If I wanted to build it today, Id get a i7 4770/90k with a good z97 board and so be able to overclock it considerably when/if needed, and so you also would have the upgrade path if you needed it in the future. My 2 cents, hope it helps.
BTW a 3.500$ budget is A LOT, you shouldn't worry and if I were you i'd do what i've stated, get the strongest thing now and it should last you what you aim for (5 years) maybe with a GPU upgrade in the middle if you want to keep the ULTRA settings in all games.