Building a PC, Part 1

In addition to the same old boring New Year's resolutions (exercise more, eat healthier, don't be a terrible person, blah, blah, blah), I decided to pick something fun: I'm going to build a new PC!

I've been looking at parts for a while, but life has been busy recently so I haven't taken the plunge yet. My brother, realizing that I needed a little kickstart, bought me an awesome SSD for my birthday which provided just the right motivation to put this thing together. However, before I start going on a spending spree, I thought I might as well turn the whole expedition into a feature for the site.

Here's a list of my prospective build. I'm interested in comments and suggestions, so feel free to take a look. There are some more detailed comments after the list:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mh5m
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mh5m/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mh5m/benchmarks/

• CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.86 @ Microcenter) 
• Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($130.48 @ NCIX US) 
• Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.36 @ Newegg) 
• Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($96.41 @ Newegg) 
• Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (ALREADY OBTAINED)
• Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($228.36 @ Amazon) 
• Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.28 @ NCIX US) 
• Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($96.27 @ Amazon) 
• Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($18.47 @ Newegg) 
• Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($164.86 @ Newegg) 
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC) 
• Total: $1291.86
• (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
• (Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-01 13:54 EST-0500)

Notes:

• General use cases: As if you haven't guessed this already, I'll be using this for mostly games, but also some audio and video editing. I'm trying to strike a balance between high performance and affordability. I figure specs like these will be good for a while, even with the looming release of the new Intel chipset and the new graphics cards.
• Video Card: They're hard to pick, but I feel like the 660 offers a good combination of power and price. The 660 ti seems to be $100 more and the 670 looks awesome, but it's quite a bit more expensive.
• Case: I want three main things from a case. I want it to be quiet, easy to work with, and minimalistic. No offense to people who love LEDs and wild case mods, I just like an understated look when it comes to cases.
• Power Supply: By my calculations, I probably won't ever reach 620W, but I want some breathing room for future upgrades. For some reason, I find power supplies really hard to shop for, so I'd welcome any advice or stories from your experience.
• Monitor: I'm actually not sure how big I want the monitor to be. I see myself connecting the PC to my TV some of the time, and I actually don't have a huge amount of space on my desk, so I don't want to go too large. I might have to go to the store with a tape measure!
• Operating System: Before anyone gives me any grief for Windows 8, let me tell you my reasons, since I understand Windows 7 is still the first choice for most folks. First: I want to familiarize myself with it for professional reasons (part of my job requires me to have a working knowledge of current operating systems). Second: I think it might be nice when the computer is connected to a large screen. Third: I'm legitimately interested in using one of the most drastic Windows redesigns in history. I figure if I don't like the tiles, all I have to do is press the Windows key and they disappear!

So there you have it: some parts and the rationale behind them! As I said, feel free to jump into the comments with your thoughts, as I'm interested in others' experiences as well.