Build advice.

[chaos952]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc

Mainly gaming and audio recording/music production.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

$3,500, does not include tax/shipping.

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.

Takoma Park, MD, USA.

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.

Mobo, CPU, RAM, Storage drives, CD/DVD burner, sound card, video card, case, PSU, monitor, wireless adapter, and OS.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

Keyboard and mouse.

6) Will you be overclocking?

No.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?

2560 x 1600. (30")

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

Hopefully by the end of this month, but I can wait a little longer if needed, as I am aware that Ivy Bridge processors and Z77 boards are right around the corner.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.

USB 3.0, SATA 6Gb/s, UEFI. SLI support would be nice to have, but isn't necessary.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?

No.

And now for the build... Everything will be purchased from Newegg unless otherwise noted.

Motherboard: Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H - $160
CPU: Intel Core i7 3770 - $320
CPU Cooler: CM Hyper 212 Plus - $27
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 4x4GB DDR3 1600 - $90

Storage: 1 Crucial M4 256GB SSD, 1 WD1002FAEX 1TB HDD - $250/$140
CD/DVD: ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - $20
Audio: HT | Omega Claro Halo - $200
Video: eVGA GTX 680 - $500
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R - $75 @ microcenter
PSU: Corsair HX750 - $150
Extra Case Fans: 4x Scythe Slipstream SL1225L12M 120mm - $44

Monitor: HP ZR30w - $1,180
Wireless Adapter: TP-LINK TL-WN722N - $18
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium - $100

Total: $3,338

Have at it.

 

[tiraides]

Regardless of whether you go with a Z68 or Z77/79 board, don't go with AsRock. AsRock boards have one- to two-year warranties whereas other boards (from Gigabyte, Asus, and MSI) have three-year warranties.

Why are you going with multiple SSDs? Regardless, the Corsair Force 3 isn't the best choice around. I recommend going with either the Crucial M4 or Samsung 830 series SSDs. The Intel 510/520 SSDs are also good, but they're considerably more expensive.

I wouldn't recommend the Corsair Vengeance RAM as the tall heatspreaders may interfere with the CPU cooler. Go with the Vengeance LP, Corsair XMS3, or a different brand/model that uses low-profile heatspreaders.

What does the Netgear wireless adapter offer that cheaper-yet-equally-capable adapters don't?

 

[chaos952]

Bumping for Mobo/processor change, wireless adapter change, and also the fact that I am planning to order parts this week. I noticed Tiger Direct has a (Galaxy) GTX 680 in stock at the time of this post, but how legit is that? I want to call BS on that, lol.

 

[Dangman]

That hard drive isn't a good choice considering that the significantly faster Samsung costs less:
$120 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

With the exception of the sound card (don't know much about them) and hard drive, setup looks fine to me.