Building PC, need part recommendations

[ABeardedLlama]

Hi everyone. I've been looking through these forums a lot and decided this would be the best place to ask for some help. I'm going to be building a computer to hopefully last me a while with a few upgrades along the way. I have had experience assembling computers before, but I haven't familiarized myself with what parts work best together. I am going to use the computer for heavy gaming and various graphic design programs. I spent some time researching some stuff and I'm almost there, but need some help finishing the list. Here's what I've found so far.

Processor: i7 Sandy Bridge 2600k Yes I plan on overclocking.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070

Mother Board: ASUS p8p67deluxe
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131701&Tpk=asus%20p8p67%20deluxe

RAM: corsair vengeance 12gb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=20-233-146&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=4&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Keywords=%28keywords%29#scrollFullInfo

PSU: corsair ax1200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139014&Tpk=corsair%201200w

Graphics card: evga geforce gtx 580 (planning on adding another one in the future)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130587&cm_re=evga_gtx_580-_-14-130-587-_-Product

Sound card: ASUS xonar dx 7.1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132006&cm_re=asus_xonar-_-29-132-006-_-Product

HDD: Western Digital caviar black 1.5tb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136793

SSD:Suggestions please? Wasn't too sure which one would work well.

Optical drive: LG 10x blu-ray player
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/LG+-+10x+Internal+Blu-ray+Disc+Double-Layer+DVD%26%23177%3BRW/CD-RW+Drive/9713663.p?id=1218156775128&skuId=9713663&st=blu%20ray%20drive&cp=1&lp=4

Case: Cooler master HAF X
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119225

Thermal compound+pcu cooler: Not sure about these either. But will a pcu cooler fit on the motherboard with my choice of RAM?

Price isn't much of an issue. I've decided to go pretty big with the project as you can see, but don't just give me the most expensive components. I would like to save some money where I can. I'm open to suggestions for all parts, not just the ones that I don't have anything for.
Thanks in advance everyone.

 

[spillz1123]

I don't know much about sound cards but why do you need a sound card if the Motherboard has one built in, would it make much of a difference, even if it does make a difference why not go for something cheaper with similar functions and reviews?

I think 12gb is too much, 6gb or 8gb should be enough, unless you just want it for bragging rights?

Going big doesn't mean going overboard, get the best without going too far.

As for thermal compound, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007

 

[mjmjpfaff]

cpu- good choice

mobo- you should get a z68: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128494

ram- sandy bridge mobo's cant tri channel ram 8gb's is enough anyways: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

psu- http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Professional-High-Performance-1200-Watt-CMPSU-1200AX/dp/B003PJ6QVU/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1311106086&sr=1-1 free shipping here

blu ray burner- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136226 wow best buy is overpriced

for the same price you can get a great cooler on your 580- http://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-nVidia-GeForce-PCI-Express-GV-N580UD-15I/dp/B004MKCUIO/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1311106280&sr=8-10

hdd- http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-3-5-Inch-Internal-HD103SJ/dp/B002MQC0P8/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1311106371&sr=1-1 this spinpoint is faster and quieter than that wd. start out with 1 you can get another one if you need it

the haf x sucks in a lot of dust. my friend has one and he is a clean freak. his parts have a lot of dust on them. while i have lots of pets (hair and dust everywhere) and i have less dust on my parts than him with my 300 illusion which has a dust screen. http://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-Steel-Computer-Window-RV02B-EW/dp/B004BDOGSO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1311106683&sr=8-3 this is a great case

ssd- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233181 dont worry about the bad reviews most of newegg's reviewers are idiots

cpu cooler- http://www.amazon.com/Noctua-Heatpipe-Bearing-Cooler-NH-D14/dp/B002VKVZ1A/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1311106979&sr=1-1 best air cooler on the market it comes with good thermal paste too

 

[ABeardedLlama]

@mjmhpfaff Advantages/Disadvantages to z68 over p67? Thanks for the save on the RAM, I guess I had been misinformed by some people... And for the case, two of my friends have HAF X cases and have little problems with dust. Maybe because they replaced fans? I think I like all the other components though. Thanks for the help!

@spillz1123 onboard sound card for that particular mother board has terrible quality. I use headphones and there's definitely a noticeable difference. And I see your point on the RAM... I don't really need that much, but why not? lol. Thanks for the reply!

 

[mjmjpfaff]

a lot of people have had problems with p67's and ssd's for boot drives z68's on the other hand no problems. faster video encoding. and ssd caching which i think is kind of worthless

 

[leandrodafontoura]

Take a look at http://us.creative.com/products/welcomenew.asp?category=1&listby=system

 

[ABeardedLlama]

@mjmjpfaff- Thanks so much for the help! I've looked into all the parts you recommended and I must say that everything seems very solid. I will definitely be using most, if not all, of the components you've recommended! And one more thing, the cpu cooler will fit in nicely correct? Like it won't have any interference with the RAM or get in the way right? Thanks.

@leandrodafontoura- Ah, hats off to you for bringing me back to creative. I like their products, but some friends of mine have had some bad experiences with replacement parts and customer service, which is why I am often driven away from them.

 

[mjmjpfaff]

it might. if it does just use the 2 and 4 spots of the ram. no big deal