Need help/feedback on building a PC

[RaidZero]

Planning on building a gaming PC since the one I have now is just a mass produced PC you can buy at Best Buy or something..

I don't plan on hand building this PC, because I really don't want anything to go wrong. Are sites like iBUYPOWER and CyberPower reputable places to buy from and decent in price?

I want to be able to play games like Brink and BC2 on 1650x1080 with high settings. The graphics card I have now, nVidia 9600 GT, is kind of old and overheats easily. My price range for the overall PC is under $1700, but I want it more around $1500.

I'm going to list two PCs and their parts. Maybe you guys can tell me if this is part is necessary or if it is even compatible with the other parts.

PC #1:

Case 1 x NZXT Phantom Full Tower Gaming Case-White 
Processor 1 x Intel® Core™ i7 970 Processor (6x 3.20GHz/12MB L3 Cache)- 
Processor Cooling 1 x Asetek 550LC Liquid CPU Cooling System (Intel)-ARC Dual Silent High Perfornamce Fan Upgrade (Push-Pull Airflow) 
Memory 1 x 6 GB [2 GB X3] DDR3-1600-Corsair XMS3 Dominator w/DHX technology 
Video Card 1 x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 - 1GB - EVGA Superclocked - Core: 763MHz-Single Card 
Motherboard 1 x ASUS P6X58D-E- 
Motherboard USB / SATA Interface 1 x Motherboard default USB / SATA Interface- 
Power Supply 1 x 650 Watt -- Corsair CMPSU-650TX- 
Primary Hard Drive 1 x 750 GB HARD DRIVE -- 64M Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s-Single Drive 
Optical Drive 1 x 24X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW 
Sound Card 1 x 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard- 
Network Card 1 x Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)- 
Operating System 1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium-64-Bit 
Subtotal* $1656.00 (plus tax & shipping)

PC #2:

CAS:* Corsair Obsidian Series 700D Full Tower Gaming Case w/ 3x 140mm fans
CD:24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)
CPU:Intel® Core™ i7-2600K 3.40 GHz 8M Intel Smart Cache LGA1155 (All Venom OC Certified)
CS_FAN:Maximum Enermax 120MM Case Cooling Fans for selected case (Maximum Silent Operation)(1,000 RPM Black Color with No LED Enlobal Magnetic Barometric Bearing 17 dBA)
FAN:CyberPower Xtreme Hydro Liquid Cooling Kit 360MM w/ Triple Fan(CPU & GPU Liquid Cool Capable, Extreme Overclocking Performance + Extreme Silent at 18dBA)
FLASHMEDIA:INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer (BLACK COLOR)
HDD:750GB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (Single Hard Drive)
MEMORY:4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1866MHz Dual Channel Memory Module (Corsair Dominator)
MOTHERBOARD:[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 (All Venom OC Certified)
MULTIVIEW:Non-SLI/Non-CrossFireX Mode Supports Multiple Monitors
NETWORK:Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
NOISEREDUCE1:Sound Absorbing Foam on Side, Top And Bottom panels
OS:Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)
OVERCLOCK:Extreme OC (Extreme Overclock 20% or more) 
POWERSUPPLY:* 650 Watts - Corsair CMPSU-650TX 80 Plus Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready
SOUND:HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
USB:Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
VIDEO:NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 1GB 16X PCIe Video Card [+54] (EVGA Superclocked)
PRICE:(+1642)

Is either one of them missing any vital parts? Could you guys leave me some feedback and suggest parts or even a whole new PC?

-Edit-
Just realized the PC I have now has 650w PSU, so that will knock off about $70.

 

[mailpup]

Just realized the PC I have now has 650w PSU, so that will knock off about $70.

I doubt they will sell you a PC without a power supply. How would they be able to warrant it when they don't know the condition of the power supply to be used?

If you used their website configurator, I don't think it will let you add incompatible hardware.

