Advice/feedback on build, please?

[Tribunal]

First off, thanks in advance for taking the time to give advice and answer questions, it's truly appreciated (these two are quite excited at the thought of a new warm thing to sit on, I assure you) c:


The Current Build:
-About a month shy of four years old
-Screenshot of the order out of my Newegg history: Click (ignore peripherals)
-Highlights: Win 7x64, Intel Core2 Quad CPU 2.4GHz Q6600, 4GB DDR2 Ram, NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX+
-Starting to lag a fair bit in and out of games (primary game being WoW), shouldn't be anything but hardware, I keep it clean and defragged, drivers might be a bit out of date at the moment but they were kept up to date in the past.
-The only thing I'm currently planning on reusing is the HDD and lolopticaldrive. More on that in a bit.

The Goal:
-Budget: $600-700 USD (there's a smidgen of stretch on that, but really, not much and it would need to be for a pretty good reason)
-Resolution: 1st monitor: 23" 1920x1080, 2nd: 22" 1680x1050 (might replace the second sometime fairly soon, but it's not imminent and I wouldn't go much larger than the 1st)
-Games: WoW is the main one, occasionally play others, mostly standard stuff (Portal, Team Fortress, Starcraft, Borderlands, etc - no Crysis here, lol).
-Other Software: I edit photos occasionally (High-def large file RAW images at times), also want it to handle things like streaming video while playing Wow. No rendering or anything too extreme.
-Country: USA, Texas specifically (we have to pay tax on almost all online purchases, even digital content :c)
-OS/Peripherals/etc: None at the moment. Might go Win8 (still debating) or replace my double clicking Naga in the future, but that's all still up in the air and stuff I can do easily on my own
-I have free shipping from Amazon for Prime items atm, but anywhere legitimate is ok with me for parts.

The Theoretical Build (aka What I've Got So Far):
Using Chaud's most recent setup of the month (link), this is basically what I'm looking at so far:
-Case: NZXT 210 or Rosewill Challenger $40-50
Something cheap and basic but not POS. I prefer no LEDs but it can be hard to find. No grill on top preferred, but having a hard time finding that. I like the fancy looking ones sometimes but they're out of budget. Should come with 2 fans minimum, more is usually better/welcome.

-Power Supply: Corsair 650TX V2 (Narwhal) $90
***This is one of my questions: How bad off would I be reusing my old power supply? It would save me some money to put into something else, but I don't want to gimp my system (I'm honestly not sure my current one is technically sufficient, that was always something I found difficult to decipher). If I can't reuse mine, the Narwhal selection seemed to be the best compromise between wattage upgrade and cost, am I right in that?

-CPU: Intel i5-3570k (Narwhal) $220
Sticking with Quad Core seemed worth it, as well as spending a little more on one of the two biggest components. ***Also, this doesn't appear to be an OEM chip, so I left out the separate heatsink.***

-Mobo: Asus P8z77-V LK (Narwhal) $128
It's like 3 bucks more than the Dolphin option, and I hadn't heard of the Dolphin brand.

-Memory/Ram: 8GB DDR3 12800 (Dolphin/Narwhal/Unicorn) $49
***I assume my old DDR2 shouldn't be combined with this? Either way, I just would like more than my current 4gb, so just using the 8 works.

-GPU: ????? (Dolphin vs Narwhal vs A Challenger Appears) $140-240
***This is my biggest issue. I'd like to not cheap out on what I consider one of the biggest upgrades (GPU and CPU), but spending the full $240 for the Narwhal option really means I need to reuse my old power supply or something. On the other hand, the Dolphin option seems like too much of a step down.
I also don't understand why the XFX 7770 is the puppy option and the 6870 the Dolphin.

Similarly, I was looking through Newegg and don't understand how this (click) is 100 bucks less good than the Narwhal card (I see the 1GB vs 2GB, and the chipset itself is a step behind, but still, is that the only difference? Is it better than the Dolphin XFX card?)

