Help me out with my first build ever.

[dsmc13]

Hey Guys. So this is going to be my first build ever and my previous exposure to building a PC is very minimal. I know what components make up a pc and what they do (due to computer classes i have taken in the pass). So I wanted to hear what people have to say about my future build. Any advice or suggestions would be gladly appreciated (I am pretty sure you guys get a lot of posts like this one but just bare with me and help a brother out ). So as you can guess the main reason I want to do this is for gaming but also I am a big music/movie collector just so you guys can take that into consideration.
So here is my build:

CPU:
Intel i5-3570K

Mobo:
Asus P8Z77-V Deluxe

RAM:
Kingston HyperX 8gb 1600MHz

Hard Drive:
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM 32MB Cache 3.5inch
OR 3TB

Power Supply:
OC2 ModXStream Pro 600W
OR 700W

Corsair Builder Series CX 600W
OR 750W

Cooling: Cooler MAster Hyper TX2 Evo Tower Cooler for CPU
OR Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo

Case: Coolermaster Storm Enforcer Mid Tower ATX

GPU: Asus Geforce GTX660 TI 2GB
OR EVGA Geforce GTX660 TI 2GB

CD Drive:Lite-On IHAS124-04 Internal DVD Writer

Now my main concerns are just to reassure myself that all these components are compatible with each other and like I said any suggestions you guys can offer as far as maybe getting different components that will work better. And also maybe telling me which component is better where ever you see a "OR".
Take into account that I may want to add things later like more RAM, another graphics card, sound card, more fans, and etc.
Also I am trying for a mid-range budget build here. I would be happy with anything under $1000 but I am willing to go a little over. The max $1250.

 

[DSF]

Your motherboard is way too expensive. By a factor of 2 or 3 even. It doesn't sound like there's anything in your use case that would require more than a basic Z77 board, which you can get for $100 or sometimes even less.

The CPU is a good choice - with the money saved on the motherboard you could step the video card up a little bit if you wanted to, but it's not a necessity. What's your monitor resolution?

As far as the power supplies, Corsair is much more reliable than OCZ, but really there are lots of good offerings from Corsair, Seasonic, XFX, Antec and even some Rosewills. The trick is just to find the one or two models that are currently on a steep sale.

The last thing is that on your budget you can afford an SSD for the OS and some games.

Do you live near a MicroCenter?

 

[dsmc13]

Do you mean an asus p8z77-v (no deluxe)?
would you recommend maybe upgrading the graphic card to a 680?
I was planning on buying a good quality 1080p with a 5ms or lower response time.

And yes i do have microcenter near me

 

[dsmc13]

Do you mean an asus p8z77-v (no deluxe)?
would you recommend maybe upgrading the graphic card to a 680?
I was planning on buying a good quality 1080p with a 5ms or lower response time.

And yes i do have microcenter near me

 

[DSF]

Well since you have a MicroCenter nearby I would take advantage of their pricing on the CPU, and if they still offer it, the bundle deal where you get $40 off a Z77 motherboard when you buy the 3570K. I did that and got an AsRock Z77 Pro3 for $55 or so. For a basic gaming rig that's all you need.

The idea behind choosing a motherboard is to decide what features you need, or can reasonably expect to need during the life of the computer, and buy a motherboard from a reputable manufacturer that has all of those features without having to pay for extra things you won't use.

I wouldn't recommend a 680 because it's only marginally faster than a 670 while being considerably more expensive. If you're married to Nvidia then I would either get a 660Ti or a 670, depending on how badly you want to crank the details up in the more demanding games.

However, what I did, and what you could consider doing, is buying a 7950 and then overclocking it if you feel like you need a little performance boost. I don't know off the top of my head whether AMD's game bundle deals are going on, but if they are you'll also get several free games along with the graphics card.

 

[dsmc13]

I was considering the 7950 after i read more articles after i posted this thread. Would you recommend a specific brand such as sapphire, HIS, powercolor, etc? link would be much appreciated

 

[Torn Mind]

The Deluxe provides:
Onboard Bluetooth 3.0 and 4.0
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n
Supports dual band frequency 2.4/5 GHz
Acouple eSATA ports
4 x PCIe 2.0 x1

You can step down to a plain P8Z77-V or even further down with a P8Z77-V L series, i.e LX, LE Plus, LK etc and not miss much. With the "L" series motherboards, you don't get as many free goodies such as a couple SATA cables, an SLI bridge, Wi-Fi Ring Moving Antenna(s), or a Q-connector.

Micro Center's Z77 offerings:
http://microcenter.com/search/searc...+4294918198&NTX=&NTT=&NTK=all&sortby=pricelow

 

[Torn Mind]

I'd get this power supply:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...D=3938566&SID=
If you buy by tomorrow, you get an instant 20% off. There is also a rebate of $15 afterwards.

 

[dsmc13]

I'd get this power supply:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...D=3938566&SID=
If you buy by tomorrow, you get an instant 20% off. There is also a rebate of $15 afterwards.

Alright cool. So i think i am going to go with the Asrock z77 pro3. As far as the graphic card I am going to go with the amd 7950. Just like i asked the guy above do you recommend a specific brand such as sapphire, HIS, ASUS, etc..?

 

[DSF]

If you're willing to do rebates, this Sapphire is the least expensive one on Newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202006

It's the model I bought a few months back. The best thing about it is the cooler, which is dual-fan and pretty quiet. Whichever manufacturer you choose I would definitely get a dual-fan card. Newegg shows the warranty as two years, although if you had asked me without checking I'd have told you it was three years. Every once in a while Newegg's warranty line has incorrect information, so I'd double-check that if it's a big deal to you. I plan on replacing the card in two years anyway, so it's not critical to me.

If you are big on warranties, XFX has a dual-fan card with a lifetime warranty, and they're another quality company.

Most of the big name companies like Gigabyte, ASUS and MSI are also going to be fine. I don't personally have experience with Powercolor and HIS so I don't know.

Basically I'd look at all the 7950s Newegg has in stock and choose the least expensive one that has a nice cooler, free games and a warranty you're comfortable with. Then price check with Amazon and the other major sites just to make sure.

 

[dsmc13]

Alright cool the XFX card sounds good but like you said I am going to look on newegg to find a good deal with dual fan. I'd like to thank both of you very much for helping me out. I really appreciate it!