Looking for opinions/advice on mATX build

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IndustryStandard

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Nov 7, 2013
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Hello all, first post here. Everyone seems very knowledgeable (way more than me) about parts/performance, so I thought I might ask some fellow enthusiasts.

I'm looking to take advantage of Black Friday/Cyber Monday to build a new gaming PC. Thing is, it's going to sit on my entertainment center, so I'm going with a micro ATX case (BitFenix Prodigy M). I've narrowed down the components I'm looking at, but need help deciding between them. That said, I'm always open to other suggestions too. The following are the possibilities I'm currently looking at, with the most likely at the top of each section, then in no particular order:

CPU:
i5-4670k

Mobo:
Asus Maximus VI Gene
Asus Gryphon Z87
ASRock Z87M OC Formula
ASRock Z87M Extreme 4

RAM:
G.Skill Ripjaw X 1866 16GB (2X8)
Mushkin 997121R (2x8)

GPU:
Gigabyte GTX770 Windforce 4GB
Sapphire Toxic R9 280X
Asus R9 280x DirectCU II TOP

HDD:
WD Caviar Blue 1TB 7,200 RPM

PSU:
SeaSonic SSR-650RM 80 Plus Gold
EVGA SuperNOVA 650w 80 Plus Gold

Cooling:
Noctua NH-D14
Corsair H100i
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Corsair H90
NZXT Kraken X40

Case:
BitFenix Prodigy M

OS:
Win 7

The hardest for me to decide right now is between the 770 and 280x. My last two cards were ATI and Nvidia, respectively. Nvidia's driver support has been great, but ATI now has Mantle.

So, any advice/thoughts? Thanks in advance everyone.

Forgot to mention, budget is ~$1,400.00, though the lower the better.
 
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Tradesman1

Tradesman1

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Jun 5, 2013
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The Asus 280X is a great card, got one last week, on the mobo, I'd go the Gryphon, love it, you don't mention the DRAM model for GSkill in 2x8GB - look at the Tridents, or Snipers both are great sets that work well with the Gryphon, PSU is a toss, both are good ones, go for the better price, cooling - the Hyper will be very good up to about 4.5, if planning to OC higher, look at the Phanteks for Air or the H100 for liquid
 
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IndustryStandard

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I'm looking at the G.Skill Ripjaw X. It's currently on sale too, so that's another thing. Do you think Mantle will have as much of an effect as some are suggesting? The Nvidia support v. Mantle difference is making that choice way harder. Lastly, any idea if the Prodigy M has enough room for sli in case I want to do that in the future?
 
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Tradesman1

Tradesman1

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Jun 5, 2013
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RJ X are great sticks, should be happy with them, have used most every set in the line and never a problem and all have OC headroom which is good, indicative of strong sticks. Mantle is still indeterminable, though acceptance seems imminant, how soon it will be heavily implemented is the unknown factor
 
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IndustryStandard

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Gotcha. I'll likely pick them up in the next few days (before the current sale ends). Also, in your experience, are the Phanteks PH-TC14PE better than the Noctua NH D14? Reviews I've read go back and forth, so I haven't been able to decide. Also, do you know if the size is going to be an issue?

As for the gfx cards, that's also the issue I'm having with the decision. Mantle looks great on paper, but I don't know how quickly it will be adopted.
 
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IndustryStandard

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Gotcha. I think I'll go with the blue Phanteks to go with the blue Ripjaws. I'll likely stick with the Maximus, but go with a 280x instead of the GTX770. That was my plan as of 20 minutes ago. As I was shopping around for the Asus 280x TOP, I realized the 290s were only $100 more. Are they worth the difference?

EDIT: Also going to post this question in the gfx cards forum.
 
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IndustryStandard

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Gotcha. I'll look into that too. I'm sort of planning to upgrade the gfx card every few years, and the rest every 4 to 5 years, so I may just stick with the Asus 280X TOP (especially considering it's only $10 more than the stock card).

On a side note, after checking around, I'm going to go with the Gryphon. Looks more along the lines of what I need from the mobo when compared to the Maximus.

 
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