Also, there's this 2GB card (no double fan, but still): (click)
Basically, I need a ranking of these cards/idea of how much difference there actually is in them.

Doplhin and Narwhal for reference: Dolphin 1 (XFX), Dolphin 2, Narwhal

-HDD/Optical: Planning on reusing my current hardware, unless anyone sees a big issue $0


Total: $667-777

***The Questions***
To summarize:
-Power Supply reuse?
-Separate heatsink? (minor)
-Ram reuse? (minor)
-GPU???? (biggest conundrum)
-HDD ok to reuse? (minor)

Anything else you'd like to add/suggest is more than welcome, those are just my points of concern (and most of them are minor)

Edit: Also, I'd be happy to provide any additional info (dxdiag, etc) within reason, just ask c:

[yurano]

Your old PSU isn't in overclock.net's 'recommended' list http://www.overclock.net/t/183810/fa...power-supplies . However, you really don't need to be spending $90 for a PSU, especially in a tight budget. The following PSUs are sufficient: XFX 550W (Dolphin) and my personal favorite Seasonic M12ii 520W Modular if you can get it for $60-70 when its on sale (incl shipping).

If you're getting a K-unlocked CPU and are planning on overclocking, I recommend you get at least a $20-30 heatsink like the Hyper 212 EVO or the Xigmatek Gaia. You're not going to be overclocking much on the stock heatsink.

You cannot use DDR2 ram in a Z77 motherboard. 3rd Gen CPUs require DDR3.

The rule of thumb for gaming is: don't pay more for your CPU than your GPU. With WoW, its a little different but you should still shoot for a decent GPU. The 6870 has higher performance than the 7770 because while the 7770 is a newer generation, the 6870 is of a higher 'performance class'. Source http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/536?vs=540 . I recommend getting the 7850.

You can reuse your HDD until its life expires.

I also recommend reusing your case unless you have a good reason to get rid of it.

[inux94]

The PSU is completely fine, 650w is plenty for when he wants to go SLI/crossfire.

If I were you, I'd go for appropiate GPU cooling before a more powerful GPU, simply because I've had the single fan edition of 6850 and it was LOUD at load.

Edit:

Your old PSU isn't in overclock.net's 'recommended' list http://www.overclock.net/t/183810/fa...power-supplies . However, you really don't need to be spending $90 for a PSU, especially in a tight budget. The following PSUs are sufficient: XFX 550W (Dolphin) and my personal favorite Seasonic M12ii 520W Modular if you can get it for $60-70 when its on sale (incl shipping).

Corsair AX 650W
Corsair GS 600W
Corsair HX 650W
Corsair TXv2 650W
Corsair TX-M 650W

[Tribunal]

Your old PSU isn't in overclock.net's 'recommended' list http://www.overclock.net/t/183810/fa...power-supplies . However, you really don't need to be spending $90 for a PSU, especially in a tight budget. The following PSUs are sufficient: XFX 550W (Dolphin) and my personal favorite Seasonic M12ii 520W Modular if you can get it for $60-70 when its on sale (incl shipping).

If you're getting a K-unlocked CPU and are planning on overclocking, I recommend you get at least a $20-30 heatsink like the Hyper 212 EVO or the Xigmatek Gaia. You're not going to be overclocking much on the stock heatsink.

You cannot use DDR2 ram in a Z77 motherboard. 3rd Gen CPUs require DDR3.

The rule of thumb for gaming is: don't pay more for your CPU than your GPU. With WoW, its a little different but you should still shoot for a decent GPU. The 6870 has higher performance than the 7770 because while the 7770 is a newer generation, the 6870 is of a higher 'performance class'. Source http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/536?vs=540 . I recommend getting the 7850.

You can reuse your HDD until its life expires.

I also recommend reusing your case unless you have a good reason to get rid of it.

