Does this build look ok? ~$1500 Gaming PC

[Hardy Bagel]

I keep putting off upgrading my old gaming PC. This time it's going down.

Gaming only PC. I'm not looking to overclock, and 1080p is fine for now. I have a monitor. I just want to toss this out and get some opinions before I break out the credit card. Thank you in advance!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.75 @ OutletPC)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste ($6.49 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($169.94 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($70.97 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($104.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card ($549.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 ATX Mid Tower Case ($107.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1488.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-18 11:51 EST-0500

 

[MADVIU]

That's a very nice build. I do believe that the CM 212 Evo does come with thermal paste, not pre-applied though. But I assume you already know that and have chosen to go with other thermal paste.

 

[The Ether Bunny]

That looks like a great build but why not spend the extra $20 to get the unlocked i5? You are already spending $1500. And 3.5 grams of thermal paste is enough for like 5 applications, is there a smaller size? Or just go with the supplied paste in the Cooler Master kit which is the same or better than AS5.

 

[Hardy Bagel]

Thank you for the replies. I wasn't aware the cooler came with thermal paste, I'll just use that instead.

 

[logainofhades]

The motherboard is overkill for a non overclocking rig. Do not need the 212 evo either. Personally, I would go with something more like this.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX3 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($17.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($116.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($104.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($554.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 ATX Mid Tower Case ($107.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($108.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($90.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1465.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-19 11:11 EST-0500

 

[g-unit1111]

I would personally not get a Xeon for gaming - overclocking will benefit your system far more than hyperthreading will.

I would do something like this for $1500:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC12DX_BK 68.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($125.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($89.99 @ Directron)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($134.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($549.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Directron)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($90.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1527.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-19 13:50 EST-0500

You get a GTX 980 with this rig and it has a pretty sweet black / white theme throughout.

 

[logainofhades]

Except they said the do not want to overclock. I would get a Xeon for gaming, as my next cpu upgrade will have to probably last me far longer than the previous one. The future is multithreaded.

 

[Hardy Bagel]

I will have to research the xeon processor, thanks for the replies!

 

[logainofhades]

The Xeon 1231v3 is a haswell refresh chip. It is nothing more than an i7, without IGP, with added support for server features, like ECC ram. Due to the lack of IGP, the TDP is lower, so less wattage and heat as well. It will perform identical to an i7 4770.