Need help, building new pc

[Bullzeye2448]

Approximate Purchase Date: Within a week (January 5-10)

Budget Range: 1400-1600(Does not include graphics card)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, watching blu ray movies, browsing the internet, some beginner programming, typing papers <--

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, speakers, I am waiting on the graphics card until the next generations comes out, monitor

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: amazon or newegg (I have amazon prime which gives free 2 day shipping on most items)

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: Intel and nvidia(processor and graphics card) mainly major brands

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: in the future possibly

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: 3d gaming in the future, reliabilty, future proof

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Case:
Azza Hurrican 2000

Motherboard:
Asus P8Z68-V Pro/Gen3

Processor:
Intel Core i7-2600k

Cpu fan:
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO
or
ZALMAN CNPS9900MAX-B 135mm Long life bearing CPU Cooler Blue LED

Memory:
Corsair Vengeance Blue 16 GB DDR3 SDRAM Dual Channel Memory Kit

PSU:
Corsair CMPSU-950TX 950-Watt TX Series 80 Plus

GPU:
I am waiting for the new generation to come out from nvidia, If I need a gpu to be able to use my pc then let me know please, in the mean time I plan to type papers and read while waiting to play BF3, Skyrim, and Flight Sim

HDD:
I am waiting for the price to drop from the high prices from the flood

SSD:
Crucial 128 GB m4 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive SATA 6Gb/s

Optical Drive:
LG Electronics WH12LS39K M-Disc 12X Blu-Ray Disc Rewriter and HD DVD-ROM Drive

OS:
Windows 7 Professional SP1 64bit (Full) System Builder DVD 1 Pack

I will be using the SSD as my main storage and boot until HDD's drop back down. I will buy PowerDvd 11 for the software with the optical drive. Combing all the parts I have listed I come up with $1454. If I can stay on the lower in of 1400 then that would be great as I will eventually buy the graphics card and a pci wireless card.

So my questions are:
1. Do you see anything that woudn't be compatible with this build?
[strike]2. Can I do simple task on this comp without a gpu like surfing the web or typing a paper. I assuming I can because it has a built in dvi and hdmi port to the motherboard.[/strike]
3. Anything you would change that would make a big improvement for a small price?
4. Anything unnecessary that could be changed for a decent price drop?
5. Cooler master or the Zaldan?
6. Any bottlenecks other than lack of graphics card?
7. Am I missing anything major as this is my first pc build?

Thanks for the help ahead of time!!!

 

[doct3rphil]

Awesome set of parts. Any single graphics card (and most dual) will be fine with Corsair 750w PSU -- could save you 50 bucks. I haven't used the Zalman but I'm a fan of the Hyper 212.

Sounds like you have money though!

 

[Silvune]

This is a better cooler than the Zalman at ~$60:
NZXT Havik 140
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835146011
Personally I would not go for the Hyper 212 Plus/Evo because its fan has a maximum speed of 2000RPM, which I would find too noisy. But if that doesn't bother you then it's a good choice.
Altho with either the Cooler Master or the NZXT Havik it would be a good idea to get RAM without tall heatspreaders, it would be a good idea anyway as tall heatspreaders on DDR3 RAM are unnecessary.
16GB is kind of overkill for a gaming build, 8GB for ~$50 seems like a significant saving to me.

If you are going for the top end next gen Nvidia card and really do want the option to add a second one then you probably will need a 950W PSU. If it is a more mid range card or you are really reluctant to add a second one then you should be getting a lower wattage, higher efficiency, modular unit.

Yes you will be able to use your build without a GPU.

 

[Bullzeye2448]

Alright, after a little more research I've decided to go with the Zalman because it is a little more quiet and wont mess with my memory heatspreaders although those may not even be necessary.
Another question i have is for the os, do i need to buy the 200 dollar something version or is the oem the one i want for system building.
Any other input for any of the other parts would be great, may start ordering things tomorrow so i can hopefully get this built before I go off to school

 

[Silvune]

You should get the retail version if you want to be able to 'transfer' it to another build (motherboard) in the future. Otherwise it is fine to get the OEM version.

 

[AdrianPerry]

First of all, any reason your buying the i7 over the i5-2500k? You could save yourself a bundle there with no loss of performance in gaming.....

With a Z68 motherboard, you do not need a GPU to use your PC, the motherboard comes with video outputs and will use the GPU built into the CPU chip.

RAM: 16GB is pointless unless your using applications you know for a fact will actually utilize it. Games will not make use of more than 3-4GB at MOST. 8GB RAM, 1600MHz, CL9 is the current sweet spot for price vs. performance and is still over-kill for all gaming builds.