SB-E new build, advice needed!

[Spartan18]

The time has come to replace my ancient athlon 64 x2 3800 PC, it has served me well for the last 6 years so I can't complain.

I have decided to go with a SB-E. I know its going to be damn expensive but hey, havent spend a penny on a PC for ages

I'd appreciate your opinion overall but especially on the motherboard options

1. CPU: i7 3930K c2 stepping
2. Mobo: Asus Rampage IV Extreme or MSI Big Bang XPower2 (The more I research the more I lean towards the MSI)
3. RAM: CML16GX3M4X1600C8 - 16GB (4x4GB) Corsair DDR3 Vengeance LP Jet Black ( or any other but needs to be low profile)
4. GFX: Nvidia 680 (I'd like to wait for the Asus non reference design with the dual fans, Asus DirectCU II TOP Radeon HD 7970 is an alternative)
5. PSU: Enermax 1200w Platimax
6. CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 2011 SE
7. HDD: Primary:SSD Intel 520, Secondary WD caviar black 1TB
8. Case: Coolermaster Cosmos 2
9. Drives: 1x Blue ray RW + 1 DVD-RW


I hope I havent forgotten anything, you'll notice I skipped the soundcard and the monitor as I will probably replace these down the line. Coming back to the mobo issue, I know the Asus is considered to be one of the best (if not the best x79 mobo atm) however the amount of problems I read people face with about it in various forums (many DOAs as well) gives me a bit of a scare.

The MSI on the other hand seems to be a very solid mobo (i like the features it has) but here's the catch, I read the c2 stepping of the 3930K is only supported on their 1.2 bios. How on earth can I know whether the mobo comes with the right bios when I order it online...Last thing I want to happen is to have spent £2K on a new PC and being unable to make it post because the mobo doesnt have the latest bios to support the cpu I want to use

Please forgive the length of my post, your advice is much appreciated.

[Spartan18]

Can a moderator please delete this thread.....I already posted another one on the same subject cause this thread wasn't posted into the forum's system on time.