New gaming rig help

[cajuntech]

Approximate Purchase Date: next week

Budget Range: approximately $1000

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming (mmo, fps), office applications

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: limited to Best Buy currently

Why Are You Upgrading: You guys will love this one. I bought a Mushkin 240GB SSD and read that my current ASUS P6X58D board will have issues with this drive on it's SATA 3 connectors. I've decided to build a new gaming rig and move my i7-920 with the ASUS board to a "VM Ware Test Lab" box.

I currently have a Gigabyte Radeon 7970, a Mushkin Enhanced Chronos Deluxe 240GB SSD, and 2 500 GB Samsung Spinpoint drives ready to go into the new box. Everything else is needed. I'll list what I came up with, but was hoping someone with more experience could point me in the right direction if I've made any mistakes. I'm also having difficulty determining a case with good airflow for overclocking.

Current build I've looked at:

$336 Intel Core i7-3770k
$30 Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus CPU Heatsink/Fan
$220 Asus P8Z77-V Pro
$125 Corsair Vengeance 16GB 1600MHz (2x8GB) ( I figure 2x8 will leave room for another 16GB if ever needed)
$139 Corsair HX750w PSU

I'll buy a cheap $20 DVD-Burner to toss in it as well.


Case I was looking at is the In Win - Dragon Rider Full Tower Case for $138.

Best Buy also has a couple of other cases that looked good:
Cooler Master 922
Thermaltake - Overseer RX-I (Not sure if this will work with a 7970)


Any help or recommendations is greatly appreciated.

 

[cajuntech]

Any help (especially with a case choice) is appreciated.

 

[azeem40]

No office apps require an i7. Cut down to an i5-3570k.

 

[manofchalk]

The i7 is un-needed if all your doing is gaming and office applications, its Hyperthreading just wont be utilized. The i5-3570k will be plenty sufficient for your purposes.
Intel i5-3570k. $230
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

212 EVO, not 212+. The EVO has a better/flatter baseplate with wider direct contact heatpipes, helps a lot with idle temps.
CM Hyper 212 EVO. $35
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

Best-Buys information on their products is atrocious.
Nothing wrong with that ASUS board, but you can get similar boards for a lot cheaper. Looking at the specs of it, I wouldnt be able to tell it apart from the AsRock Z77 Extreme4. Only advantage that board has is an extra USB3 header.
AsRock Z77 Extreme4. $135
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293

And some reviews of the board.
http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/asrock_z77_extreme4_review,1.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/z77-express-ivy-bridge-benchmark,3254-2.html
It tied first for sub $160 motherboards in the Toms Roundup.

16GB of RAM is already overkill, adding another 16GB is just wasting money. Just get a 2x4GB kit, its all you will need for gaming and office applications.

PSU is a bit overkill, but keep it if dual Crossfire is a possibility in the future.

~~~~~~~
EDIT
~~~~~~~

Forgot about the cases. Case choice is a largely personal decision, you have to like the look of it after all. I recommend the Coolermaster HAF series or any Corsair, they are all reliably good cases and range from subtle to heavy/industrial in aesthetic. Though if another case catches your eye, just make sure to research it first , make sure its decent.

That Dragon Rider case from what I can see on its Newegg page seems fine.