Potential upgrade, please help.

[Steelbarrage]

So as of now I have a

Q6600
4gb DDR2 @ 667Mhz
768 GTX 460
750gb WD black
Creative SB (not titanium)

in an XPS 710 case, love the case, but it is btx

I would like to upgrade but if i do i need to replace a good chunk of the internals and mod the interior and cut the back plate to get it over to atx.
I have to sit down and do the mod work myself but I would like some help with component selection.
I plan to attempt this rebuild in a two stage process.
Considering that my 460 will hold me over for a while I am looking at purchasing a new mobo, cpu, ram and psu for stage one and my gpu and maybe an ssd for stage two.
I am quoting Newegg for prices and ideas because I rather like their support and help but if you have other vendors I would love to hear it.
I chose well reviewed models of components by users for my list.

Stage one:

My first question I have is will my current psu hold me over or should i just drop the capital and grab a new one when i order to avoid complication?
Currently it is a 750W psu but it is a Dell psu which is proprietary and I have heard people dont like to keep it when the upgrade.

Ram:
I was looking at 8gb of Gskill Ripjaw at 1600mhz and I didnt know of any clear distinction of which is better

This: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

or this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

The latter just looks like an updated model. Also consider the height of the heat spreader as I will have a 120mm cpu cooler that I will outline later, for clearance purposes.

CPU:
I didnt really see any reason to step up to the i7 2600k because all I will be doing is gaming so I went with the i5 2500k.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

Motherboard:
I was looking at an Asus board which I would feel more solid with,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131701

but an Asrock board also got good marks (wtf is Asrock) which looks ok but people report problems with large cpu coolers.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157229

PSU:
I dont plan on ever having dual gpu so I feel that 650W should be adequate so I settled on a Corsair 650W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

CPU Coolers:
I decided I would go for 120mm cooling because that is what my current heatsink cooling is so I am looking at three cooling solutions, one from Zalman and two from Noctua
The Zalman is solid copper while the Noctua look to be a mix of copper and aluminum although the two have 4 and 6 heatpipes respectively.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118046

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608014

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018

Stage two:

For my second upgrade I was looking at getting a GTX 570 maybe a year after my stage one upgrade, though I am open to suggestions that purchasing now would be a good move to better utilize my system.

Thank you, I dont want anyone to really agonize over my list because I may not be able to make the upgrade happen.
I would appreciate all advice and suggestions for compontents.

I arrive at a budget of 600 to 700 dollars after taxes and shipping for the stage one components

Edit for budget.

[=CJW= Bin Fish]

Looks good to me man, but I would look into getting a new case unless you are really handy at fab work.

[Steelbarrage]

I am in no hurry to upgrade but there are at least three guides online to convert the 710 to atx.
It does look like a bitch but the only thing that really changes is the back panel and who looks at that anyway, so I have room to be sloppy.

Bin, have you ever seen a XPS 710 case?
They are beautiful.
Pictures barely do them justice.

[=CJW= Bin Fish]

Best of luck to ya then man.

If you are only ever gonna stick with one GPU though then get a 500W PSU for a bit cheaper and maybe a cheaper Mobo

[Steelbarrage]

Thanks.
I'll look into suitable downgrades then for mobo's and the psu.

[=CJW= Rad Hanzo]

If your case is too bitchy regarding modding to ATX I recommend looking at :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160&cm_re=haf_932_full_tower-_-11-119-160-_-Product

My tower of power^^
and still so much room to fill up in there hehehe

[Freeborn_Toad]

My first question I have is will my current psu hold me over or should i just drop the capital and grab a new one when i order to avoid complication?
Currently it is a 750W psu but it is a Dell psu which is proprietary and I have heard people dont like to keep it when the upgrade.

I'm not familiar enough with Dell PSUs to know how they differ and thus cannot make any comment on how difficult or easy it would be to adapt them to a new board.

However, since you are eventually going to replace just about everything anyway, I'd recommend leaving the case and PSU intact, and rebuilding your existing system as you finish your new one.

I was looking at 8gb of Gskill Ripjaw at 1600mhz and I didnt know of any clear distinction of which is better

This: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

or this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

The latter just looks like an updated model. Also consider the height of the heat spreader as I will have a 120mm cpu cooler that I will outline later, for clearance purposes.

