Feedback on Gaming Build ~$1600

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nematocyte

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Hi everyone, I'm new here and would appreciate some feedback on a PC I plan to build in the next week or so. My primary use will be gaming; secondary use includes photo and video editing. Following the specs are a few specific questions I have concerning my build. Thanks in advance for your comments/suggestions!

Case: NZXT Phantom (white)
Power Supply: NZXT Hale90 1000W 80+
Motherboard: Asus P8P67 PRO
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
Processor: Intel Core i7 2600k
GPU: EVGA GTX 570
SSD: Crucial 128GB Sata 6GB/s SSD
Hard Drive: Samsung 1TB
CPU Heatsink: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus

A few questions/thoughts:

1. Do the intel processors or ASUS MBoard ship with thermal compound, or do I need to get that separately?

2. I'm open to RAM suggestions but I do prefer 2 sticks of 4 GB. I read somewhere that the Sandy Bridge processors are optimized for DDR3 1600 and wanted to know if that's accurate.

3. I'm undecided on the i7 2600k verus the i5 2500k. Since I will be doing a lot of gaming, I'm under the impression that the HT on the 2600k will be useless and saving a 100 dollars there is a smart move. Thoughts on that?

4. Looking for some feedback on my CPU heatsink. I've heard good things about the particular model I chose, but I'm definitely open to suggestions.

5. Finally, I'm getting the 1000w power supply to prepare for SLI in about 6 months or so and went for that wattage based on two GTX 570s.

Thank you very much for your time; all comments are welcome!
 
The heat sink will have some paste pre-applied. Get some MX-2 if you want better, though.

The mobo will dictate what RAM speeds you will use natively. 1600 has become the standard, however. G.Skill has brought out a new line, Ripjaws X, designed specifically for Sandy Bridge. And it looks flat out awesome.

I would go for the 2500K. You can overclock it to 2600K speeds.

That Heat sink is a good one, but you can get better (but will cost more). The TRUE (Thermalrite Ultimate Extreme) is a good one, as is the big Noctua one. The H70 is also a thought.

Getting a 1000W PSu is fine... but go with a decent one and not NZXT. Look at Antec, Corsair, Seasonic, FSP Group.
 
Thank you very much for the advice Trotter. After visiting Fry's to look at PC cases in-person and reading your suggestion about the PSU, I plan to switch cases and go with a Corsair PSU. The NZXT Phantom is an interesting case and looks reasonably well designed, but after playing around with it for about 15 minutes, I decided the HAF X is more my style.
 
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