[First Build] Established Components List - Opinions and Advice Desire

[teemotay]

Introduction
Hello everyone, I've been looking up parts for my first build and I've somewhat finalized the parts. Being the novice that I am, I would like opinions on my choice of components. Thank you.
■Purchasing Time Slot: Within the next two to three weeks
■System Usage (Most to Least Important): Gaming > Programming/Software Development > Casual(Non-CPU Intensive) Purposes
■Preferred Cost Range: [$0,~$850]

Questions
■(1) What's the difference between the two posted CORSAIR Vengeance?
■(2) Using eXtreme Power Calculator, I got roughly 574W recommended. Based on that, I'm on the belief that I need a minimum of 600W power supply unit. I feel like I may be miscalculating this value as I am not too sure on all the inputs to the calculator. If anyone would be so kind, could you verify how "strong" of a power supply unit I need?
■(3) Which case do you prefer and why?
■(4) Thoughts on motherboard? I was very unsure about which motherboard to get. I chose this one based on the ratings/reviews.

Components List
■Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD5H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 Intel Motherboard (Newegg : $189.99)
■CPU: Intel Core i5-3570 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 Quad-Core (Amazon : $199.99)
■GPU: EVGA 01G-P4-2650-KR GeForce GTX 650 1GB (Newegg : $99.99)
■Possible RAM (1): CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) (Newegg : $43.99)
■Possible RAM (2): CORSAIR Vengeance Blue 8GB (2 x 4GB) PC3-12800 1600MHz DDR3 240-Pin (Amazon : $36.99)
■HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA III 7200RPM (Amazon : $59.99)
■Possible PSU (1): CORSAIR Professional Series HX650 650W Modular (Newegg : $119.90)
■Possible PSU (2): OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W Modular (Newegg : $74.99)
■Possible PSU (3): CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 600W (Newegg : $69.99)
■Possible Case (1): NZXT Phantom ATX Full Tower (NZXT Armory : $99.99)
■Possible Case (2): NZXT Guardian ATX Mid Tower (Newegg : $69.99)
■Final Estimated Cost: [$733.93,$813.84] ± $N(where N is some arbitrary number)
*The posted component names have been truncated. Click the store site link to see the full name.
**Already in possession of Operating System and Optical Drive

Additional Notes
■Using PCPartPicker, I get an estimated wattage of 260W. (http://pcpartpicker.com/p/sPUv). I'm not sure about the power supply unit anymore. Someone help me out.

Again, thank you for your thoughts.

 

[cball1311]

Looks like your well on your way. To answer your questions.

1) There is no difference in those two RAM selections, one is just blue.
2) I would recommend a 750W PSU (Explain later)
3) I like the Full Tower, more air and component space and it's just cool to have a Full Tower
4) Motherboard is fine, plenty of RAM capacity and onboard features

If your primarily going to use this rig for gaming I would go for a stronger GPU (EVGA 02G-P4-2660-KR GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support )($219.99 @ newegg) with SLI support, that way you could always add another card later. This is where the 750W power supply comes in because you would need the extra power if SLI becomes possible. (Rosewill CAPSTONE Series CAPSTONE-750 750W Continuous @ 50°C, 80 PLUS GOLD Certified($104.99 @ newegg)

So, you're looking at bumping that price upwards of $975 or so. I would also go with 1TB HDD for another $10 bucks!
Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s

Hope this would still be in your budget, if not get the mid-tower to save $30

 

[teemotay]

Best answer selected by teemotay.