new build Parts compatibility - Australia

Hey everyone. I'm building a new mid to high range gaming PC from parts online. I'm buying from PCCaseGear.com (though suggestions for other sites is more than welcome) and this is what I have so far:

- EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Superclocked Signature
- Intel Core i7 3820
- Corsair Hydro Series H100 CPU Cooler
- Gigabyte GA-X79S-UP5-WIFI Motherboard
- Antec High Current Gamer 900W Power Supply HCG-900
- Kingston HyperX KHX1866C9D3K4/16GX 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3
- OCZ Vertex 4 128GB SSD
- Western Digital WD Green 2TB WD20EARX
- Antec One Gaming Case
- LG CH12LS28 12X BD-R Blu-ray DVD Combo Drive

I'm an IT student in my first year so I've put together a fair number of computers, but sourcing compatible parts is still new to me. I was hoping for some feedback on the compatibility or any thoughts you may have.

Cheers,
Alexander

One point of compatibility is that the GIGABYTE GA-X79S-UP5-WIFI is an E-ATX motherboard, which the Antec One case does not officially support.

IMO there is little reason to get an i7-3820 over an Ivy Bridge i5/i7.

There are a number of reasons for this.
First is that the i7-3770K equals or outperforms the i7-3820, plus is overclockable (which might justify buying the Corsair H100), even more performance can be gained, whereas I don't think the i7-3820 is easily overclockable.
Ivy Bridge is less power hungry and less hot, so requires less cooling.
CPU performance is a secondary consideration for gaming builds. So going for a socket 2011 build is kind of a waste.
That motherboard in particular has a lot of features which I wouldn't expect a gamer to need; it is designed more for server intentions than gaming. Correct me if you do need the features it offers.

Intel i5-3570K ($235)
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=187_346_1184&products_id=20138

ASRock Z77 Extreme6 ($175)
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=138_711_1183&products_id=19870
A very feature rich motherboard with a good price.

Even 8GB of RAM isn't necessary for gaming builds, so 16GB is major overkill.

You wouldn't need a 900W PSU even if you added another GTX 680 to the rig.
Cooler Master Silent Pro M2 720W ($135)
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_535&products_id=19346

I would suggest putting the saved money into a better case/PSU as the ones you chosen are fairly budget minded, which conflicts with the large amount of money otherwise spent on this build.

When you get that WD Caviar Green 2TB drive I would suggest keeping an eye on the Load/Cycle count for a few weeks to make sure it is not going up very fast. This is a problem with it's predecessor, so it might be a problem with the 20EARX. The spec sheet specifies a max load count of 300,000, which I have exceeded on my drive in less than a year. When I contacted WD about this they said that the Load/Cycle count could be in the millions without problems, but I would still advise taking steps to avoid it rising too quickly.
If it is rising too quickly then the solution is described in this link:
http://www.storagereview.com/how_stop_excessive_load_cycles_western_digital_2tb_caviar_green_wd20ears_wdidle3

Thanks for the feedback guys, this is great! I always had the intention of going high and reeling back, so these are all great suggestions.

Duneworld, you are right about the E-ATX board, I did change that already, but your suggestion was an even better choice to mine, also with the CPU. I would like to look into overclocking it, so the H100 would be nice, but would a H80 be a good concession or should I go for a conventional fan system?

I also culled the majority of the RAM and decided to just use the Seagate Barracuda 2TB ST2000DM001 instead to avoid the Load/Cycle with the WD (pretty good rap from the folks at Whirlpool and a 7200rpm so it won't bottleneck the 64bit OS).