Corsair is a good company as well. I looked briefly and didn't see one that beat the price of the Rosewill, though. Personally, I keep to 750W as well, because I'm very paranoid, but even if he SLIs, he should still be way below 650W, so it's a reasonable place to save money.

On the subject of cases, I'm guessing 3.0 usb is something I DO want. Looks like a lot of cheaper options lack it.

The back USB ports will be 3.0 (or 3.1 if you get that mobo) no matter the case because the ports are directly out of the mobo. The 3.0 you're seeing is the ports at the front of the case, which go through the case and plug into the mobo. If you don't care about 3.0 speeds in the front usb ports, then you don't have to get that feature.

I've looked at a few cases, this one seems solidly built for the price, but there are some complaints in the reviews about cramped space for components. Is it likely to be an issue, either now or in the future?

Yes, that could be an issue. Remember, your GPU is almost 1 foot long. Do you have a link?

Sorry I forgot the link.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153&ignorebbr=1

Man I will be happy when I have real internet. Using the basic Xfinity wifi right now and its really touch and go.

A couple general thoughts:

1) A cheaper case will come with cheaper fans. That may sound like nbd, but cheap fans *will* sound like a jet engine is taking off in your apartment. Not a deal breaker, because you can easily buy nicer fans and replace them, but just be aware of that potential issue.

2) With the size of the GPU and CPU heatsink/fan, Mid Towers do get cramped. This can make it frustrating to fit everything in as well as adds to heat issues. I have a mid tower and everything fits, but it is tight.

If space isn't an issue, you may want to consider a full tower. Either way is fine, it all depends if a little more headache is worth a slightly smaller tower.

Okay, probably best to nix that one to avoid any space issues. Especailly because some day I might want a second graphics card rather than replacing the computer outright.

Take a look at this one. It's only a little bit more, but the extra 1" in each direction plus the removable HDD bay should give you plenty of space to work with.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233

How about this one? Allegedly has very respectable noise levels and cooling capability for the price.

link?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811235056&cm_re=zalman_z11-_-11-235-056-_-Product

Hard to say. I've never heard of Zalman and it only has 4 reviews. I'd go with the Coolermaster I linked over this Zalman.

I've used Zalman and they're very good; but they also tend to be quite oversized. I had troublr fitting a Zalman heatsink into my InWin Dragon Rider case (and that is one massive case).

The size issue shouldn't come up since we're talking about cases, but I'll keep that in mind if I see their name in the future.

Pafts are mostly picked out now, gonne repost the full list and see what the cost us when I get back to a device with a keyboard.

Sure, post the whole thing and we'll double check it.

Ok here’s what I have. Motherboard switched to the version with USB 3.1. 1TB HDD added. Downgraded to 8gb of RAM, seems to be what is generally recommended for gaming. Let me know what you think of the Ares. All told we’re looking at 1,044$ for the tower(minus case) plus a power strip.

Still need to pick out case, monitor, power cord I think doesn’t come with supply for some reason, need a keyboard, and possibly some speakers or headphones. Oh and an operating system will need to be installed of course.

Is anything in this build too good? Not good enough? What are the most likely upgrades I’ll be wanting to make down the line?

CPU: i4690, 240$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117372

GPU: Nvidia gtx 970, 350$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487088

Memory Ares DDR3 1600 35$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231544

Storage: Samsung 850 Evo 500GB, 150$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147373

Adapter 8$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2W02NM4854

Secondary Storage Seagate barracuda 1TB 53$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840&cm_re=seagate_barracuda-_-22-148-834-_-Product

Motherboard Asus Z97E 135$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132512&ignorebbr=1&cm_re=ASUS_motherboards-_-13-132-512-_-Product

Power Supply Rosewill arc650 watts, 55$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182299

Power Strip18$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812107193&cm_re=surge_strip-_-12-107-193-_-Product

Overall, this looks good, but you're going to be over budget.

Ditch the Barracuda. You can buy that whenever the SSD starts to get full. I assume most of your games are on Steam, so back-up isn't super important.

I'd also recommend you buy a heatsink/fan for your CPU because unless something has changed, the ones that come with intel CPUs are garbage. This is the one I have: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

Here are some monitors I've been looking at, pretty similar 144hz 24" VN panels. Something with good built in speakers would definitely be a plus.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236313

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824025009&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleKWLess&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleKWLess-_-IM-PC-_-Monitors+%3E+Monitors+-+LCD+Flat+Panel-_-N82E16824025009&gclid=Cj0KEQiA4qSzBRCq1-iLhZ6Vsc0BEiQA1qt-zu2ofTAC_97WqXLiGUHoLLegLGHrzQHnV1dX23mrDkQaAplr8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824160177

http://www.amazon.com/BenQ-XL2411Z-24-Inch-LED-Monitor/dp/B00ITORITU/?tag=amazon0606-20

I don't know anything about those speakers and I don't know how much you worry about sound but, if I was building a rig, I'd want my speakers to be separate and modular because that's definitely a place I could see myself upgrading down the road.

The first one is backordered and the second is out of stock

Don't know about the last 2. Can look more when out of work.

Yeah I had noticed that, I can always look for the same products at another site/ physical store though.

The issue with getting speakers right now is that the budget is already in pretty bad shape. I could spring for some if I had to, but I'd rather not go over budget, and if I do, I'd rather keep the excess minimal. If everything's going well for me financially I can always get some good speakers in a couple of months.

Do you need speakers? I just use headphones.

Well I have no tv in the apartment, and this will be the best screen to watch anything on.

Having speakers in the monitor is a plus, but not a huge issue.

I don't have strong opinions on any of these monitors. TBH, picking out good monitors isn't my strongest suit; I never really like the ones I pick out. I would advise you pick one that has more reviews, though.

So how's this looking? You're going to want to wrap this up before prices change, things get sold out, etc