Cannot Decide on a Build

[Mr_SpringRoll]

So I'm having trouble deciding on a build to get. I have an $800-$900 budget, and have posted a couple of threads on a couple websites (including this one) on peoples build recommendation for that certain budget. I just cannot decide on one. There are several builds that have been suggested to me, but I do not know which one to pick. Can y'all help me out? I plan to overclock.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.75 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($72.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.85 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($348.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: BitFenix Merc Alpha (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($47.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $900.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-07 01:48 EST-0500

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.75 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($72.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.85 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($348.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: BitFenix Merc Alpha (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($47.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $900.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-07 01:48 EST-0500

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Avexir Core series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($72.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.85 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 4GB Dual FTW ACX Video Card ($259.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair SPEC-03 Orange ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($17.85 @ OutletPC)
Total: $757.63
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-07 01:49 EST-0500

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($132.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.75 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($93.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: GeIL EVO VELOCE 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.85 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($214.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Cooler Master SickleFlow 69.7 CFM 120mm Fan ($3.49 @ Newegg)
Total: $806.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-07 01:49 EST-0500

I'll be gaming on these things primarily. I think some of them have an OS and Optic Drives and some don't, just ignore those and look at all the necessary stuff. I have a monitor, keyboard, and mouse taken care of! Thanks for any help

 

[mas7873]

First off for your intel builds, if you plan on purchasing the 4690k chip you should also purchase a Z97 motherboard. The H97 boards are for chips that aren't overclockable like the stock 4690. So you can either pick a different chip (non-K version) or if you wish to overclock pick up a Z97 motherboard instead.

For $30 extra you can get this build which will allot you to overclock:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/w6jfRB
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/w6jfRB
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/w6jfRB/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.75 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($76.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.85 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($348.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: BitFenix Merc Alpha (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($47.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $933.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-07 02:10 EST-0500

You can also swap the MSI GTX 970 with an EVGA GTX 970 in which case the build would only be about $915

 

[RazerZ]

Just letting you know in advance, overclocking the 4690k results in marginal performance gains. You also need a decent Z97/Z87 motherboard to overclock it with. A locked i5 will outperform/match an overclocked 8320 in most cases and its performance will be similar to an overclocked 4690k.

The builds look decent except the one with the 4GB GTX 760. You could get a R9 290 which is a much more powerful card for the same price.

Regardless your core should be an i5/GTX 970 if you want the best performance within your budget.

 

[mas7873]

Just letting you know in advance, overclocking the 4690k results in marginal performance gains. You also need a decent Z97/Z87 motherboard to overclock it with. A locked i5 will outperform/match an overclocked 8320 in most cases and its performance will be similar to an overclocked 4690k.

The builds look decent except the one with the 4GB GTX 760. You could get a R9 290 which is a much more powerful card for the same price.

Regardless your core should be an i5/GTX 970 if you want the best performance within your budget.

I would opt for an i5/970 build, I am currently using a 4690k/R9 290x build and love it (picked up my GPU for a steal), I had an 8350 cpu before, and if you're primarily using the system for gaming the i5 will perform better.
Check out: http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-4690K-vs-Intel-Core-i5-4440/2432vs1993 to compare the 2 CPU's

 

[Vosgy]

As mas7873 said you can't overclock the i5K's if you don't get a Z97 board. I personally would not get a ASRock Motherboard but that's just me. And with that said I would get the AMD one just because I wouldn't get a ASRock board and that's the only one that doesn't have one 😛

 

[mas7873]

As mas7873 said you can't overclock the i5K's if you don't get a Z97 board. I personally would not get a ASRock Motherboard but that's just me. And with that said I would get the AMD one just because I wouldn't get a ASRock board and that's the only one that doesn't have one 😛

I just researched online for a budget Z97 mobo, as I wanted to keep it close to budget. I have used a 990FX ASRock mobo that I really liked.

 

[RazerZ]

What's wrong with AsRock? They make decent boards.

 

[mas7873]

What's wrong with AsRock? They make decent boards.

I find they're decent boards for the price, which is why I use them in builds where the budget gets a little tight. But I assume he could have just had bad experience(s).

 

[Vosgy]

From personal Experience and that of my personal acquaintances none of us have had any luck with ASRock boards, all have had to be replaced in warranty or died just out of it, though that could be an example of the harsh climate here in Australia or poor shipping conditions. ASRock has improved there quality over the years though.

 

[MasterDell]

From personal Experience and that of my personal acquaintances none of us have had any luck with ASRock boards, all have had to be replaced in warranty or died just out of it, though that could be an example of the harsh climate here in Australia or poor shipping conditions. ASRock has improved there quality over the years though.

I am guessing that was a while ago. ASRock has become a very good value brand and also there design team is really on top of the ball lately. Can't really say the same for all of the other motherboard companies lately *AHEM* ASUS design team *AHEM*

 

[Vosgy]

From personal Experience and that of my personal acquaintances none of us have had any luck with ASRock boards, all have had to be replaced in warranty or died just out of it, though that could be an example of the harsh climate here in Australia or poor shipping conditions. ASRock has improved there quality over the years though.

I am guessing that was a while ago. ASRock has become a very good value brand and also there design team is really on top of the ball lately. Can't really say the same for all of the other motherboard companies lately *AHEM* ASUS design team *AHEM*

It just to my mentality though, I feel if you want people to trust you start by bringing out good quality and maintain that quality. If you start out poor and then slowly get better I feel like you just trying to push in at the bottom, your trying to get to a level on quality that people will accept then stay there and undercut, just seems like a dodgy move in my books, but that's just me.
This is probably why I like Fractal Design so much, that and the Design 😛