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Limiting myself to around 700, just a few questions.

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So I built a system a couple of years ago in with plans to upgrade, but then DDR3 decided to exist, so I'm back at square one.

Plan build date: March 15th ish

Budget: Sub $700

System Usage: Absolutely games

Parts Not required: Case, Monitor, Keyboard/mouse

Preferred website for parts: lets face it, probably newegg

Country: USA

Parts Preference: Not particularly brand loyal but Im trying to build around the i5-2500k

Overclocking: Probably considering how easy it seems to be on the k

SLI or Crossfire: down the line

Monitor Resolution: custom since its a tv, but around 1600x900 (more like 1756 x 1082 or something weird like that)

Ok, so here is the rundown so far:

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
(actually found this for $50 cheaper retail at a Microcenter near me so I will probably pick it up this weekend)

ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

MSI N560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr II 2GD5/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Rosewill Green Series RG630-S12 630W Continuous @40°C,80 PLUS Certified, Single 12V Rail, Active PFC "Compatible with Core i7,i5" Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Ok here are where the question comes in, Im looking at these three sets of Ram:

Crucial Ballistix sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model BLS2KIT4G3D1609DS1S00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Profile Desktop Memory Model CML8GX3M2A1600C9
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

What difference is there if any other than one looks super schnazzy?

Thanks for the input folks!

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All three of those memory kits are the same speed with the same timings. Personally I would roll with the Corsair modules, but any of they are fine.

PSU - The Rosewill is OK, but I would look toward the XFX PRO650W for a few $ more ($65 after rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

GPU - The 560Ti is a good GPU, however for less money you can get into a HD 6950 2GB with the option to unlock shaders. The Sapphire below is $240 after MIR.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

current setup would be interesting to know (if your setup was decent when you got it a couple of gears ago, dropping in a gpu should solve any gaming issues for now), also knowing what games and what level of performance is 'acceptable'

With regard to the motherboard and cpu, you do have a nice upgrade path, given the next gen of cpu's from intel will be compatible, not to mention the 2500k will retain more value if you decide to sell it on.

With regard to the ram, on sandy bridge you can 'get away' with having 1333 ram and noticing zero effect on games. (I doubt games now or in 2-3 years will address more than 4gb of ram also)

It's hard to not get suckered into the ram marketting, but the massive fall in ram prices is partially due to their insignificance on the sandybridge platform.



So buy the cheapest, I think memory only seems to play a part when you're number crunching or transferring big files (nearly never in games)
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To answer your question, no significant difference.

1.5v ram does not need fancy heat spreaders, at least for any sane overclocks.

Tall heat spreaders can impact some coolers too.

Here is a Patriot 8gb kit for less:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Some other thoughts:

1) Buy an aftermarket cpu cooler up front. It will keep your cpu cooler, quieter, and oc easier and higher. It need not be expensive. A$30 Xigmatek gaia or cm hyper212 will do the job.

2) If you are using a tv of moderately current vintage, it will be 720p or 1080p 720 will be 1280 x 720, and 1080 will be 1920 x 1080.

3) The graphics card is the real engine of good gaming. You are paying more than you need for the extra ram and a fancy cooler.
You can save some there, or spend a bit more for the 448 core GTX560ti, or even a GTX570.

4) I think I have heard of a good 2500K + motherboard combo available at microcenter, check that out.

Like billy said, ram speeds aren't even worth mentioning, just grab the cheapest reliable brand you can find

Hence the reason im still using DDR2-800 on an athlon 2 x4 + 6870 1gb

im using the hyper 212+ evo, and at idle my temps are 20c and at load the highest ive seen it spike to (30min prime95) was 38c

ambient temps right now are around 15c - 20c
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