New Intel Build $500

[BeeBahBoo]

I'm finally upgrading from my Pentium D LGA775 rig.
Here's what I've put together so far.

Approximate Purchase Date: ASAP

Budget Range: $500 (can be after mail-ins and such)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, surfing, multi-tasking, watching movies, photoshop

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, mouse, GPU, I don't need a new HDD but I'd like to add another internal, monitor, speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg, starmicroinc.net (for cpu), anything else you can find really

Country of Origin: United States

Parts Preferences: Intel, Biostar mobo seems to be best for Sandy Bridge

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Not anytime soon

Monitor Resolution: 1440x900

Additional Comments: Here are the parts I've got lined up so far in my hunt for a new rig.

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz $200 (from StarMicro Inc.)

Mobo: BIOSTAR TP67XE $130

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 $74 for 2 sets

GPU: Already own a GTS 250

HDD: HITACHI Deskstar 5K3000 2TB $80

ODD: ASUS 24X DVD Burner $20

Case: Thinking the one I have now will work. Just have to cut the back out where my mobo's outputs are. But if I had to get new, I'd only want to spend $50.

That puts my total at ~$580. Over my $500 spending limit I'm trying to implement. So getting that down some would be nice.
I'd really like to spend no more than $500 but that's looking fairly hard to accomplish.
I'm not wanting to have to part together something over time like I've been doing.

Any thoughts, comments, better products, etc. would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for your time.

 

[sadams04]

CPU - Overclocking = Maybe => If you don't think you will overclock , scale down to the i5-2400 to save a little money.

MB - Not sure Biostar is "the best for Sandy Bridge", but it will work fine. Again if you can eliminate overclocking AND future SLI setup, you can further reduce spending by going with an H61 chipset. I would recommend ASUS...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131724

The two changes above should put you much closer to $500 and perform very well...

MEM - Good choice.

GPU - Will do just fine @ 1440x900.

HDD - Hitachi is fine and all, but I would swap that to the Samsung F4 2TB for its speed and reliablilty. Same price...

 

[BeeBahBoo]

If I overclock am I shortening the lifespan of my cpu?
I'd love to OC to 4.5GHz.
But if I do that, aren't I also looking at a higher watt PSU and a cooler?

I don't think my GTS 250 will fit in that Asus motherboard.
In my current mobo there's a PCIe x1 slot above my 2.0 x16, my gts covers that slot up, rendering it unusable.
And the audio out ports sit right above it as is.

 

[sadams04]

Overclocking would definately have you picking up an aftermarket CPU cooler. Overclocking while keeping temps in check should not shorten the lifecycle of the CPU. Overclock to 4.5GHz and keep the stock cooler and you are asking for trouble as your temps would be high while in a high processing demand (very frequent while gaming). You would not need a different sized PSU when overclocking. Those increases in power consumption are minimal...

You should be fine installing the GTS 250 on that ASUS board if you decide to go the H61 route. You are correct that it will cover up the PCIe x1 slot directly under the x16 slot, but it will clear the audio ports.

 

[BeeBahBoo]

Okay, decided I'm going to overclock cpu.

What cooler would you recommend that isn't too expensive, while doing the job?

I have a pretty big cooler in my pc now, it's on a LGA 775 though, so I'm not sure if it could be used on the 1155.
It's a dell cooler, http://www.98-shop.com/images/CN-0X9694kkk.JPG
It also has a pretty big fan on it.
Can't find the kit anywhere online.
CN-0x9694-68282-55V-00GM is the code on it.

Here's the cpu/mobo kit I'm looking at, http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.660241&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=z7zzzuoav6d4

My total price without cooler is $548 as of now.

 

[sadams04]

CPU Cooler => Hyper 212+ ($30)
http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-Sleeve-RR-B10-212P-G1/dp/B002G1YPH0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311619595&sr=8-1

 

[BeeBahBoo]

Thanks so much for the help so far.

I'm down to one last decision.
The HDD I'm getting.

Which would be best?
SAMSUNG EcoGreen F4 HD204UI 2TB
HITACHI Deskstar 5K3000
or something better than either of those?

6gb/s with 5900rpm seems like it'd slow the drive down?

 

[sadams04]

Ignore the SATA 3.0 GB/S vs SATA 6.0 GB/S debate... The fastest mechanical / spindle drive won't saturate a SATA 3.0 GB/S interface yet alone the "faster" SATA 6.0 GB/S. When you bring a solid state drive into the mix, the SATA 6.0GB/S interface is the way to go.

The F4 might be the better performer, but both would be fine. I would say Samsung...

 

[BeeBahBoo]

Thanks.

So here's what I'm going to order:

CPU/MOBO
RAM
PSU
HDD
ODD
Cooler

Going to OC the CPU (maybe the RAM).
Throw my GTS 250 in there and I think I'm looking at a pretty solid set-up.
Final thoughts?

 

[sadams04]

Looks good!

 

[BeeBahBoo]

Best answer selected by beebahboo.

 

[BeeBahBoo]

Thank you for all your help!