Can't Decide Motherboard

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 3
Memory: G.Skill Trident X

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($234.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($92.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($113.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($88.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Enforcer ATX Mid Tower Case ($87.99 @ Mwave)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer ($21.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($134.99 @ NCIX US)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill N600PCE 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($24.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1135.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

changed the cpu to the i5 4690k, because it is better, and only $25 more expensive, but if that $25 is a big deal to you feel free to put it back to the i5 4670k. the mobo i got is Z97 so it supports the latest chips, and the future broadwell chips, it supports sli and crossfire, and has a high build quality, i put in 8gb of 1866 cas 9 ram, as 8gb is the sweetspot for gaming, and 1866 @cas 9 is plenty fast.

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For growth, I'd go with the Z97 boards.

My picks would be the MSI Z97 Gaming 5 or the ASUS Z97-A. Those boards have lots of options for the price range you're looking at.

You could go with a Z87 board, but you wouldn't be ready for Broadwell, should you go that way. With the Z97, you have plenty of options in front of you.

My three cents:

1. Get a Z97 board, absolutely. Either the:
a) ASUS Z97-A , or
b) ASROCK Z97 PRO4

The Asrock is cheaper, but I recommend the Asus. Motherboard quality is too important to mess with and the Z97-A looks pretty solid. http://techreport.com/review/26411/asus-z97-a-motherboard-reviewed/6

2. CPU:
Get the i5-4690K, not the 4670K.
It can overclock higher overall, or run cooler at the same frequency which would mean less CPU fan noise. You can read about the Devil's Canyon refresh if you want but worth the small price difference especially since you mentioned an expensive cooler.

3. CPU cooler:
Get the Noctua NH-U12S. I bought it for the i5-4670K and it's great and again the 4690K runs even cooler. Your liquid cooler won't be any quieter likely under heavy load and the Noctua will be completely SILENT in basic usage once you configure your fan control settings (i.e. Asus Thermal Radar). Also, you need to rethink liquid cooling as the fans should be set to INTAKE for proper cooling which means you need an EXHAUST pathway elsewhere such as the front so it messes with your air flow. Again though, unless you are really trying to push the CPU to the limit which likely won't benefit you liquid cooling is probably a waste of money.

I'd probably stick with no more than a 4.4GHz overclock though considering you'd likely get no benefit beyond that.

More info: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Noctua/NH-U12S/6.html

"...right behind the Corsair H100. The Noctua NH-U12S really is an exceptional cooler for its size. "

4. Windows 8 64-bit:
Don't get Windows 7. Windows 8 is better in many ways under the hood, and you can make it look like Windows 7 with Start8 which only costs $5.

It's actually very, very signficiant:
- UEFI security to prevent boot-time registry infections
- reduced boot times
- automated disk disc scanning (CHECKDISK etc) and other repair features
- better CPU core management
- better memory, and SSD management
- future DX11.2 and DX12 compatibility that Windows 7 won't supports such as Tile streaming
etc.

5. HARD DRIVE:
Don't get the 1TB Black. It will actually be slower on average than a Seagate 2TB for the same price:
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st2000dm001

Hard drives run at HALF the speed on the inner edge due to angular velocity. Since the 2TB is twice the capacity it's probably about 80% speed when it's half full. If I crunched the numbers I suspect the 1TB Black would be faster for no more than the first 100GB of usage.

6. ASUS GTX760:
The R9-280 is about 5% slower than the GTX760 for about the same price. You do get 1GB more video memory though there are no games that will benefit at this performance level. I would thus recommend comparing AMD to NVIDIA features and here I have to give the nod to NVIdia for:
- Shadowplay (game recording), TXAA, G-Sync, and PhysX

$1200 build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Cr9nyc

Pretty self-explanatory along with my long comment and others. A few points:

1) Try to keep the GRAPHICS CARD as good as possible. I upped it to an R9-280X as I wasn't sure of your exact budget. If you really had to keep the price lower then maybe an i5-4440 and quality H87/H97 motherboard would be a better balance overall.

That could give you almost enough money to buy an R9-290 card instead of the R9-280X. Pros and Cons though but worth considering.

2) I added an SSD for $60, though again drop it if it's a budget issue. It's only meant for Windows and applications. Steam and other games, downloads, media etc should be on the HDD.

SSD aside, I just think it's important to have two drives so you can make a backup IMAGE of the Windows partition. It's a huge pain to reinstall everything if something goes wrong. I use Acronis True Image. You can get the free, manual version from WD for WD drives or Seagate for this (called DiscWizard for Seagate).

3) The CX600M power supply I chose is pretty good for the price: http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/psu/55065-corsair-cx-series-modular-cx600m-atx-power-supply/

"CXM doesn't use an off-the-shelf design. Rather, the company employs a non-standard layout that is reckoned to improve airflow through the unit; adds in a different PWM controller for increased standby efficiency; doubles the number of FETs, used for 12V regulation; and uses higher-quality capacitors than CWT's base design."

It got a great review elsewhere for value.

4) *Careful with compatibility:
a) Some power supplies don't mention C6/C7 Haswell (Intel 4th gen) low power compatibility though this power state is often off by default. If you enable it, and the system crashes coming OUT of it you have to disable it in the BIOS again.

b) Some MOTHERBOARDS don't have a BIOS that yet supports the newer i5-4690K CPU. You can check the motherboard site for the BIOS update (two months or older SHOULD be sufficient to ensure stock is compatible). Some ASUS boards can be updated without a CPU (Asus USB Bios flashback).

c) One of the GIGABYTE boards above is not compatible with most cases as it is an "extended" model that is longer that most.