Should I choose Socket LGA1150 or LGA1155

Well, since pasting into a new window didn't work, here goes...

Greetings!

Several years ago, I was looking to upgrade the graphics capabilities of my old rig. It soon became apparent that it would be better and cheaper to build an entirely new system (Damn You, Dell!). So I did my research, made my choices and... never got around to it.

I did manage to gather a few pieces along the way, and am looking to finish this project.

Approximate Purchase Date: This week

Budget Range: 300-500 After Rebates; After Shipping

System Usage: Gaming & Surfing, mostly.

Are you buying a monitor: No

Parts to Upgrade: CPU & Cooler, Mobo, RAM

Case: Rosewill THOR V2-W Gaming ATX Full Tower $109
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147158

GPU: SAPPHIRE 100311SR Radeon HD 6970 2GB 256-Bit GDDR5 $200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102915

Power Supply: Thermaltake Smart M 850W $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153158&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Overclocking: Probably

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080
Acer H243Hbmid 24" HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor $208
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009167

Location: Asheville, NC/Knoxville, TN

Parts Preferences: Intel
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com or MicroCenter.com
I'm not picky. I'm just looking for the best performance, "for the money."

Reason for Upgrading: The Ol' Girl just can't keep up anymore...

I found the 6970 on Craigslist for around $200, maybe less. It was a couple years ago, and I can't remember for certain. These still rank fairly high on the hierarchy chart. I don't believe I could find anything significantly better, at that price. I'm sticking with it.

The Full Tower is probably overkill, but with the size of the 6970 GPU, I figured bigger was better. That thing's a monster. Seriously, you could brain somebody with it. I wasn't taking any chances. I thought the THOR was a beaut. The extra airflow and included fans couldn't hurt, and the price was right.

The PSU I spotted on sale at Best Buy a while back. Again, probably more than I need, but it was a value buy.

Same deal with the Monitor. Not the greatest, but a decent price and it's performed well. I have no complaints. If I want bigger, I'll hook the new rig up to the bigscreen.

The HD and CD/DVD Drives I plan swap over from my old (Dell Inspiron XPS) system. The HD should probably be upgraded, but since this is my first build, I'm trying to keep it simple. Transferring those old files to a new HD strikes me as daunting. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. I'll worry about it once I get this baby up and running.

I'm considering the SSD option, but that will depend on budget. At this point, it's a secondary consideration, like the HD.

I'm guessing Windows 7 is the current OS of choice for gaming?
I realize that's a loaded question, likely to spark some heated exchanges. I'm not looking to start a pissing contest, so unless there's some glaring reason I shouldn't go with Windows 7, let's just assume I did.

For the RAM, I'm leaning toawrds these:
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin SDRAM DDR3 2133

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231468&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

I chose 'em after reading the following in a Customer Q&A concerning one of my Mobo candidates: "DDR3 RAM has very little overhead for further overclocking without running dangerously high voltage. This will also of course shorten the life. However, 2133 DDR3 is the sweet spot, with lower enough latency, and still has enough speed without breaking the bank." I'm a layman, and have no idea how accurate that statement is, but I was swayed enough to do a search and found those Ripjaws on sale. They appear to be a solid choice, considering the discount.

For the Cooler, tried and true seems sufficient:
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
As I said, this is my first build. I'm just going by the reviews.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099&cm_re=Coolermaster-_-35-103-099-_-Product

Which brings me to my dilemma:
Then, I intended to use the i5 3570k. Now, I'd like to use the i5 4690k, but if I do, I'm also going to need a different Mobo with the LGA1150 socket.

The thing is, I've found a potentially sweet deal on a new one of these:
ASUS P8Z77-V LX
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/z77-express-ivy-bridge-benchmark,3254-6.html

One thing in particular that jumped out at me was the following:
"...users get one slot locked into 16-lane transfers and a second locked into four-lane PCIe 2.0 transfers through the Z77 PCH. That limitation still allows for CrossFire configurations, but crosses SLI off the feature list, unless you get your hands on a single-card, dual GPU solution," which, of course, is exactly what I have in the 6970.

If I do end up going with the 4690K:
ASRock Z97 OC Formula LGA 1150 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157502&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

It's a little more than I want to spend on a Mobo, even with the discount, but if its performance and newb-friendliness are as described in the Customer Reviews, it'll be worth the extra coin.

The ASRock/4690 seems to me the obvious choice, performance-wise.
However, if I can save $100 or more with the ASUS/3570 setup, that would cover the cost of my OS, or a new HD, or possibly an SSD... maybe this one:

Crucial MX100 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal SSD

http://www.ncixus.com/products/?usaffiliateid=1000031504&sku=97624&vpn=CT256MX100SSD1&manufacture=CRUCIAL%20TECHNOLOGY&promoid=1574

So, which is the better performance per dollar system? The bulk of my gameplay is MMO or FPS: TSW, EVE, LotRO, CoD, that sorta thing (CoX was my main squeeze, but let us not speak of such sadness). Will there be a big enough gap in performance between the two builds to warrant the extra expense?

Is there anything I've overlooked concerning compatibility or bottlenecking?

I welcome any other suggestions, advice or constructive criticism you might have.
If it helps, I have put together the following overviews:

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Troybo/saved/8qbcCJ

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Troybo/saved/KdFH99

Thank You All in Advance
and
Happy Holidays!

Crowe,

Thanks for the suggestion. Alas, no luck. I got the same error message.

Also, I'm not planning on SLI/Xfire. My 6970 has two GPUs on a single card. From what I've read, it should perform nicely on the games I run.

Priest,

Yeah, I've had difficulty locating the right 1155 Mobo at the right price. I'm hoping to snag the one I'm looking at now for less than a hundred. This is it:
ASUS P8Z77-V LX
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/z77-express-ivy-bridge-benchmark,3254-6.html

My PSU:
Thermaltake Smart M 850W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153158&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

Nothing fancy, but it should do the job.

As for SLI, it won't be possible with the ASUS P8Z77-V LX. It would work with the ASRock Mobo, but I think those video cards, if anything, have gone up in price... and that's IF you can find one. No worries, though. I'm sure the single 6970 will serve my purposes nicely.

I agree about the SSD/HD combo route, but that's probably something for later on down the road...

and yes, HOURS upon HOURS.