Maximum PC

Hey, I am just starting to work on my first custom gaming pc. My overall price range is about 1000-1200$.
I have found a couple components that I am looking to buy so I am curious if they would all work together, what else exactly would I need to buy to complete it.

GPU: AMD Radeon HD 6970 2GB (~400$)
Motherboard: ASUS LGA 1155 - Z68 - PCIe 3.0 and UEFI BIOS Intel Z68 PRO/GEN3 (~190$)
CPU: Intel Core i7 3.5 GHz LGA 1155 (~320$)
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Blue 16 GB DDR3 SDRAM Dual Channel Memory Kit (~100$)
HDD: WD Caviar Black 1TB (~120$)

Thank you for any advice you can provide

Here is what I would pick, close to your specs.

Part list permalink / Part price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-2700K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($319.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($22.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Biostar TZ77A ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($117.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($117.27 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 6970 2GB Video Card ($357.86 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 371 ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec 650W ATX12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH22NS90B DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1157.62
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated 2012-04-25 23:49 EDT-0400)

I did have to cut back on the motherboard to get it in your price range (although, is Z77 + Biostar-T's 8-phase power cut back? lol). PSU calc says 450W+ and the EA650 for $55 after rebate is not to shabby.

Well I hope it gives you some ideas.

Thank you very much! That was extremely helpful. I only had one question, that Biostar MoBo you mentioned.. I looked at some pictures and the PCIe 3.0-2.0 x16 looks awfully close to the bottom of the RAM slots, and considering the ridiculous size of the Radeon HD 6970, do you think that GPU would fit in there right under those RAM cards sticking out?