Alienware x51 ($854) VS Custom build ($1014) for gaming

Solution
Agree with tiny voices, made some changes to your choices, not sure whyyou had forced the bluray drive to amazon but the mobo i chose was from newegg so went to them for it, you have a non-overclockable chip and a z-series which didn't seem to be worth it, got a h87 mobo and a 770 4GB, and SSD boot drive with the same budget, you won't need liquid cooling since your not overclocking so by going with a good air cooler saved the money for upgrading the other parts

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JMG3gs
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JMG3gs/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.97 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX3 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler...

SU11YBEAR

Honorable
Jan 7, 2014
463
0
11,160
Agree with tiny voices, made some changes to your choices, not sure whyyou had forced the bluray drive to amazon but the mobo i chose was from newegg so went to them for it, you have a non-overclockable chip and a z-series which didn't seem to be worth it, got a h87 mobo and a 770 4GB, and SSD boot drive with the same budget, you won't need liquid cooling since your not overclocking so by going with a good air cooler saved the money for upgrading the other parts

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JMG3gs
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JMG3gs/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.97 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX3 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H87M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($71.88 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 60GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 770 4GB Video Card ($333.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 431 Plus (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($83.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($43.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1013.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
 
Solution

SU11YBEAR

Honorable
Jan 7, 2014
463
0
11,160
Valid point, its $30 more for the 4GB option, switch back to a Z series and get K series chip to allow overclocking and SLI,
I figure for the extra 30 its better have and not need it if you want to go SLI in the future, this mobo is SLI compatible but that extra 30 is pushing up the budget, if you want you could get a 2GB and then if you want to SLI later get a 4GB for the first slot and bring it back down to the original budget

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/DRNnyc
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/DRNnyc/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($218.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX3 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z87 Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($114.02 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($71.88 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 60GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 770 4GB Video Card ($333.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 431 Plus (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($83.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($43.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1046.79
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available