Quick questions about new build

Contemplating a new build - will be everyday use + occasional gaming. Would like to do a bit more VMWare experimentation (work related), but not critical.

Have recently started converting my DVD collection into files to store on NAS drive, so have been doing video encoding and hence the thought of getting a more powerful setup, as my existing AMD Opteron 180 setup seems to struggle with multitasking.

Done a bit of reading, and after considering cost, life expectancy, etc, etc, tempted by an Intel i5 750.

Not sure whether to go for P55 or P55A motherboards like GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD4P ? USB 3.0 and SATA 6GB sounds good, but not sure how long before it becomes a stable/everyday platform.

4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600 RAM ?

Will use my existing case, PSU and 1.5TB HD. Purchased a Gigabyte 4850 1GB a few months ago, might just use that if I can.

Thought about a SSD as the boot drive, but can't justify the cost. Don't want to go spending silly money.

Suggestions/advice please. Thank you.

Upgrade the i5 to an i7-860. The hyperthreading should greatly outperform the non-HT 750 in multitasking.
The 4850 is fine for occaisonal gaming

Good suggestion, somehow missed the i7 860 in comparisions. Had looked at the 870, but thought it was too expensive. The 860 is a good option.

Just need to decide on a good m/b now.

Executive decision made.

Intel i7 860.
GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD4P
G.SKILL Trident 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) (Model F3-16000CL9D-4GBTD, as mentioned in the PDF file for the motherboard from Gigabyte's website).
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long life sleeve CPU Cooler

Got a couple of years old Tagan 550W PSU - hopefully I will be able to use that as well.

Looks like a good build to me, and I can't imagine you'd have any problems with that PSU.

The USB3 and SATA3 is definitely a good idea, I would hate to buy a board now and then have two major interfaces that are outdated.

USB3 in particular will be hugely useful in time.

I'm not familiar with that cooler. I would have gone for one of the more well known brands. (I use a noctua myself). have a look at Frosrty Tech for reviews.
http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm

I did look around, and just could not find any LGA1156 HSF convincing enough. Got to O/C a bit, not much, as I'd like a bit of quiet now when I walk past my room, if you know what I mean :)

As odd as it sounds, I actually read the review of this particular one on the Frostytech website, and thought it has LGA1156 capability, and the price is decent, so thought this will be a decent buy.

Saying that, looked at the CORSAIR Cooling Hydro Series CWCH50-1 - quite tempted by that !

The Corsair H50 is very popular and effective. Especially when the fan is set to pull cold air in over the rad.