 

[Leeky]

As above.

I'd choose PC2, as the CPU is faster, and its the latest Sandy Bridge architecture, which replaced the first ones.

Also consider a HD6870 which should provide you with a slight increase in FPS when gaming at 1680x1050 resolutions. At that resolution I'd be careful about going higher though as they're geared for full 1080p upwards and therefore scale better at those resolutions.

 

[RaidZero]

I doubt they will sell you a PC without a power supply. How would they be able to warrant it when they don't know the condition of the power supply to be used?

If you used their website configurator, I don't think it will let you add incompatible hardware.

Haha, yeah just thought about that.

I just have a few more question.
Is liquid cooling and the noise reduction stuff worth it?
Also wondering what's the Z68 part of the motherboard title?
What exactly does a SSD do and should I get one?

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

Is liquid cooling and the noise reduction stuff worth it?

Hey you know what, that's up to you. IMO no.

Also wondering what's the Z68 part of the motherboard title?

The chipset.

What exactly does a SSD do and should I get one?

It's a hard drive, and again, it's up to you. I would buy one for sure.

Both computers have a GTX460, which IMO is too weak for that price; you should consider shifting what you're spending money on to fit in a better one.
FYI the 9600gt is a fairly cool card.

 

[RaidZero]

Well I decided to build it and here's what I have so far.

Case: NZXT Phantom (ww.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146067)
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel Z68 (ww.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131730)
GPU: EVGA nVidia GTX 560 DS Ti Superclocked (ww.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130657)
CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (ww.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070)
Memory: CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) (ww.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145290)
SSD: Corsair Nova (ww.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233122)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black (ww.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136795)
CPU Cooling: Hyper 212 (ww.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065)

Total: $1,193.92

Questions:
Is all this compatible?
Do I need to purchase any cables?
There are various versions of the GTX 560, what does the DS stand for? Which is the best?
Will all of this fit inside the case I chose?
Is a 650w PSU enough?

I plan to take the PSU and Optical Drive from my current PC and put it into the new one. Other than that I think that pretty much it.

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

Is all this compatible?

Yes.

Do I need to purchase any cables?

If you get an open-box version, probably not.

Will all of this fit inside the case I chose?

Yes.

Is a 650w PSU enough?

It depends on your power supply.

If I were you, I would switch to an i5-2500k, and spend the extra money on a 6950.
IMO you don't want to look at a corsair Nova series SSD.
I'd pick a cheaper set of RAM.
Also, I'd chose this hdd.

 

[RaidZero]

Yes.
If you get an open-box version, probably not.
Yes.
It depends on your power supply.

If I were you, I would switch to an i5-2500k, and spend the extra money on a 6950.
IMO you don't want to look at a corsair Nova series SSD.
I'd pick a .
Also, I'd chose .

What's an open-box version?
Do you have an SSD you'd recommend?

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

An open-boxed version, as defined by newegg's fine print, is an item that has been returned or something by the original owner, but has been verified and tested to work. It does not guarantee that it will come with any packaging ect., only the package itself (in this case the included cables).
It'll be cheaper and blatantly labeled as open-box.

Probably something from the vertex 3 series, or corsair's performance line of drives.

 

[red1776]

An open-boxed version, as defined by newegg's fine print, is an item that has been returned or something by the original owner, but has been verified and tested to work. It does not guarantee that it will come with any packaging ect., only the package itself (in this case the included cables).
It'll be cheaper and blatantly labeled as open-box.

Probably something from the vertex 3 series, or corsair's performance line of drives.

To add to HK's comments on Open box items, Don't count on this happening, but I have ordered many Open box items from Newegg and have yet to get the bare item only. a vast majority of the time I get all of the accessories, and many times the box isn't even opened. I was told by a newegg customer service person that it has to do with inventory postings lagging behind, and if they run out of open box items and your order is in, they will honor the price and send you a new unopened item. just FYI