To Lightning or Lightning Extreme in SLI... That is the question..

Tomorrow I will be ordering my new comp. The last 2 weeks have been painful to say the least. After doing more research then in the last 2 months of tech school, I'm finally comfortable with my choices with 1 exception..

So far this is my build:
Asus P8Z68-V Pro Gen3
Win7 Pro 64
I7-2600k
Crucial M4 128g SSD (Windows, games and various programs i use a lot.)
2 x WD 500g 64mb Cache drives in Raid+0
Cooler Master HAF 932
G.Skill 8gb DDR3 1600 8-8-8-24 Timings
SeaSonic Platinum 1000w
Noctua NH-D14 (I'm still kinda sorta maybe looking at the Thermalright Silver Arrow. Aesthetics reasons.)
SyncMaster 24" 1920x1080 (already have)

The indecision for me? Video cards. I am stuck between the MSI GTX 580 Lightning in SLI and the Lightning Xtremes in SLI. I realize normal gaming and CAD there's not much difference in performance. Maybe slightly better numbers in high AA but other then that, Meh. I think what I'm concerned with the most is "future proofing" myself. This comp needs to last me 3-4 years barring hardware failures. Is 3gig really worth it now and how do you folks see it in the future?

The extra memory really isn't too necessary except for extreme cases (ultra-high resolutions -- think multi-monitor resolutions with particular games). For using a single 24'' 2x 580 1.5GB models is more than enough. For reference, the system in my signature easily pushes over 100FPS in BF3 on ultra @ 1920x1200 (SLI 1.5GB 580s as well) used memory hits between 1100-1200MB according to MSI afterburner.. If you have the extra money and just want to spend it, then I can't stop you, but most likely the 1.5GB cards will be fine (it is important to note that putting the two together doesn't give you 3.0GB, it is still just 1.5GB).

After going through the last 20 pages of this sub forum I tend to agree Janus. My single 3.5 year old 285gtx/q9650 still doesn't do too bad let alone 2 x 580gtx/2600k which I assume will be the same 3 years from now as well.

On a side note I see you use the Venomous X heatsink. How is that working for you with good OC? I know the Noctua is a top of the line but I'm having such a hard time with the look of that thing. The Venomous that I can get from newegg is the one with the single white fan that clips on via covering the part of the HS. Do you use an aftermarket dual Fan setup on it? If so, what would I need to attach 2 different fans other then the one that comes with it? At most all I want is around a 4.5 OC for 24/7.

The Ven-X does an excellent job in my experience, I haven't stress-tested for some time, but IIRC the temps were below 75C when I was running up to 4.7-4.8 (since dropped down to 4.5 for ease and lower volts required).

Mine actually didn't come with any additional fans, I just use two 120mm panaflo-medium fans that I had lying around to push/pull air through it. Mine actually came with little metal clips that go into the top/bottom/sides of the heatsink that hold the fans to the HS.

Well now that you helped me decide on the video cards, I had some clear mind time for the heatsink. The venomousX is nice but for me to get optimum cooling I would have to buy some nice fans for it. Since my color scheme is white and blue on the inside I decided to roll with a Phanteks PH-TC14PE Blue HS I know its a copy of the noctua... but at least I can look at it without cringing when seeing the beige and brown..

there likely is going to be a price drop on the 580 soon for Christmas I would hold off buying until then