I was told that the speed difference between the Caviar blue and black is negligible?
I am pretty sure now that I want to go with the i5 2500k, but I think I would also like to go with the HD 6950. I saw that there is both the 1gb 6950 and the 2gb 6950, at almost the same price. I looked at some comparisons and it seems that the 2gb only outperforms the 1gb at higher resolutions, so would I be safe to stick with the 1gb at 1920x1080?
Also, with the i5 2500k, it does seem that I would be fine with the stock fan, but do you think it would still be a good idea to switch to a $30 cooler to bring down idle temps and noise (and would it at all)?
Real world performance there isn't a huge difference between the Black and Blue.
Its also not a huge difference between 16MB and 32MB cache.
And 500GB to 750GB only matters if you'll use the space.
I suggested the black because for $5 more you were getting a couple little extras.
The blue currently has a -$5 promo code though, so for $10 difference might not be worth it.
I'm with Paton on the cooler, the stock Intel one is fine even for a minor OC (3.7-4.0GHz).