My first gaming rig

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Daioh

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So i've decided to build my first gaming rig and i have pretty much got everything i think i need.

WD caviar black 1 TB HD
Intel Core i7-2600k processor 3.4GHz 8mb cache
Coolermaster haf x
Asus P8Z68-PRO
Rosewill Lightning Series 800W PSU
Rosewill RCR-IC002 74-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5" Internal Card Reader w/ USB port / Extra silver face plate
ZALMAN CNPS9500A-LED 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler
CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9B
HIS IceQ X Turbo H679QNT1G2M Radeon HD 6950
NZXT CB-8P 8-Pin Motherboard Power Extension Premium Cable (Black)
NZXT CB-24P Singled Sleeved 24-Pin Premium Cable for Motherboards (Black)
ASUS Black 12X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Drive Model BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM

This totals out to somewhere around $1400. Is there anything you guys think i could do better, or anything you think i'm wasting money on. I'm aware of the not so big difference between the i5 and i7 proccesor but it would be great if someone could elaborate on that a little more. also any motherboard or graphics card suggestions would be appreciated

Thanks
 
The i7 has hyper-threading which is beneficial for multi-tasking and certain programs that can utilize it (so far no games do).
It also has 2MB more L3 cache, though I'm not up on how much of an impact that has for gaming, guessing not much.
2500k and 2600k Features Comparison.
2500k and 2600k Benchmarks.
If your primary purpose is gaming, save yourself ~$80 and get the 2500k.

Going down your list:
Samsung Spinpoint F3, performs just as well as the black in real-world applications and is quite a bit cheaper.
i5 2500k, as stated above.
Cases are personal preference, I like the HAF X, but couldn't personally justify spending so much on a case.
At that price would personally go with the MSI Z68A-GD65 or ASRock Z68 Extreme4 both of which have PCIe 3.0, but I keep my computers for years, you may upgrade before this is a relevant technology.
Would not get a Rosewill PSU. On Newegg around the same price you can get a Corsair TX850M or PC P&C Silencer MKII 950W.
Card readers are card readers.
Not really up on mid-range CPU coolers, but believe at the price you could do better with a CM V8/V6, Xigmatek Dark Knight, or Corsair CAFA70.
16GB of RAM is overkill for gaming (4x as much as BF3 recommends), 8GB is more than enough. I'd go with this, 1600MHz/CAS8 and short heat spreaders.
The model # on the video card links to a 6790, not a 6950. Not sure what the balance is going to be if you save money from the above suggestions, but if you want a kick-butt gaming rig try and swing a 6970 or GTX 570/580.
8-Pin cable extension, not sure why.
24-Pin cable extension, not sure why.
Optical drive is an optical drive.

Don't forget to snag a copy of Windows 7.
 
The p8z68 is a very good board, depending on whether you want to frequently upgrade or not, you could look at the GEN 3 boards which Roark suggested that allow pci-e 3.0

What monitor are you using and at what resolutions do you plan on gaming at? If you want something beefy look at the gtx 570 or even a gtx 580.

Haf x is a nice case, I just bought one for my new build
 
That's when you subscribe to this board and have your phone chime every time you get an email so you can get there first :p

On topic:
I've got an EVGA GTX 560 Ti SC, which got about same (sometimes lower, sometimes higher) than my friend's 570 on the BF3 beta...not really worth the extra $$$ for the 570 if you ask me...
 
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