Well I'm going to be using this PC for video editing (a lot of video editing) so I'm not entirely sure how the 8-8-8-24 vs 7-8-7-24 would pair up when I'm rendering videos and what not.
 
It doesn't seem like a big difference at all from what it seems although I'm not exactly sure about RAM timings when it comes to video rendering, whether those little difference actually make a difference in this situation.
 
I also wanted to ask you guys, RAM speeds can I go up to 2000MHz with an i7 860 and P55 FTW? Or will it not work considering the board doesn't support it and from what I understand the CPU only recognizes like 1333MHz of the memory? Something along those lines, a little clouded in this area.

I've run for 1.5 years G.Skill Tridents 4x2GB at 2000MHz no problem. So yes, 2000MHz is doable just fine. I ran those at 1.65v.
 
As for running your old RAM at 1.8 on a system designed for not more than 1.65v... you can literally fry your CPU if you're not careful.
 
The VTT voltage should never be more than 0.4v lower than your DIMM voltage... if it is, you could burn up the on-die memory controller. In addition, running your VTT voltage any higher than 1.4v can also burn it up. Be very careful.
 
I just swapped those Tridents for 2x4GB G.Skill Snipers at 1600MHz and 1.5v. They also run great.

I think that as an editor, the extra RAM would be more of a benefit than a higher overclock. It will limit you, like you said, since you'll be running four sticks - it'll be stressing your CPU's memory controller more, so you won't be able to juice out as much an overclock as you might. 
 
Between those two sticks, really, just take either one! I've had great experiences with both G.SKILL and Corsair, though I run G.SKILL sticks currently in my rig. If you use a large heatsink, the G.SKILLS that you linked would be better, since you can fit more heatsink over the RAM modules area. Those Corsairs will limit the size of heatsink that you can put on top of your CPU. If you're water cooling however, then the heatsink argument is irrelevant.

I may be wrong, but I don't think it's the amount of ram as much as it's the number of sticks you use.  If I'm really right on that case, you should be able to hit 4.0 on water with 4 sticks no problem.  I've seen many around here do it but because of the higher voltages I remember seeing a number of them using water to keep temps down.  The main thing with 4 vs. 2 sticks of RAM is that you might need more VTT voltage slightly to get a stable OC. 
 
Once you get the new RAM, I'd definitely recommend following the 3 step guide that is stickied for the Lynnfield OC'ing.  It will help you find your highest stable OC and if you have any instability you'll hopefully have a good idea where it's at.

Alright guys, sounds good.
 
Cooling shouldn't be a problem and I'll be ordering the G-Skill 16GB kit tonight. I'll be sure to post the results of everything so you guys can see the finished product.
 
I also wanted to ask you guys, where can I get some nice sleeving? I want to re-do all of my wires (power supply and other connectors).
 
Much appreciated!

Yeah I've been looking through, I just want to make sure I get a nice "true" red sleeve rather than the typical discolored variant they consider to be "red".
 
Should I go for a red/black/white theme with the P55 FTW motherboard?

I feel like doing it all my self, gives me a sense of completeness if you will.
 
I ordered some high density sleeving from FrozenCPU. I'm going to try and sleeve my whole power supply haha.
 
Should be fun!

In the long run, it's likely a very bad idea. I'm not sure specifically what it's cooling, but your CPU's power phases, MOSFETs, and VRMs are located around the socket. If you run it like that without cooling for awhile, you're just bound to run into trouble sooner or later.

:/ Sorry about that. When does your new RAM get in?

Depending on how much clearance the radiator has, you may consider an aftermarket heatsink.
 
As for power distribution: PPCS has two pages of solutions....
(Which shouldn't stop you from buying elsewhere.)
 

The ModMyToys 3-Pin Power Distribution PCB - 6-Way Block is my fav at a mere $3. But you may need a 4 pin Molex to 3 pin adapter.
 
