Build me your best gaming CPU, motherboard, RAM combo for under $300

[aevanee]

Go! Looking to upgrade, help a brother out!

 

[Gam3r01]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($83.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $293.77
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-23 01:11 EDT-0400

 

[Gam3r01]

The only "drawbacks" are no overclocking (which haswell processors do not need), and lack of SLI support.
Overall, this is a very solid starting point for a mid-high end gaming system with a single card configuration.

Later on, if you want more threads, you can easy drop in a Xeon 1231v3.

 

[aevanee]

Wow dude thanks for the help! You don't even know how long I've been researching motherboards and processors and getting completely overwhelmed. On a whim I decided to put up this post and go figure, 3 minutes later I get a setup I think is exactly what I need. It has everything on my checklist- mobo has up to 32 gb ddr3, PCIe 3.0, SATA3, and USB 3.0. CPU is a fast quad core. Can't believe it took a two minute post to find this setup! Thanks again man! One more question, what exactly are the downsides to this setup? Obviously I could go with a faster processor but what are my limitations as far as the motherboard goes? Possibly SLI support? Room to expand (but for what)?

 

[aevanee]

The only "drawbacks" are no overclocking (which haswell processors do not need), and lack of SLI support.
Overall, this is a very solid starting point for a mid-high end gaming system with a single card configuration.

Later on, if you want more threads, you can easy drop in a Xeon 1231v3.

So basically I'm missing out on SLI. I think I'll be alright. Thanks again man for the advice, I'll probably go ahead and order this setup tomorrow morning.

If I can pick your brain one more time, a bit off topic but I'm a bit concerned about replacing my motherboard along with everything else and being able to use the same copy of Windows I use now. I'm on Windows 7 but have the free upgrade to Windows 10 available to me right now. Do you have any experience/suggestions with this? Thanks so much again!

And one more thing, I'm going to be upgrading my GPU in a month or two, how do you like your 760?

 

[Gam3r01]

That depends on what version of windows you have. I have an OEM version of win7, so it is tied to my board. Retail versions are not.
My 760 still holds its own, but its dated. A 380 would be a better option in its price range.