New Build $2000 gaming rig

[tu_mater]

Recently I was asked to build a friend an new gaming PC with a budget of $2000.

Primary uses will be:
Gaming
Minor OC
Video
ect

My primary goals in the build are to make sure that it can handle everything currently and is set up to last as long as possible with upgrades as needed. I don't want him to have to replace major components (i.e. Motherboard, Video card) with in the 3-5 years. Also, to allow for crossfire in the future.

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=20181366

I hope that posting a wishlist is acceptable if not I can break it apart and post individual links.

Let me know what you guys think.

 

[tu_mater]

I am sorry that I didn't use the default template in the original post I will add it here.

Approximate Purchase Date: the next week or two

Budget Range: $2000 give or take a little


Parts Not Required: Not included in this build are CD drives Monitor keyboard and mouse

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg

Country: US

Parts Preferences: by brand or type I am going with the sandy cpu but want the ability to upgrade to and ivy with out board swap

Overclocking: Yes a little.

SLI or Crossfire: either but I personally trend towards crossfire.

Additional Comments: I went with the board that I did because it allows for 2 video cards to run at 16x/16x in crossfire when the second card is added. Do you think that rather than go for just one now I should use 2 cheaper cards? Would it impact performance much if the cards ran at 16x/8x, or even 8x/8x?

 

[l0v3rboi]

Skip the velociraptor and get a 500Gb WD Black. Get a 128 Gb SSd.
I wouldn't spend that much on a MoBo for gaming. A Gigabyte z77-Ud5h will do the job just as well.
I wouldn't spend that much for a case either. Maybe a Corsair 400r/500r
For PSU, the Corsair Professional Series 750 should be enough for your needs
Get the Sapphire Radeon 7970.

 

[KwwB]

Why the 7950? Especially considering the most recent article "Best Graphics Cards For The Money: April 2012" states :

The Radeon HD 7870 sets a new standard for what we expect from a sub-$400 GPU. With performance comparable to the GeForce GTX 580 and kissing the heels of the $450 Radeon HD 7950, this card represents one of the best high-end values we've seen in recent memory.

 

[Why_Me]

Here's some alternatives to take a look at.

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Carbide-Series-Gaming-CC-9011012-WW/dp/B005E983JW/ref=sr_1_6?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1335572872&sr=1-6 $116.16 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Corsair Carbide Series 500R Mid Tower Gaming Case CC-9011012-WW

http://www.corsair.com/pc-cases/carbide-series-pc-case/carbide-series-500r-mid-tower-case.html <---- another look at that case

http://www.amazon.com/XFX-ATX-850-Power-Supply/dp/B0050751YS/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1335573000&sr=1-1 $122.75 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
XFX PRO850W XXX Edition Semi-Modular 80 Plus Silver Certified 850 Watt Active PFC Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820239009 $129.99 FREE SHIPPING
Kingston SSDNow V+200 KW-S2120-4B 2.5" 120GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (Stand-alone Drive

or....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226226 $249.99 FREE SHIPPING
Mushkin Enhanced Chronos Deluxe MKNSSDCR240GB-DX 2.5" 240GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barracuda-3-5-Inch-Internal-ST1000DM003/dp/B005T3GRNW/ref=sr_1_6?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1335574714&sr=1-6 $99.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Seagate Barracuda 7200 1 TB 7200RPM SATA 6 Gb/s NCQ 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive ST1000DM003

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231558 $114.99 FREE SHIPPING
G.SKILL Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C10D-16GAO

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600315498&IsNodeId=1&name=GeForce%20GTX%20600%20series <----- gtx 660's

http://www.guru3d.com/news/intel-ivy-bridge-gets-prelaunch-price-cut/ $313
Intel Ivy Bridge i5 3770K 3.4Ghz

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157295 $169.99
ASRock Z77 Extreme6 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Z77%20Extreme6 <----- another look at that board