$700-$800 Upgrade Build

[Eradan]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming (Diablo 3, Civ 5, Final Fantasy XIII, Divinity: Original Sin, Wasteland 2, Borderlands 1/2, occasional FPS)
Photoshop and astrophotography image processing
Web browsing and general office usage (Word, Excel, etc.)

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$700-$800

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Southwest, Ohio -- within 30 minutes of Micro Center

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.

Motherboard
CPU
Cooling
RAM (would like 16GB for Photoshop usage--can buy 8GB, another 8 in a few weeks)
Case
PSU
SSD (250-500GB)

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

Video card - EVGA GTX 970 SSC
HDD - x1 WD 1TB BLUE; x2 WD 2TB BLACK (no RAID, used for music and photos)
* see below

6) Will you be overclocking?

Yes, but necessarily at an [H] level. For example, my current 3570K is running at 4.2Ghz with a simple multiplier change in the BIOS. No other adjustments necessary and I prefer it that way just to keep it simple.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?

Currently a 27" 1920x1080. Evaluating 1440p and 4K options to increase pixels for photo work. Video card additional (SLI) or upgrade budget available in December.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

ASAP. Possible this coming Sunday.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.

SLI support a must. Most modern boards have USB 3.0, SATA 6GB/s, UEFI. Would like the reasonably good quality onboard audio while I evaluate sound cards and external options.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?

Yes, Windows 8.1 Pro and Windows 7 Pro available. Will be upgrading to Windows 10 as soon as its available.

* I have the opportunity to sell the rig in my signature. I can keep my Corsair HX750 PSU (it's 3 years old) and my Corsair H60 if needed. The H60 has done it's job well but is noisy. I'm a mild overclocker and prefer quiet to performance. I like liquid coolers...easy to deal with and they look good but if they're all grindy, I wouldn't rule out something like the Hyper 212 or Noctua DH coolers.

Only other gotcha here is that I prefer a white case with a side window for this build. I like the NZXT S340 and the Corsair Carbide Series Air 240. Of course the Corsair Air 240 will require a mATX board and I'm 100% okay with that.

I know Skylake is pending but I have a limited window to sell my existing components and it doesn't appear performance improvements over what's currently available are going to be substantial.

Thank you for reading and thank you in advance for your comments and suggestions. I look forward to reading your responses.

 

[Dangman]

Are you selling that PC for what you paid for it or what?

Keep your PSU but don't keep that H60. IMO, the H60 isn't that good of a cooler since the cheaper Hyper 212 Evo actually outperforms it while being more capable of low noise to boot.
$325 - Intel Core i5-4690K CPU + Asus Z97-A/USB 3.1 Intel Z97 ATX Motherboard Microcenter Combo
$89 - Crucial BLS2KIT8G3D1609DS1S00 Ballistix Sport 2 x 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$98 - Samsung 850 Evo Series 250GB SSD
$110 - Phanteks Enthoo Pro PH-ES614P_WT White Full Tower Case
$49 - Scythe SCKTT-1000 HSF
----
Total: $671 shipped plus tax.

Notes about the above build:
1) You have quite a bit of your budget left over. I have two recommendations: A) get a second set of that Crucial RAM to max out at 32GB of RAM. Or B) Get a new PSU. It would save you and your potential buyer the hassle of removing and installing a PSU respectively. I recommend this as a replacement:
$130 - Seasonic SS-750KM3 750W Full Modular PSU

2) I've gone with that Scythe HSF because it's significantly quieter than the Hyper 212 Evo while providing the same level of cooling.

3) To me, that Phanteks Enthoo Pro case looks way better than the S340 or the really fugly Air 540. It also cools better than the S340 at the least while being cheaper than the fugly Air 540.

 

[Eradan]

Thanks for taking the time to respond, Dangman. Very much appreciated. Couple of things.

1. I've gotten by with a 128GB SSD since 2012. It's been kind of a pain at times but manageable. You think it would be a mistake NOT purchasing a 500GB SSD now?
2. Actually more interested in the Air 240 than the 540, which is the little guy that I'd use with a mATX mobo. Whatever I end up with will sit on my desktop and I might actually lug the SOB to a LAN party at some point.
3. No, not selling my existing stuff for what I paid for it. Getting market value out of it and throwing in some dinero of my own. I've actually wanted to go mATX for a while now, but finding a mATX Z77 board has been a challenge. So may as well do this now and plan to live on it for the next 3-4 years.

 

[Dangman]

1) I don't think it would be a mistake not to get a 500GB SSD considering that you already have a bunch of storage files available. With that said, it wouldn't be a mistake at all to get a 500GB SSD. Either way you're fine.

2) Ehhh, still fugly compared to the Phanteks Enthoo Pro. Both the Air 240 and Air 540 look like bloated beached white whales to me.

3) If you do go the mATX route, that means a different motherboard from the ones I recommended. The only two overclock capable LGA 1150 mATX motherboards that's available from Microcenter that I would recommend are the Asus Z97M-Plus and the Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5.

 

[Eradan]

1) I don't think it would be a mistake not to get a 500GB SSD considering that you already have a bunch of storage files available. With that said, it wouldn't be a mistake at all to get a 500GB SSD. Either way you're fine.

2) Ehhh, still fugly compared to the Phanteks Enthoo Pro. Both the Air 240 and Air 540 look like bloated beached white whales to me.

3) If you do go the mATX route, that means a different motherboard from the ones I recommended. The only two overclock capable LGA 1150 mATX motherboards that's available from Microcenter that I would recommend are the Asus Z97M-Plus and the Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5.

Thanks again. Regarding the case, beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder.