Building First Gaming Computer, Welcome Advice

[Kerfuffle]

As the title says, i'm building my first gaming computer and would like any suggestions or advice that you are willing to give. Thank you in advance for any help.

Here are some details i'm looking for:
Approximate Purchase Date: March (still got a lot of research to do)

Budget Range: $2000-2750 after shipping

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Everyday use

Are you buying a monitor: Yes (dual screen)

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com, amazon.com (preferred but not necessary)

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe



Current Setup:

Motherboard -
Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H LGA 1155 Intel Z77
$189.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128545

CPU -
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W
$219.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

Cooler -
Noctua NH-D14
$80.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018

Graphics Card (SLI)-
Gigabyte GV-N670WF2-2GD GeForce GTX 670 2GB
$379.99 x 2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125438

RAM -
G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB DDR3 1600
$49.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231548

Hard Drive -
Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 ST3000DM001 3TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache
$159.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148844

SSD -
Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB
$249.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147193

Case (really not sure yet what I want here, would prefer a Mid tower if it can fit everything. Really need some help here if anyone has advice) -
Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T Mid Tower
$179.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139005

Corsair Obsidian Series Black 650D Mid Tower Computer Case
$164.99
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004UE1W9K/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=cpcreview-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004UE1W9K


Thermaltake Element G VL10001W2Z Black Steel/Plastic Atx Mid Tower Case
$139.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133086

Cooler Master HAF XM RC-922XM-KKN1 Latch Side Panel Mid Tower Case
$129.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119257

Cooler Master HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN3-GP Mid Tower Case
$99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197

Cooler Master Storm Sniper SGC-6000-KXN1-GP Mid Tower Case
$139.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119194

Corsair Graphite Series 600T Silver Steel Mid Tower Case
$179.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139017

Raidmax Agusta ATX-605BW Mid Tower Case
$109.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156280

Zalman MS1000-HS2 Mid Tower Case
$164.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811235021

Corsair Graphite Series 600T CC600TM Mid Tower
$159.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139007

SilverStone Fortress Series FT02B-USB3.0 Mid Tower
$249.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163201

Zalman MS1000-HS1 Mid Tower Case
$134.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811235020

SilverStone Fortress Series FT02B-W-USB3.0 Mid Tower
$259.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163202

Monitors (still considering switching to 1 monitor, need to do some more research of it first so ill leave dual monitor setup in here for now)-
ASUS VS229H-P Black 21.5”
$149.99 x 2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236205

Monitor Stand -
Planar 997-5253-00 Black Dual Monitor Stand for LCD Displays
$109.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824995006

Keyboard -
Razer DeathStalker RZ03-00900100-R3U1
$79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823114028

Mouse -
CM Storm Inferno
$39.40
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003ZMF26W/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=hhmsquiddiscount-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003ZMF26W

Speakers -
Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 THX Certified Computer Speaker System
$179.99
http://www.amazon.com/Klipsch-ProMedia-Certified-Computer-Speaker/dp/B000062VUO

Maybe?
Logitech Z523 40W RMS 2.1 Speaker System
$85.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121036

Optical Drive -
LITE-ON DVD Burner
$16.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

Power Supply (750W enough with SLI? Or do I need to go higher?) -
Corsair Professional Series Gold AX750 750W
$159.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139016

Current Cost without case: 2598
At my current cost, I might have to go over my price range by a little bit for case. I am willing to go to $3000, but that's only if i have to.


Thank you everyone for your input!


EDIT 1: Currently fixing bad links. Sorry about that. --- Done, links should be good.

 

[wolfeking]

I do believe there is a bit of waste in this system. If you are running at 1080p, then all you need is a single 670. Actually, you really don't need more until you get up to around 1600p.

Motherboard looks fine. Try to go for the UP4/UP5 if you can though.

CPU is fine. No need for anything more.

Cooler, on this budget you should be going full water, but that is just my opinion. That cooler is fine, but massive and will limit the memory you can get. Try a H100i, or a RS360 kit from XSPC.

Graphics card is fine, but EVGA is a bit better.

RAM: You've got to be kidding me. Cheaping out on the cheapest component. Get 16GB of 2133. Its not much more. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231511 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104288

SSD and HDD is fine.

Case: Just get a 800D from corsair.

Monitor is an okay brand. I would only get one. If not one, then get 3. 2 just makes it difficult in gaming.

Keyboard: No. Go mechanical. Coolermaster makes some nice ones, as does rosewill.

Mouse is fine. That is pretty much personal preference anyway.

Speakers: Go for the Kilpsch ones. The Logitech ones look like the 2.1 of my 5.1 set, and the sound quality is just horrendous. You'd be better off spending $5 at the dollar store for speakers, as you'd get the same quality.

