Need Advice on a Build

[Jaymus]

I need to upgrade my computer and I'm making the switch from AMD to Intel this go around for the first time ever (mistake or no?). Right now the motherboard I have is an AM3 socket so I'd have to change it anyway if I wanted one of the newer processors, so I figured now would be as good a time as any to make the switch.

I was looking at the i5 4670k or the i5 4690, I'm not 100% sure what the difference is other than the lack of a 'k' at the end of the label drops the price a little bit. I primarily use my computer to play MMOs, right now I'm hooked on Wildstar and where I could run WoW pretty effortlessly with my current setup, Wildstar has shown me I should have upgraded some things by now!

I don't really know what motherboard to get since cost is kind of prohibitive right now. I'm pretty much doing this piece by piece over a period of time, but buying the CPU and the MB together. I was thinking about splurging a little and getting a MSI Z97-GD65 board, but I don't know if it's necessary if I'm only spending up to $250 on a video card.

I'm just trying to make sure I'm not putting rims on a rust bucket. Any help, advice, tips, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

 

[iron8orn]

k models are for overclocking and they need to be matched on a z mobo.

if you do not want to oc you can even match a non k with a a little cheaper lga 1150 that suites your needs.

 

[Jaymus]

k models are for overclocking and they need to be matched on a z mobo.

if you do not want to oc you can even match a non k with a a little cheaper lga 1150 that suites your needs.

I've never actually overclocked anything before, but it's something I've been waiting to dip my toe into. On the other hand, does it really make a difference? I know it can shorten the life of a processor, or at least that's what I've been led to believe.

 

[iron8orn]

honestly there is not much need for a gamer to overclock a haswell.
they are some serious cpu's out of box.

MSI Gaming N760 $250 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127745
ASUS DirectCU II R9280 $240 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121867

you get watch dogs with the 760 and you get to pick 3 free games with the 280

 

[Jaymus]

honestly there is not much need for a gamer to overclock a haswell.
they are some serious cpu's out of box.

MSI Gaming N760 $250 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127745
ASUS DirectCU II R9280 $240 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121867

you get watch dogs with the 760 and you get to pick 3 free games with the 280

That's some valuable information to have, and much appreciated too! Those two cards you linked are coincidentally on the short list I was considering. I'm just not sure where the $10 difference is located, especially since the ASUS has the 3GB and the MSI only has the 2GB. Either way it will be a considerable step up from the HD6850 I'm currently using.

 

[iron8orn]

The r9 280 has better ddr5 with more of it and mantle along with 3 free games but
a lot of people would say it depends what games you are playing and personally i would go with the 280 since you really cant beat the deal with the free games and its performance would be pleasing overall.
You should know watch dogs needs to be optimized so dont expect it to perform well for awhile if you do go Nvidia.
http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-280-vs-GeForce-GTX-760