Looking for input on PC upgrade

[spike-It]

I'm looking to upgrade my old PC and would love some input.

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

Light gaming, productivity applications, web browsing. Civ 5, Civ 4, Portal 2

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
~$500 excluding an SSD

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

USA

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.
None

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

Gigabyte Radeon HD4850 1GB
Seasonic SuperTornado 400W PSU
3 SATA hard drives - I may drop one when build is complete
Antec SLK3800 Case
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit - hoping to reuse license in rebuild
Logitech PS2 Wireless Keyboard and Mouse. Base stations can hook up keyboard via USB, but not mouse.
Dell 2005 FPW monitor

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
I've been researching.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
I would like the option to overclock.

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.
1680 x 1050

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Next few weeks

10. Other considerations:
Need eSATA and firewire external ports.

So, I'm looking for thoughts on upgrading to these parts:

• Intel Core i5 2500K - Amazon - $219.99
• ASrock P67 Extreme4 - Amazon $159.99
• XIGMATEK Gaia SD1283 - Newegg - $28.88 after tax - have to check for fit
• G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL9D-8GBNT - Newegg - $53.49 after tax
• Some cheap $20 SATA DVD Burner
• Crucial M4 128GB SSD - Newegg - $230.04 after tax

Questions/Comments I have:
1) I considered Z68 boards, but I don't see a need for the extra features the chipset provides. And the P67 board saves me $35 over the Z68 version. Maybe virtu has some value but I'm sure I can live without. I did consider Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 board, but reviews for the ASRocks (P67 or Z68)seemed stronger, and I like the provided USB 3.0 front panel provided. Should I really be looking at the Z68 boards? And why?
2) I noticed for the ASRock boards, there is a GEN3 variant of the same board that provides PCI-E 3.0 support. It would cost a little bit more to get it. Is this a worthwhile expense to, heh, "futureproof"?
3)On the Z68 boards, the ASRocks have a PS/2 keyboard port, but none for the mouse. Can this be used for the mouse instead?
4)I have some old Arctic Silver Ceramique thermal paste. Its probably at least 6 years old. Can it still be used, should I use what comes with the cooler, or should I invest in a new tube of something else?
5) How supportive is Amazon with motherboard or cpu issues? Will they take returns?

Any feedback would be helpful. Thanks.

 

[DesiPower]

You do need the Z68 IMHO, your system will benefit from the SSD too besides the Virtu. Its newer technology I would definitely go for Z68. Newegg has a nice ASUS entry level board for $130!

I wouldn't worry too much about PICx3.0, its going to be a while before it becomes the norm, by then it will probably time for another upgrade.

PS2 port can you used for anything, it does not matter.

I just used Arctic Sliver bought in 2005 when I swapped a busted mobo, it was a little hard/thick but still worked well!! temp is same as before...

Never dealt with Amazon's customer service before but I hear its good, be sure you are buying from Amazon itself. Newegg ftw btw

 

[DaveSimmons]

The stock heatsink is supposed to be pretty good so you could save $30 that way.

> You do need the Z68 IMHO, your system will benefit from the SSD too besides the Virtu.

Most Z68 boards do not include a small SSD drive for the caching feature, and spike-It is getting a full SSD drive anyway so a SSD cache drive is not needed.

That said, you can get an Asrock Z68 for $120 so it's not a bad idea.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157251

 

[DesiPower]

The stock heatsink is supposed to be pretty good so you could save $30 that way.

> You do need the Z68 IMHO, your system will benefit from the SSD too besides the Virtu.

Most Z68 boards do not include a small SSD drive for the caching feature, and spike-It is getting a full SSD drive anyway so a SSD cache drive is not needed.

That said, you can get an Asrock Z68 for $120 so it's not a bad idea.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157251

I noticed that he was getting a SSD do I stated that it can benefit from SSD caching, wiseass. Although he will have a 128GB SSD drive, he might still have stuff on a HDD, it can definitely be helpful

 

[DaveSimmons]

SSD caching uses a small dedicated SSD to cache a platter HDD.

If you already have a large SSD for your boot drive applications, and are just using a platter drive for data storage, there is no need for the feature.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4329/intel-z68-chipset-smart-response-technology-ssd-caching-review/2

Perhaps you were thinking the OP would want to split the SSD into two partitions, using one to cache the platter drive? That seems more complicated than just keeping anything speed-sensitive on the large SSD to begin with, no caching needed.

 

[spike-It]

Yes, my intention is to use the SSD for both the OS and applications. I hadn't considered using part of the SSD as a cache, but I agree it seems a bit more complicated than necessary. This is why I don't see value in the caching feature of Z68.

I did see the cheaper Z68 boards, but I have an old camcorder that requires the firewire input. It seems the manufacturers only include firewire onto the pricier boards. I could get an add on card to get firewire, but then again, I might as well just pay the money to get a motherboard that includes it.

Well, if your Arctic Silver from 2005 is okay, then I guess mine should be too...

 

[mfenn]

Questions/Comments I have:
1) I considered Z68 boards, but I don't see a need for the extra features the chipset provides. And the P67 board saves me $35 over the Z68 version. Maybe virtu has some value but I'm sure I can live without. I did consider Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 board, but reviews for the ASRocks (P67 or Z68)seemed stronger, and I like the provided USB 3.0 front panel provided. Should I really be looking at the Z68 boards? And why?
2) I noticed for the ASRock boards, there is a GEN3 variant of the same board that provides PCI-E 3.0 support. It would cost a little bit more to get it. Is this a worthwhile expense to, heh, "futureproof"?
3)On the Z68 boards, the ASRocks have a PS/2 keyboard port, but none for the mouse. Can this be used for the mouse instead?
4)I have some old Arctic Silver Ceramique thermal paste. Its probably at least 6 years old. Can it still be used, should I use what comes with the cooler, or should I invest in a new tube of something else?
5) How supportive is Amazon with motherboard or cpu issues? Will they take returns?

Any feedback would be helpful. Thanks.

1. If your main constraint is overclocking + Firewire, you don't really need to pay $160 for a mobo. Newegg has some nice i5 2500K + mobo combos. i5 2500K + ASUS P8P67-M, for example.
2. PCIe on the current Sandy Bridge platform is purely a gimmick. The PCIe lanes attached to the CPU are only 2.0.
3. Yes, the PS/2 port can be used for either the KB or mouse.
4. Just use what comes with the cooler. Unless the Ceramique has been stored in a cool place, it has probably separated and dried out by now.
5. Amazon is very good about returns/exchanges.

 

[spike-It]

mfenn,
Thanks for the input. I hadn't considered m-ATX boards, probably because I have a pretty standard case. Heck, that board even has an IDE connection and would support my current DVD burner! The only downside I see is that there is no internal usb 3.0 header, so I wouldn't be able to bring usb 3.0 to the front of the case via an added panel. But I guess adding a hub or a pci-e card along with a panel adapter would solve that problem. Is there any disadvantage to using an m-ATX board inside a case designed for ATX boards?

 

[mfenn]

mfenn,
Thanks for the input. I hadn't considered m-ATX boards, probably because I have a pretty standard case. Heck, that board even has an IDE connection and would support my current DVD burner! The only downside I see is that there is no internal usb 3.0 header, so I wouldn't be able to bring usb 3.0 to the front of the case via an added panel. But I guess adding a hub or a pci-e card along with a panel adapter would solve that problem. Is there any disadvantage to using an m-ATX board inside a case designed for ATX boards?

You can also use a bay adapter that just passes through to the back of the case.

MicroATX is a subset of ATX, there is no downside to using a smaller board other than having fewer PCI(e) slots.