First Time Computer Builder Looking For Advice

[Hoticehunter]

Edit3: Oops! I see now I should have posted this in the Computer Build forum, if a mod could move this to the correct forum, I'd appreciate it.

Hey all, I'm looking to get a new computer and I thought I'd try out building my own instead of getting a premade one from Dell this time.

I'm basing most of my list off MMO-Champ's last parts guide (http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/...p-of-the-Month) but I'm wondering about mixing and matching.

I'd like to keep the budget under $1,000. This doesn't include keyboard/mouse/monitor/speakers, but will have to include a copy of Windows 7.

I'd like to use as much of the Narwhal stuff as possible, but since I'll need to buy a copy of windows, that means I can't have everything be Narwhal, or I'll end up over budget.

I was thinking I'd go with Dolphin's case, PSU, heatsink, ram, DVD, with Narwhal's CPU, GPU, and Motherboard, and a 500gig HDD. I really don't think I need 750-1000gigs, and what with HDD costs skyrocketing due to that flood, I figure the HDD is a good enough spot to cut some costs by going with a 500gig.

So, a couple questions. First, will losing the 50 watts hurt by not getting the Narwhal PSU? According the chart, it's $30 for an extra 50 watts, going from 600 to 650. That seems... rather steep for an extra 50w.
Second, how big of a jump is the Dolphin to Narwhal CPU? Intel i3-2100 to Intel i5-2500k? Is the i5 worth the extra $100? I don't think I'd really mind the i3, but it can't overclock, and I'd like to be able to overclock it at least a little.
As for GPUs, there's 4 between the Dolphin and Narwhal... but... what in the world do all the little technical details mean? Like, Memory Clock, Shader Clock, Engine Clock, Stream Processor, Texture Fill Rate? What happened to a video card being 512 MB or 1GB and just leaving it at that?
Also, I was looking at the XFX from the Narwhal column, and Amazon is saying there's a newer one available for $4 more. What on Earth makes a newer version of a video card worth $4 more? It's not like the technical details are standardized, so I can't look to see, "oh, it has a slightly higher texture fill rate or whatever"

So, those questions out of the way, this is what my list is looking like:
Case: NZXT GAMMA Classic (Dolphin)-$36
PSU: XFX 650W PRO650W Core -$50 (After rebate)
CPU: Intel i5-2500k (Narwhal)-$233
Heatsink: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus (Dolphin)-$21
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 (Narwhal)-$168
RAM: 4GB G.Skill Ripjaws F3 4GB 12800 DDR3 (All 4)-$37
GPU: EVGA GTX 560 (Narwhal)-$210 (After rebate)
HDD: Hitachi Deskstar 1TB -$90 (If I can get it on sale, if I miss the sale, something else.)
DVD: Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW (All 4)-$26
OS: Windows 7 -$100

Tentative Total: $971

So, suggestions? Advice? Answers to some of my questions up above? Am I missing anything?

Oh, and one other thing, when I go to those amazon links, it looks like it's a referral url, so if you buy, curse gaming gets a cut. Not that I particularly mind that, but that's something that REALLY ought to be disclosed in the blog post.

Edit: Found a PSU on "sale", so I can still get a 650w without going over budget.
Edit2: I look at Windows 7 Home on the Windows website's list of products. There it's $120. I click on it to go buy it, and now it's $200. -_- What the fuck Microsoft? What. The. Fuck. You don't just pull $80 price increases out of nowhere like that. Apparently it's $80 cheaper to buy Windows at Best Buy than at windows.com. Whatever. And Amazon has it for $100. Whyyyyyyyy? Amazon also has two "used" Windows 7 for $20 more than new. -_-

[ebah]

If your not going to overclock CPU cooler is useless. (u save 21$)
Also u save 70$ by changing that current mobo into asrock z68 pro3, since its only 100$ @newegg (its good im using it myself with my i7 2600k!).
http :// www.newegg. com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157251
RAM: Is pretty cheap i'd go for 8GB.
GPU: GTX 560 / radeon 6950 both good choices (remember to choose atleast 1GB RAM for GPU).
HDD: Make sure that its 7200rpm harddrive!
Also if u want to save that 100$ just get w7 ultimate from internet saves ur money and works like a charm.
ps. Keep i5 2500k! its best processor at the moment for world of warcraft atleast.

[Little Monster]

Shop around... I just purchased everything you did with a few upgrades for about $100 less than you did. I found some better deals on Newegg. Make sure to open up the links and check for any rebates, too... I have about $100 in rebates coming.

Agree with ebah... get the 8 gigs of ram for the extra $2 you will probably find it for. I bought some Kingston ram @1600 with hs for $39.
I bought the Galaxy 560 ti for 199 on Amazon... not sure if that sale is already over though.

I found a WD black caviar HD with 1TB on Amazon for $139. With the current hikes, I felt that was about the best deal going.

Sorry for no links atm... kinda on the way out the door. Good luck!

---------- Post added 2011-12-02 at 08:38 PM ----------

IMPORTANT FYI
The Windows 7 that is selling for $100 on Amazon is OEM which means it is intended to be sold IN a new, built PC. You will get zero support from Microsoft if anything goes wrong or if you have a question. Personally, I purchased this version of W7 because I am pretty familiar with W7 and I have never needed support prior to this.

Sadly, I now see that you are coming into the purchase one week too late to really benefit from the big deals.

I don't really have any plans to do any OC'ing in the near future; maybe in a year or two when the i5 begins to get dated. I did pick up the 212 heatsink that you have and it is MASSIVE to say the least. The i5 does come with a heatsink/fan setup if you don't plant to do any oc'ing. And, you can always add the 212 down the line. Like many will tell you, consider buying ram that doesn't have the fins as they do take up a good deal of space.

for the most part, you do have a solid, streamline build.