[Help] New Gaming/Video Recording Build

Will there be significant gain by upgrading my heatsink to the Noctua 6 NH-D14 or the Thermaltake Frio?

Do I need an 850w PSU, or would a 750w PSU suffice?

Do you think the RAM I selected represents the best option? I want to stick with 2x8GB sticks if at all possible, to allow for an easier upgrade to 32GB in the next 2-3 years (if need be).

The GPU I selected looks to be the best 7970, but I'm definitely open to other recommendations.

As for the HDD and SSD, I just selected what looked best at the time, but I'm sure some better ones exist. Thoughts?

What can I downgrade to save a few bucks without sacrificing performance?

What can I upgrade for a few bucks to increase performance?

Any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Your build at the moment is very nicely laid out, however, I believe you are investing money in the wrong areas.

What is your budget for this rig as a whole? Do you need an OS?

Using an i7 3770k over the i7 3570k will yield no performance benefit for recording games/playing games. No game on the market at the moment will benefit from the extra threads the i7 will provide. However, if this is a 'MUST HAVE' item, then I will let you do as you wish  

A 650w PSU is enough for almost any GPU out on the market today. There is no need to go 750w or 850w unless you plan to SLI/Crossfire in the future.

I'd like to keep it at $1500 or less, but I'll spend extra money if there's reason to.

My friend, who has helped me in the past, has expressed his opinion regarding the i7-3770K. He believes I should get the best processor possible due to my recording and streaming efforts. Is it not worth it in your eyes?

I'll drop my PSU to 650-700w, thanks!

What else could we adjust?

For your budget, I will HIGHLY recommend this configuration -
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($324.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($142.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1.5TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($103.02 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($317.86 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 500R Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($90.66 @ Amazon)
Total: $1350.31
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-08-27 17:18 EDT-0400)

You may want to swap out the GPU for a GTX670 if you wish as there's around ~$150 leftover in this budget  

On a side note, to answer your question about the 3770k for recording/streaming, there is absolutely no need for it. It is HIGHLY overkill for those two things, and you won't really need the HyperThreading the i7 provides unless you do heavy video editing.

If you wish, I can make another parts list for you with an i5 3570k  

Also, what resolution is your monitor? If you have listed that already, I'm sorry, I must have forgotten.

Does the ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX have that nifty little button for automatic OCing? I'd like to OC the 3770K, but I've never OCed before. Any help from my hardware would be fantastic, as I know some MoBos come with a button for easy OCing.

My resolution is 1920x1080. I did not list it, so I'm just a nub, and you aren't blind.  

You'd get better performance out of this...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Thermaltake Water 2.0 Extreme 81.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($128.70 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($142.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($189.00 @ B&H)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($399.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 Blue ATX Full Tower Case ($164.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($83.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1466.48
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-08-27 18:52 EDT-0400)

You won't need an i7 3770k for what you're doing. This would only be helpful for extremely heavy video rendering and some 3D modeling work. The i5 will more than get the job done.

For a CPU cooler, I recommend the thermaltake all in one water cooler. It's quiet and performs well. I would suggest the H100, but if you go that route, I recommend you switch out the fans for four of these in a push/pull configuration...

COUGAR CF-V12HPB Vortex Hydro-Dynamic-Bearing
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...