

INTEL, Core i7-3930K Six-Core, 3.2 - 3.8GHz TB, LGA2011, 12MB L3 Cache, HT EM64T EIST VT XD, 32nm, 130W, Retail
COOLER MASTER, Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler, Socket 2011/1155/1156/1366/775/FM1/AM3/AM2, Copper/Aluminum
ASUS, Rampage IV Extreme, LGA2011, Intel® X79, DDR3-2400 (O.C.) 64GB /8, PCIe x16 SLI CF /4+1*, SATA 6Gb/s RAID 5 /4, 3Gb/s /4, USB 3.0 /8, HDA, BT, GbLAN, EATX, Retail
KINGSTON, 8GB (4 x 2GB) XMP HyperX Genesis PC3-17000 DDR3 2133MHz CL11 1.65V SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC
XFX, Radeon™ HD 7970 1000MHz, 3GB GDDR5 5700MHz, PCIe x16 CrossFire, DVI + HDMI + 2x mini-DP, Retail
CRUCIAL, 128GB M4 SSD w/ Data Transfer Kit, MLC Marvell 88SS9174, 500/175 MB/s, 2.5-Inch, SATA 6 Gb/s, Retail
SEAGATE, 3TB Barracuda® XT, SATA 6 Gb/s, 7200 RPM, 64MB cache
RAID, No RAID, Independent HDD Drives
SABRENT, CRW-UINB Black 65-in-1 Card Reader/Writer Drive, 3.5" Bay, Internal USB
LG ELECTRONICS, WH12LS30 Black 12x/16x/48x BD/DVD/CD Blu-ray Disc™ Burner, SATA, w/ Software, OEM
D-LINK, DWA-556 Xtreme N™ Adapter, Draft 2.0 IEEE 802.11n, PCIe x1, Full-Height/Low-Profile
THERMALTAKE, Level 10 GT Black Full-Tower Case, EATX, 8 slots, No PSU, Steel/Plastic
CASE FAN, LED Fans Maximum Package, UV
AEROCOOL, Touch 2000 Black Controller Panel, 4-Channels Fan / Temperature, Touch Screen LCD, 2 x 5.25" Bay
CUSTOM WIRING, Standard Wiring with Precision Cable Routing and Tie-Down
LOGISYS, 12" Single Cold Cathode Case Light Kit, Red
SEASONIC, Platinum-1000 Power Supply w/ Modular Cables, 80 PLUS® Platinum, 1000W, 24-pin ATX12V EPS12V, 6x 8/6-pin PCIe, Retail
MICROSOFT, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition w/ SP1, OEM
ACCESSORY, AVADirect System Documentation and Media Binder
THERMALTAKE, Tt eSports Challenger Pro Wired Black Keyboard w/ Cooling Fan, 256 LED Illuminations, 14 Function Keys, 2x USB, Retail
GAMING PC, Silver Warranty Package (3 Year Limited Parts, 3 Year Labor Warranty)
SERVICE, Freight Courier Delivery (Package is double-boxed and shipped on a pallet)

Edited by scotts87 - 01 Mar 2012 at 1:38am

And another "oops"....since I am not having a liquid cooled system, I should not have to spend the extra $$ for special freight shipping right? Now, what can I spend the saved $250 on?   

Thanks for all the advice. After about a weeks worth of research, I have narrowed down all my selections, and decided on the X79 system. Ended up going with the larger SSD (I figured I would not notice any speed difference between the 256G and the 128G). Scaled back my PS just a tad, to the 860W Seasonic. Still PLENTY of headroom!!