Between those two, I'd get the less expensive set.

However, if you want to mitigate any clearance issues, this would be a better choice:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226217

You can also get them separately, for less, if you don't want to bother with a mail-in rebate: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226216

I didnt really see any reason to step up to the i7 2600k because all I will be doing is gaming so I went with the i5 2500k.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

Good choice.

I was looking at an Asus board which I would feel more solid with,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131701

This board is a bit overpriced, IMO.

You really should not need to spend more than 150-200 to get all the LGA-1155 board you'll use.

but an Asrock board also got good marks (wtf is Asrock) which looks ok but people report problems with large cpu coolers.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157229

ASRock has traditionally been ASUS' budget brand, but they have been releasing an increasing number of quality parts over the last few years.

This board looks good to me, but the hight of the VRM heatsinks may indeed cause issues with certain coolers. Most heatsinks have dimensions, including board clearance, listed somewhere; I would select a cooler that was on the high side. ~40mm should more than do it, but make sure any fan clips are installed before mounting the heatsink.

I dont plan on ever having dual gpu so I feel that 650W should be adequate so I settled on a Corsair 650W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

This will work fine.

I decided I would go for 120mm cooling because that is what my current heatsink cooling is so I am looking at three cooling solutions, one from Zalman and two from Noctua
The Zalman is solid copper while the Noctua look to be a mix of copper and aluminum although the two have 4 and 6 heatpipes respectively.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118046

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608014

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018

First two are overpriced; there are more effective coolers for less. Third one, the Noctua NH-D14, is one of the best heatsinks you can get (I used to have one), but it's overpriced, and complete overkill for a 2500k. You really should not need to spend more than 40-50 dollars or so on a heatsink to reliably get than CPU over 4.5GHz.

[=CJW= Bin Fish]

All good information,

Only one point,

ASRock are now nothing to do with ASUS. They split last year and are giving them a run for their money now.

[Freeborn_Toad]

All good information,

Only one point,

ASRock are now nothing to do with ASUS. They split last year and are giving them a run for their money now.

I was unaware of this, but it certainly explains the shift toward higher-end gear. Thanks for the info.

[ratbuddy]

For a cooler, the Hyper 212+ will do nicely. No need to waste cash on a fancier one.

[Steelbarrage]

Just noticed the Noctua jumped up $15 in price overnight.
Both were about $75.
Would they be less overpriced at that point.

Also thanks on the mobo suggestions.
Love to trim down whereever I can.

Edit.
Been looking at a MSI board.
Is it better for the price to my previous suggestions?
[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130574[url]

[Steelbarrage]

Link didnt work above.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130574

[GB-72AT Talon]

Op,  they make that GSkill Ripjaws DDR3 1600 memory is CAS 7 also.  They have the blue heatspreaders but also have default timings catered more towards the Intel XMP.  The red ones are CAS9 and are intended to be more compatible with the AMD systems.  Either one will work, i chose the blue CAS7 sticks for my AMD build for instance, but you may as well get the one with the more aggressive timings for roughly the same price.  Those heatspreaders arent as tall as they seem.  A least not the ones featured in the first link.

[Steelbarrage]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160&cm_re=haf_932_full_tower-_-11-119-160-_-Product
So looking at this case as I realized I dont have the spare cash to mod my case nor the proper tools, so my mother, who needs a new computer bad will take my current build and ill scavenge what I can and send her whats left so she gets a free upgrade.

@Rad Hanzo, are the case fans loud or are they pretty quite.
If anyone else has this case I would like to hear any comments on its merits.

[Perigren]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160&cm_re=haf_932_full_tower-_-11-119-160-_-Product
So looking at this case as I realized I dont have the spare cash to mod my case nor the proper tools, so my mother, who needs a new computer bad will take my current build and ill scavenge what I can and send her whats left so she gets a free upgrade.

@Rad Hanzo, are the case fans loud or are they pretty quite.
If anyone else has this case I would like to hear any comments on its merits.

I have that case, it is awesome, lots of room, good cable control and they provide an 8 pin psu extension cord. It is whisper quiet with those 230mm fans. an't go wrong with it,just be aware it is huge, make sure you have room for it.