At a wopping $24 each, the Bitspower X-Station Power-Extension II - Male Version are not the cheapest solution. But you get  4x 12VDC, 4x 7VDC, and 4x 5VDC connections for your fans. Allows "throttling" of (some) of you fans for lower noise.
 
A slightly cheaper ($20) version with more output options, is the Phobya Multi-Fan Splitter.
 
PPCS' own PPCS 8 port Fan Sensor Board is also quite pricey at $25; even though it can only provide the fans with 12VDC. But it drives 8 fans and  integrates two temp sensors and an alarm function.
 
Personally I'd go with the $3 ModMyToys adapters, or spend real money and get a real fan controller like the Scythe Kaze Slave (about $40) which I have in my HTPC,  or the NZXT Sentry LXE High Performance Touch Screen Fan Controller either internal or external. The latter I would love to put in my main rig, but $60 is a hefty price tag for a touchscreen that can't do anything else but control fans....... But man is it cool!

I got the radiator setup on the outside with the heatsink back around the CPU bracket, it's looking solid. No leaks or problems as of yet, I got the 16GB of RAM last night and installed it. All 16GBs are recognized by Windows so I'm happy about that.

I'll try and overclock this thing when I get out of class today, I'll keep that RAM at it's stock speeds of 1600, timings are set to 9-9-9-24, voltage at 1.5. The BIOS loaded the RAM ably 8-8-8-24 but I just set it to the 9's with XMP profile 1 enabled. Should I enable XMP profile for overclocking? I'll try and go for a 200 bclock with a x 20 multiplier and see if I can just jump to a solid 4.0.

If you guys have anymore advice feel free hah. :D

First, don't use the XMP profile.  Turn it off, and set the 9-9-9-24 and voltage level manually.  You might try making sure the memory "command rate" is set to 2 if it defaulted to 1 (it's down under where you set the 24).  Next, follow the 3 step overclocking guide that is stickied at the top of the forum.  You've had so many problems that this guide should help you identify where exactly the problem is at.  Also, first I'd try running at least one full pass of Memtest86+ on the memory while at stock clocks just to make sure there are no problems with the memory.  Just because Windows sees 16GB doesn't mean the memory is functioning correctly. 
 
Also make sure you are starting "clean" in BIOS by applying default settings first before you start trying to OC again (make sure to put your custom settings back in like disabling onboard sound if you don't use it for example).  You might have accidentally changed something and not realized or forgot about it.
 
EDIT:  Not sure what voltages you were trying but I just realized your 200x21 is a 4.2Ghz clock.  That high of an OC needs some serious vcore and VTT voltage and probably tweaking some of the other settings as well like PWM frequency and the other voltages in the BIOS.  Unfortunately I can't offer suggestions on that since I've never pushed mine that far due to heat.  I've seen people running 4.2 usually having vcore's in the low 1.4x's and same for VTT, and like you they're on some sort of water cooling.

Yeah that's why I'm suggesting just to reset to defaults just to make sure nothing is accidentally out of place.  Yeah it's a pain to go set all your "normal" custom settings back, but if it fixes a misapplied setting somewhere then it will be worth it in the end.  After that, seriously, try out the 3 step guide and see where you get.  Not even getting to 3.4 manually is tell me there has to be a problem in the process you're using to overclock and hopefully the guide will help fix that. 
 
My cpu has to be about the worst case for overclocking because it's a very early batch number and I can do 3.4 easily.  Mine is a retail SKU'd part but it's labeled on the heatspreader and cpu-z as a ES (engineering sample) because it's a promotional sample part from an old Intel co-worker.  The batch number on it is lower than anything in the thread that was floating around here where people posted their OC's and batch number.

Alright I'm re-following the Lynnfield guide on Techreaction, I got the thing to finally boot with the overclock enabled!
 
FINALLY! I'm stress testing it now in accordance to the guide, next step is going big with the overclock so I'll post results as soon as I get them!