New build, need advice please

[jonnyavg]

Approximate Purchase Date: 1-2 weeks

Budget Range: ~$1000 ($1100 max)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, internet, watching videos, writing essays

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers,

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: amazon, microcenter, newegg.

Country: USA, MA

Parts Preferences: none

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Probably not

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: I would prefer an Nvidia GPU, but AMD is also fine.
My build so far:

CPU: Intel i5-2500k (planning to overclock around 4.5ghz, no higher)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

Motherboard: Not sure, too many choices

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 X 4GB)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

COOLING: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

CASE: Corsair Carbide Series 400r
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139008

GPU: Again, not sure. Anything between $180-$250.

PSU: Seasonic M12II 620W or other?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151095

SSD: Corsair Force Series 3 90gb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233204

HDD: Seagate Baracuda 500GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148767

Advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[songorocosongo]

HIS 6950
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161372
just above your range but its worth it

 

[songorocosongo]

GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128502

 

[songorocosongo]

I found this GPU, its a great deal
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125401&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=39gila5tg0pn

 

[e56imfg]

For the mobo I would get a Maxiumus IV Gene-Z or (if you can't afford it) a ASRock Extreme3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131759 - Maximus IV Gene-Z
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271 - ASRock Extreme3

The 560 Ti is my recommendation because it's quiet and efficient.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127594 - 560 Ti

 

[jonnyavg]

Okay, thanks for the recommendations. I have two more questions:

PSU: I'm between the Seasonic M12II 620W and the Rosewill Capstone 550W (the 750w version got a great review). The seasonic one is semi-modular, but the Rosewill one is gold certified and not modular.

Cooling: Should I stick with the hyper 212 + or get the Corsair A70?

 

[e56imfg]

The non-modular PSU always performs better than a modular one (unfortunately) but fortunately, the 400r has plenty of room to fit big cables in the back so I would go with the Rosewill. However, Seasonic is a quality PSU brand and you can't go wrong with a semi-modular PSU either. XFX and Corsair are quality PSU brands, too (just putting it out there).
You NEED a quality PSU because they degrade the fastest and can blow up your system. You want a PSU that has headroom to breath but you don't want a overkill because if you only use 300w f.e. and get a 1000w PSU, it will degrade very fast and it will suck up more power than it needs to. So in short, get a PSU with 10 to 50w of headroom but use most of your PSUs capabilities to have the most efficient experience.

 

[jonnyavg]

Best answer selected by jonnyavg.

 

[jonnyavg]

Okay, thanks a lot.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

That Seasonic is a great PSU

The card I'd get is the Asus 560 Cu TOP ....super OC ability to a great VRM and over sized cooler....It beats the 6950 and in SLI even the 6970 in Guru3D's game test suite

$230 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121425

I'd have to take exception that a non modular is always better than a modular .... personally, I think 100% modular is silly. What's the sense of having a modular 24 pin cable or 8 pin EPS cable, not like ya ever not gonna plug those in, so why introduce another failure point and increased cost..... hybrid modular gives ya the best of both worlds.

As for MoBo, ASUS P8Z68-V/GEN3 or P8P67 PRO

I'd get a 120 Gig Tier 3 SSD
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/buy-ssd-recommendation-value,3088-6.html

And while I love the Barracuda XT, I no likie plain ole Barracuda (w/o the XT)

 

[Proximon]

Yep, not sure that was exactly what he meant, he may have been referring to the Capstone being the better PSU overall, which is true. But I jumped on to make the same correction that Jack did... modularity does not affect a PSU negatively in any way. That was just a myth perpetrated by PC Power and Cooling back in the day to sell PSUs.