$2100 gaming rig, 4690K / 970. First build, any suggestions before I go through with it?

BigDirrrty

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Oct 4, 2014
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Hi folks, I plan on building my first PC. Before I go ahead and order everything I thought it might be worthwhile to get some advice. I chose the majority of the parts from the suggestions made over at Logical Increments. My budget is $2500 CDN.
PCPartPicker part list: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/dc8TjX
Price breakdown by merchant: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/dc8TjX/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($248.97 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.95 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-PRO(Wi-Fi ac) ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($226.18 @ DirectCanada)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($100.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Sandisk Extreme II 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($148.32 @ TigerDirect Canada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($438.50 @ Vuugo)
Case: Corsair Air 540 ATX Mid Tower Case ($126.83 @ DirectCanada)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($189.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Monitor: NEC E243WMi-BK 60Hz 23.8" Monitor ($293.50 @ Vuugo)
Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K70 RGB Wired Gaming Keyboard ($171.15 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $2102.35
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-04 22:45 EDT-0400

Memory: It's a little expensive, but it matches the motherboard.

PSU: I know that a 1000 watt psu is really overkill, but I plan on upgrading when the 20nm / GM200 cards are released. So I figure the extra wattage will leave some headroom for overclocking and a possible SLI setup.

Monitor: I don't mind paying a little extra, however, I'm not sure if this is the best choice.

Also, I've been using a 27" iMac for the past 3 years, so I'm kinda bummed about the downgrade to 1080p. I just don't see a single card solution for 1440p right now, which for me is being able to run at ultra on all games with at least 60fps. That's why I plan on the possible upgrade in the future, if the rumours about the next cards are true. The 980 is a beast, but from most benchmarks I've seen I think a single 980 would not do the job @1440 in a years time and I'd rather not start off with SLI. But, perhaps I'm wrong.
Besides this, anything I should add/change?
Thanks!
 

AntonM95

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Aug 8, 2014
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Why don't use SLI from Now ??? you can get 2x970 in same price of your build with very good FPS on 1440p !
check this out :
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($248.97 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.95 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($154.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: G.Skill Trident X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($89.99 @ Memory Express)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($137.98 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($396.25 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($396.25 @ Vuugo)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($134.99 @ NCIX)
Monitor: Asus VS239H-P 23.0" Monitor ($176.25 @ Vuugo)
Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K70 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($129.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Total: $2123.59
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-04 23:51 EDT-0400

and with 850W PSU you can OC + 2xSLI safely :)
 

BigDirrrty

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Oct 4, 2014
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If I were to run the 970 in SLI would a reference card be better? That way one card isn't blowing hot air onto another?

 

AntonM95

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Aug 8, 2014
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No, the reference wouldn't be better. it's too hot than the non-ref card .
the non-ref cards is better in every thing except OCing, but it's already OCed. so I recommend to SLI now that will give you a better performance than 1 GTX 980.

The GTX970 is 10 % slower than the GTX980, BUT the GTX980 is 60%+ more costly.
2 x GTX970s would GREATLY outperform a single GTX980 and cost less than 100$ more.

Especially considering that MOST GTX970 reviews indicate is can easily be overclocked to GTX980 level of performance.

and see these reviews :
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/geforce_gtx_970_sli_review,14.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_970_SLI/9.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anhwXkTN8Nc
 

BigDirrrty

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Oct 4, 2014
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Oh wow, thanks for the advice. If I was to stay with the gigabyte card, given the size, if I had two would I have to worry about sagging?

 

AntonM95

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Aug 8, 2014
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The Gigabyte one is too expensive, but it's the best GTX 970 card (I'm talking about G1 version) in overclocking and cooling .

Get it if you can afford the money but if U couldn't, the Asus is amazing too (specially it's have 0db noise level).