I don't honestly plan on overclocking, at least not at the get-go - I'm just not familiar enough to be comfortable with it, but I appreciate the advice in that vein just in case.

I figured on the ram, but nice to know for sure.

Just to confirm, the 7850 is the $199 Newegg card? And thanks for the explanation on the 6870 vs the 7770... I figured it was something like that but I think I like some of the other naming schemes (adding a + or GTX, etc) better, a little clearer c: Still gets funky when you move to a new generation though! (ie, 9800 vs 670)

HDD seems to be fine + that will save me re-installing everything, always a plus.

Case is being replaced for a reason, the front fan is unbalanced and noisy (currently disabled, bad I know) + the front panel is broken and wasn't that great to begin with. It was a cooler master that was ok at the start, but quickly developed a lot of quirks/flaws. Part of why I'm avoiding them this time around.

Thanks for all the advice/help!

---------- Post added 2012-11-05 at 12:53 AM ----------

The PSU is completely fine, 650w is plenty for when he wants to go SLI/crossfire.

If I were you, I'd go for appropiate GPU cooling before a more powerful GPU, simply because I've had the single fan edition of 6850 and it was LOUD at load.

Edit:

He's referring to my old (as in current build) power supply (500w Raptor). I figured it wasn't reusable but since there were ~500w options out there being recommended I also figured it was worth checking.

As for the GPU cooling, the 7850 is also single fan, would the DD (or whatever they're calling the double fan edition) really be worth the ~$40 price difference? Or are you recommending the NVIDIA Dolphin option/the first Newegg option?

Thanks either way, just want as much advice/options/info as possible!

[edit]

Also, I want to throw it out there that I would consider another processor, I just wasn't sure how going from quad to dual core would feel even with the upgrade in speed.

[yurano]

The PSU is completely fine, 650w is plenty for when he wants to go SLI/crossfire.

SLI/Crossfire is NOT recommended. Especially at his price range. In 2-4 years when the OP wants to upgrade, he'll do better by buying a new card.

If I were you, I'd go for appropiate GPU cooling before a more powerful GPU, simply because I've had the single fan edition of 6850 and it was LOUD at load.

You should have paid a little more for a nice 'stock' cooler from ASUS/Gigabyte/MSI. $70 aftermarket coolers are too expensive unless you're buying a $300+ card.

I don't honestly plan on overclocking, at least not at the get-go - I'm just not familiar enough to be comfortable with it, but I appreciate the advice in that vein just in case.

Just to confirm, the 7850 is the $199 Newegg card?

As for the GPU cooling, the 7850 is also single fan, would the DD (or whatever they're calling the double fan edition) really be worth the ~$40 price difference? Or are you recommending the NVIDIA Dolphin option/the first Newegg option?

Also, I want to throw it out there that I would consider another processor, I just wasn't sure how going from quad to dual core would feel even with the upgrade in speed.

Overclocking now a days is easy with K-unlocked CPUs. The alternative is to purchase a 'locked' CPU and a H77 motherboard which would save you about $50.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by 'Newegg' card. Newegg is a retailer. AMD makes the 7850 chip. Another manufacturer (eg. ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI) is the one who makes the board and the GPU cooler. Of the 7850 cards, I would recommend: Gigabyte 7850 $185 @ Newegg. By the way, the 'Narwhal' card in the OP is a 7870 not a 7850.

Since you're playing Blizzard heavy games, a strong CPU is important. WoW is triple threaded, going from 4 cores to 2 might cut your performance by 33%?

[Tribunal]

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by 'Newegg' card. Newegg is a retailer. AMD makes the 7850 chip. Another manufacturer (eg. ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI) is the one who makes the board and the GPU cooler. Of the 7850 cards, I would recommend: Gigabyte 7850 $185 @ Newegg. By the way, the 'Narwhal' card in the OP is a 7870 not a 7850.

I linked one of the 7850s (this one) in the OP, and I was clarifying if you were specifically recommending that one or just that chipset in general.