Power Supply is fine. Plenty of power to go round.

 

[Kerfuffle]

Cooler, on this budget you should be going full water, but that is just my opinion. That cooler is fine, but massive and will limit the memory you can get. Try a H100i, or a RS360 kit from XSPC.

Personal preference, I feel better using air cooling than liquid cooling. H100i isn't worth it, if I was going to get water cooling, I would get a nice kit.

RAM: You've got to be kidding me. Cheaping out on the cheapest component. Get 16GB of 2133. Its not much more.

16GB of RAM is not needed for anything, way overkill. Also I shouldn't be able to tell the difference between 1600, 1833 and 2133 for what I'm doing so it would be a waste of money.

Monitor is an okay brand. I would only get one. If not one, then get 3. 2 just makes it difficult in gaming.

I understand the reasoning behind this, however unfortunately my desk will not hold 3 monitors so I'm stuck with either 1 or 2.

Keyboard: No. Go mechanical. Coolermaster makes some nice ones, as does rosewill.

Personally I don't like the feel of mechanical keyboards as much.

Speakers: Go for the Kilpsch ones.

Agreed. Just kept the Logitech ones in there in case my budget runs out.


Thank you for the advice!

 

[spirit]

Yeah I agree with Wolfe here, especially on the graphics card on CPU cooler. Ditch the two 670s and go for a single 670 or a 680. The trouble is with the air cooler is it is huge and may obstruct your RAM, especially if you're using full-height DIMMs.

If you don't need 16GB of RAM, don't get 16GB of RAM.

 

[Kerfuffle]

Ditch the two 670s and go for a single 670 or a 680.

I was considering that before but got talked out of it on another forum. This was my 680 choice: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121634

The trouble is with the air cooler is it is huge and may obstruct your RAM, especially if you're using full-height DIMMs.

I think (not positive) that the RAM I chose would fit under the large air cooler.

If you don't need 16GB of RAM, don't get 16GB of RAM.

I personally don't think anyone would need it, but if I'm wrong (which is definitely possible) than i'll just get another two sticks of 4GB RAM.

 

[spirit]

Yeah the Ares RAM you've chosen should fit underneath that cooler as they aren't full height sticks.

I'd go for just one 670 or 680, less heat, less power consumption, easier to upgrade in the future etc etc. Have you considered the 7950 and the 7970? They're both awesome cards too.

16GB isn't needed for gaming, but it is needed for things like video editing and running virtual machines which is what I do with my 16GBs of RAM.

 

[Kerfuffle]

I'd go for just one 670 or 680, less heat, less power consumption, easier to upgrade in the future etc etc. Have you considered the 7950 and the 7970? They're both awesome cards too.

Ok. I hadn't considered the 7950 or 7970, i'll look into them, thanks.

16GB isn't needed for gaming, but it is needed for things like video editing and running virtual machines which is what I do with my 16GBs of RAM.

I don't plan on using this computer for video editing and the only virtual machine I can think of that I might run would be for Linux, and ill just partition my hard drive for that.

 

[spirit]

Yes so you don't need 16GB of RAM then.

If it were me I'd get a 7970 over a 680, but that's probably because right now I like AMD cards. Either option (7970 or 680) is a great option.

 

[wolfeking]

Personal preference, I feel better using air cooling than liquid cooling. H100i isn't worth it, if I was going to get water cooling, I would get a nice kit.

Okay, I understand that. Personally, I would look into the XSPC kits over on frozencpu.com then. Not much more, and the price to performance is much better than any air cooler or AIO solution.

16GB of RAM is not needed for anything, way overkill. Also I shouldn't be able to tell the difference between 1600, 1833 and 2133 for what I'm doing so it would be a waste of money.

It's actually not. But go ahead and go for what you think in that case. Gaming it is very possible to hit over 8GB. BF3 will use upwards of 10GB if you have the memory for it to use. 1600 is fine enough, but in most cases on newegg you are looking at $2-$5 more for 1866 or 2133. You will feel the difference, but again, your choice.

I understand the reasoning behind this, however unfortunately my desk will not hold 3 monitors so I'm stuck with either 1 or 2.

In that case, stick with one monitor.

Personally I don't like the feel of mechanical keyboards as much.

Okay. Go for a logitech or microsoft rubber dome then. Deathadder is not worth the price. You are only paying for the name, not any greater performance.

Agreed. Just kept the Logitech ones in there in case my budget runs out.

Yea. I always hear good things about Logitech, but I was thoroughly underwealmed by the speakers I bought from them.

Thank you for the advice!

no problem at all. It is what we are here for.