New build gaming Pc general questions.

Hey.

So after a few hours of google research and one big headache I have decided to build a new PC, It will be used for gaming hopefully at high end.
I just need some advice (Ok maybe alot of advice!) on the specs and anything I should change as im not great with PC hardware.
I have a fairly good budget but obviously Id rather minimize cost yet still be "Future proof"

Ill be playing on a widescreen monitor at 1650x1080 resolution but will hopefully upgrade in the near future.

Specs:

Case: Antec twelve hundred gamer case (Any better choices for the same or less cost?)

CPU: Intel i5 2500k 3.4ghz Overclocked to 4.2ghz ( I have been told i7 CPU's are not worth the extra cost for gaming due to lack of threaded optimization for games?
CPU Cooling: Thermal take frio gaming cpu cooling fan (Overkill? any other suggestions for less cost?)
GPU: I am stuck here between a single Nvidia GTX 580 3gb or SLI GTX 580 1.5gb
(I prefer would prefer a single 580 3gb for cost reasons but would It be able to cope with the latest releases on high/max settings? )

Motherboard: Have alot of choices here (Sorry! I really know very little about motherboards... and its a copy paste job)

[CrossFireX/SLI] Asus P8Z68-V Intel Z68 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard
w/ BT GO! LucidLogix Virtu and Intel Smart Response Technology & 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, USB3.0, 2x SATA-III RAID, 3 PCIe Gen2, 2 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI

[CrossFireX/SLI] Asus P8Z68-V Pro Intel Z68 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard
w/ BT GO! LucidLogix Virtu and Intel Smart Response Technology & 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, USB3.0, 4x SATA-III RAID, 3 Gen2 PCIe, 2 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI

Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z Intel Z68, SLI and CrossFireX supported, LGA1155 mATX Mainboard
w/ DDR3 (2200Mhz OC), 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, USB3.0, SATA-III, RAID, 2 PCIe X16, 1 PCIe X4

Asus Maximus IV Extreme-Z Intel Z68, 3-Way SLI and CrossFireX supported,LGA1155 ATX Mainboard
w/ DDR3 (2200Mhz OC), 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, USB3.0, SATA-III, RAID, 4 PCIe X16, 1 PCIe X4

GigaByte GA-Z68P-DS3-B3 Intel Z68 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard
w/ Intel Smart Response Technology & 7.1 Dolby Home Theater Audio, GbLAN, USB3.0, 2x SATA-III RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 3 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI

[CrossFireX/SLI] GigaByte GA-Z68X-UD4-B3 Intel Z68 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard
w/ Intel Smart Response Technology & 7.1 Dolby Home Theater Audio, GbLAN, USB3.0, 4x SATA-III RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 2 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI

Memory : 8GB DDR3 1600mhz dual channel corsair (Worth it or should I drop to 4Gb?)
Harddrives: 2x1TB sata III 6gbs 7200rpm raid 0 (Alot cheaper to drop to Sata II but not sure what It means or what the performance cost would be?)
Power Supply : Corsair 1000w HX gaming PSU

Sorry for such a massive post with so many questions but any advice will be a great help!

Avatar 01

 

Most of that looks pretty sound. depending on cost I would be tempted to go for i7 2600K but Im not sure about cost.

Of the motherboards you have linked I would be tempted to go for the Maximus IV gene. From what I gather the Gene and Extreme are pretty much the same board but the extreme comes bundled with a load of extras for overclocking and costs almos double.

The 1200 is quite a big case and you may prefer the 900. The mk3 version looks pretty cool

The maximus will handle up to 2200MHz Ram (although you may have to manually increase it) so I would be tempted to puch for some faster RAM

 

another notable thing is if your building a fast PC SSD is the way to go for the operating system and your programs / games

i also second the opinion that you should opt for the I7 2600k 3.4 gig mines overclocked to 4.8 gig stable with the corsair H70 water cooling

 

Ok so I have pretty much decided on a new build spec, Still torn between the i5 or i7 and also not sure about the GPU.

this is what I have:

CASE: CoolerMaster Storm Sniper Gaming Case
CPU: Intel® Core™ i5 2500K Quad Core 3.3GHz Overclocked to 4.2GHz (Or the i7 2600k for an extra $150 not sure yet)
Cooling Fan: ThermalTake Frio Gaming CPU Cooling Fan
MOTHERBOARD: Asus P8Z68-V Pro Intel Z68 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard (Have seen alot of positive reviews on this board?)
MEMORY: 8GB (4x2GB) DDR3/1600mhz Dual Channel Memory (Kingston Hyper X Blu Series w/Heat Spreader )
VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GeForce GTX580 1536MB 16X PCI Express (perhaps upgrade to SLI later... but would a single 580 be able to run new games at very high settings? Note I will only be playing at 1650x1080 on a LCD 24" Monitor)
Power Supply Upgrade: Corsair 1050 Watts HX1050W Modular Gaming Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready
Hard Drive: (120GBx2) Corsair Force Series 3 SATA III Gaming MLC Solid State Disk Raid 0
Optical Drive: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE.
SOUND: HD 7.1 Onboard audio
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)

 

Looks nice so far.... I've been playing around with customizing another one from Ibuypower.... I haven't told my better half yet, but so I can't seem to get it below 1500$. Hopefully, If I can get it back to 1200$ I might just have a new Gaming rig myself. Here are my specs thus far. I'm kinda torn between a SSD drive and a Sata. If anyone has a SSD drive could someone help me out on wether it is really worth it or not.
Here are my specs.

1 x Case ( NZXT Phantom 410 Gaming Case - White ) Love the White.!!!
1 x Processor (ntel Core i7 980 Processor (6x 3.20GHz/12MB L3 Cache)
1 x PowerDrive ( 20% Oc'ed )
1 x Processor Cooling ( Liquid CPU Cooling System [SOCKET-1366] - Standard 120mm Fan )
1 x Memory ( Corsair XMS3 12 GB [4 GB X3] DDR3-1600 -
1 x Video Card ( NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 - 2GB -
1 x Motherboard ( ASUS Sabertooth X58 )
1 x Motherboard USB / SATA Interface ( Motherboard default USB / SATA Interface )
1 x Power Supply ( 1500 Watt TP-1500M )
1 x Primary Hard Drive ( 120 GB Corsair Force Series 3 F120 SSD - Single Drive )
1 x Data Hard Drive ( 16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s )
1 x Optical Drive ( [12X Blu-Ray] LG BLU-RAY Re-Writer, DVD±R/±RW Burner Combo Drive - Red )
1 x 2nd Optical Drive ( 24X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Blue )


Not really sure about the Motherboard though... I've never owned a Asus, my last 3 PC's have all had MSI's in them.
Here is link.. http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/Black_Paladin_F/c/3122796