Building a PC

[Hitshade]

If you want to try and 'future proof' your system stick with the i7. Better performance for high end gaming and multitasking. (Granted there is about a $100 difference in price for only a marginal increase in processing power... so... idk, flip a coin on this one maybe. My vote would be stick with the i7 at any rate).

Most stock coolers are sufficient for non-overclocked systems despite what enthusiasts will tell you to the contrary. What you would likely find with an aftermarket cooler is simply a reduction in noise, however this would be completely offset by a powerful graphics card. Intel does tend to make their stock coolers "just good enough" to get the job done and it's probably going to boil down to personal preference here. There's some very nice after market coolers available for relatively low costs, so while you could easily skip spending the money it's not going to break the bank. Looking at your case, I notice there isnt a side air intake, so if you would simply prefer your cpu running @ a lower temp go ahead and get an aftermarket piece. Just don't bother with liquid cooling, it's so not worth it.

Also yes, the 650 performs much better than the 640 so it's well worth the extra money. Although, if you don't want to upgrade anything for another 5 years, you might want to splurge here and go with something like a 660Ti or a 7870 if you can afford it.