Engineering/CAD/Matlab/light gaming upgrade, review before buy!

If you plan to OC in the future, you will need the Z77 not the H77 motherboard. If you want to stick with the H77 then just get a i5 3450.

I'm in electrical engineering too  

I might save up for an i7, I haven't regretted buying mine. And indeed, you won't be overclocking on the H77.

If you want 32GB of RAM, you need a low profile kit so it wont conflict with whatever heatsink you get. This kit is equivalent to the one you posted, and will look better on the mobo as well.
G.Skill Ares red 16GB (2x8GB) 1600Mhz CL9 1.5v. $104
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

About the RAM again, if you want to feel the benefits of 16+ Gigs of it, you need Windows Professional or above. Home Premium (even the 64bit) will only support up to 16GB.

And like the others said, you need a Z77 board to overclock. This is the cheapest Z77 on Newegg (fortunately it is of decent
quality).
AsRock Z77 Pro3. $95
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

If changing the mobo might happen in the future, it may be worth getting the retail, not OEM, Windows. As then you can use the product key on multiple builds.

what i would get

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/dJSJ

you can always swap out the ram for the one that you chose if you think that you need 32gb

Thanks for the replies everyone! For some mad reason, I thought the H77M would suit my overclocking desires. Guess not. You have helped shape what I believe to be the most ideal build/plan for me. Here's my update, let me know if you think it checks out! Changes italicized.

Revised Build
CPU - 190$ - Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
Cooling - 15$ - Corsair Hydro (CPU), thermal paste and thermal paste remover. (if temps = bad, then cooler master hyper 212 plus)
GPU - 0$ - PNY VCG98GTXPXPB GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16
PSU - 70$ - Silencer Mk II 750 Watt ATX Power Supply
MOBO - 135$ - ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel
RAM - 105$ - G.SKILL Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRA 1600
Case - Antec Nine Hundred (120$) OR Rosewill Challenger (50$)
HDD - 0$ - Western Digital Caviar GP WD7500AACS 750GB 5400 to 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
OS - 0$ - Windows 7 64-bit Home Premium
Optical - 0$ - loldunno
Monitor - 0$ - hp 2159m

Total Cost: ~550-620$

Explanation
@FinneousPJ: Thanks for reviewing, fellow elec engi   ! I kept the i5 because CPUs will last long before they're dead, so I intend to OC the i5 if I need i7 performance in my engineering platforms. Granted this saves me ~140$, I'd say it's a budget minded decision (I would feel giddier with an i7   ).

@manofchalk: Thanks for the tips! I picked up low profile ares 2x8gb RAM you suggested and I think I'll go with the extreme4 after all, granted it suits me well and it's close in price to your suggestion. I'll pick up an identical 2x8gb set in the future, hopefully prices drop as my need increases. As for Home Premium vs Professional max RAM, I didn't know that. However, since I'm going with 16gb for now and home premium is basically free for me (transfer HDD), I'm going to stick with it for now. When I upgrade ram/HDD, I'll grab a new retail copy of professional off ebay for ~100$. Who knows, perhaps by the time windows 8 comes out they'll be going for less.

@thebigtroll: SSDs and HDDs seem overpriced to me atm, so I'm going to wait for my existing ones to peter out to buy new ones, and then they'll probably be from WD (that caviar black looks delicious, 5 year warranty to boot), though I agree with the crucial m4 as an SSD.

It's possible my old HDD and OS I salvaged from an older build aren't in working condition anymore, and in that case I'll have to grab a WD 1TB caviar black (110$) and a Professional 64-bit Windows (100$) increasing my total to 750$, but also my longevity. Eventually I'll complete this build and grab another caviar black for RAID 1, a 128gb crucial m4 SSD, a couple monitors, replacement mobo and a good gpu, bringing the total to somewhere around ~1500$, but hopefully prices will drop enough to save me a couple hundred. That's my bet, anyway  


Now I have one last question that I hope you guys can help me out with. I have rethought the case, and I believe the rosewill challenger is the best on my earlier budget, but unfortunately it is of flimsy construction. The Antec Nine Hundred is by far the most reviewed and revered product, reviewers citing many years of use with its make, but it runs me ~70$ more. I'm torn between the two and want my case to be suitable for long term use and quality performance (dust, space, air flow, upgrades, etc.).

you need to install the OS into the SSD and not the HDD to get the full benefit

you can get a gigabyte z77x-ud3h for 149.99. the asrock board isnt worth it unless its 124.99 or lower

for the case, a antec 302 is more than enough for most people. very good build quality and tons of room in the back for cables