Advice on Gaming Build Components?

I am currently building a new gaming pc and just wanted advice on a few components etc.
I already have the following parts:
Radeon HD 6950
G.Skill Ripjaws-X 8gb Kit DDR3-1333 (x2) (16gb total)
Seasonic M12-II Bronze 620W Modular power supply
Seagate 2TB 3.5" HDD
LG BD Combo reader/writer

The problem is I have all this running on a MB that is too small in a case that is also too small, with an AMD quad core processor not really meant for gaming.
So basically those are the 3 components I need to change.
I've been suggested a few parts from my local computer store so I wanted to check what you guys think.
For the MB, I'm looking at the Gigabyte Z77x-D3H and for the CPU, I've been quoted on a Core i7 3770.
Basicaly I want to know, is this the right sort of CPU for gaming? And will this MB have enough space and pci-e slots etc to accomodate crossfire GPU's?
I'm not neccessarily going to be running crossfire, but I would rather buy parts which have the appropriate accommodations, should I decide to do change my mind.
I'd also love to know more about liquid cooling and whether or not people reccomend it and what sort of advantages it has over air cooling. I'm really scared to put water in my new computer, so I'm wondering if it's worth looking in to.
Anyway thanks in advance,
Frank

 

Whats your budget and where are you geographically based?

The components suggested seem pretty sensible. You may also want to consider the i7 2600k depending on price. They seem to be very similarly speced. The 3770 has a newer memory controller and support for PCIe3 but if you are not upgrading your RAM or GPU then I would suggest that you will get the same performance from both chips.

 

As far as case goes I am a big fan of Antec
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-110-AN&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=2277
A lot of it comes down to Styling but Antec do put massive 200mm fans in their cases which are awsome for cooling.

With regards to water cooling... Unless you plan to overclock, dont bother. It is just one more thing to go wrong.

 

Water cooling has usefulness in low noise setups as well.

 

It is my understanding with the corei7 chips you get more out of your ram if u use the Triple channel set up.

So instead of 8+8=16, use 6+6=12. Even though its less the triple channel capabilites of the i7 chips actually work faster than using the dual channel set ups.

Things could have changed though as back when i got my CPU a i7 920(gen1) triple channel was more effective than dual channel.

 

The 1155 chips run in dual channel not tripple channel. the 970 chip is 1366 socket and does run tripple channel but is £140 more expensive and you math does add up because in both examples you have only use 2 RAM chips. tripple channel needs 3 dims. Your example should be 8+8=16 or 4+4+4=12. OP is not looking to upgrade RAM so tripple channel is not really an option.

I have never use water cooling but depending on the setup you still need fans to cool your rads plus you have a pump to shift the water. There was a big cylinder type thing that was basically a giant rad that didnt need fans and was designed for quiet systems.

With regard to 2600k vs 3770 the two chips are about the same price so if you get an extra 1000 benchmark points go for the 3770. Not sure I would upgrade from the 2600k on the basis of cost vs performance increase

 

Thanks Tueur for that information, I did not know that.

And yes I realize OP was not asking for RAM upgrade but in a gaming rig, i always try to get the most power I can.

 

Thanks for the responses guys. I'm not going to overclock anything so I guess I don't need water cooling, which is fine with me. I'll admit, it looks cool though:-D
I'll probably get the i7 so if anyone knows more about this triple channel memory thing, I'd love to know more. (Scratch that, it's already been addressed)
With the MB, I was quoted on the Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H, but I decided to change to the GA-Z77x-D3H, as silly as it is, because it's black. I thought the black MB would look better in the case, but I'm just assuming that the CPU will still match it. Is the Z77x, as the name and price would suggest, just a little better than the Z77 or is there some other important difference that I'm missing?

Suggestions for cases are welcome too, I've been aiming around the $100 mark for a case. I don't mind the Cooler Master HAF 912 Advanced, and the Thermaltake A90 Armour & A60 Armour.