i would go with this over that pre-built every day of the week:
PCPartPicker part list /
Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($247.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($70.38 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($72.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.99 @ Micro Center)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Tri-X Video Card ($271.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 350D MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($90.27 @ B&H)
Total: $1052.56
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-12 22:32 EDT-0400
Heres the rationale:
the xeon is essentially an i7-4770, but without the i-gpu. its more powerful than you need for just game, but barely more than an i5. with the extra horsepower from hyperthreading, you can get into some more professional works, and it will potentially last longer.
the h97 mobo is fine, the xeon cant be overclocked so you dont need a z- mobo.
just 8gb ram with good speed and timings, g-skill is a very reputable brand and is doing awesome right now for ram
an 128gb ssd for programs and os, reduces loading times by alot, and the mx100 is a solid, fast ssd for the price. any other ssd in the price range isnt as good.
a generic 1tb storage, wd blue is my go to storage drive.
a sapphire 280x, with tri-x cooler. the 280x today can run graphically intense games on ultra. seeing how you dont play many graphically intense games, it should last you pretty long. the tri-x cooler is the best amd cooler today (besides water cooling)
the corsair 350d is a great case, a very professional looking case, and works well. all around awesome. you should choose your own case however, you will be looking at the computer and you want it to look good. our opinions of "good" dont matter, only yours does. keep in mind the motherboard i chose is micro-atx, meaning a mini-itx case wont work (size issues) and an atx mid-tower case is large, and will have some leftover room inside.
seasonic 620w psu, fully modular, 80+ bronze, and also seasonic is one of the best psu makers today
cheap dvd drive in case you need/want one
windows 8.1. i reccomend windows 8 (even though its bad rep), it runs faster than 7. however, feel free to choose 7, its always hard switching operating systems and 8 has a little steeper learning curve to it