Building a new Gaming PC

This is my first Gaming PC to ever build. what i'm really concerned with is capabilities between these parts... and for that matter what to be looking for, whats good, not, ect. i'm rather uneducated in the field of hardware.

I really enjoy playing Star Craft 2, and games like Skyrim... the new big, graphic loving games... so i really need a PC that can handle these games, preferably with their graphic qualities cranked up rather high instead of bare minimum.



Motherboard:
no idea. i don't need anything fancy like a remote that comes with it or anything, i just need it to work with everything and not become a weakness in the future. I was initially looking at Gigabyte brands but i saw quite a few mixed reviews.


CPU:
Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115070
or
Core i7 2600K LGA 1155 Boxed Processor
http://www.microcenter.com/single_ [...] id=0354587

theres a huge price difference but i honestly haven't the slightest clue what the difference is exactly... besides the name.


GPU:
EVGA 01G-P3-1460-KR GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130660
now GeForce is the only brand i've ever used... i'm in the dark about other, possibly better brands?

RAM:
not quite sure. i see crazy fluctuations in pricing. i don't need a huge amount of memory but at the same time i don't want to fall short either. I really don't know what to look at with out knowing the motherboard...


PSU:
CORSAIR Professional Series HX850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139011

Optical Drive:
ASUS 24X DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827135204
i wasn't planning on getting one for blu-ray


OS:
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit


Hard drive:
was looking at a simple 500GB... i don't think i'd eat a Terabyte.

Cooling:
fans right? i wouldn't have to do anything special would i?

Case:
air flow is a major concern. i don't want to spend this money to watch it overheat.

You never mentioned any price limit.

The the CPU you have are the same, only difference is the price.

You will most likely want a more powerful GPU. 6870 or 560Ti.

Looking around $1000. Give or take a few $100.

Approximate Purchase Date: April 2012

Budget Range: $1000-$1400 or so

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming on high quality settings.

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: www.newegg.com, www.microcenter.com

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: intel i7, EVGA GeForce GTX (i know nothing of Radeon), windows 7 home premium

Overclocking: Doubt it?

SLI or Crossfire: No? seems too expensive...

Monitor Resolution: i'll be using my LCD HD tv for a monitor. so i'll need an HDMI port

Additional Comments: i don't need a super duper fancy amazing-looking expensive case, just one that will hold everything obviously and not restrict airflow.

And thank you very much for your time. What your doing here is extremely helpful!

If you are buying in April wait until you are ready to buy. If you are starting to buy now, then I'll say which parts you'll want to buy first. Along with a good computer for that price.

At this price range you can get a motherboard that supports CF/SLI for future upgrades. It is also worth spending a little more on the processor that will overclock in the future instead of upgrading it.

Most of the 7xxx series should be out by then and even some 6xx so you should wait to buy the GPU last.