Opinions on 2 different $1,200 gaming builds?

[Matty141]

Ok, so I am trying to figure out what I will be building with my upcoming tax return money (and potentially money put aside up until then) to start me down the path of computer gaming. Focusing on a $1,200 budget...should I have more come the time to buy I may get a better graphics card or monitor. Opinions on that would be great too.

I will be using this computer for heavy gaming with some minor streaming should I feel up to it. What I have come up with are 2 builds. I did this because I am unsure if I want to risk overclocking my build. I understand that it can shorten the life span of your cpu. So, one build is for overclocking, the other is not. Also, in these builds I have included a monitor as well as keyboard and mouse in both as it is time for those to be upgraded as well.

This is my overclock build:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($227.99 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.50 @ Newegg)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Cooling MX4 4g Thermal Paste ($5.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($136.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($329.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: Raidmax Viper GX ATX Mid Tower Case ($76.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($96.50 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Cooler Master SickleFlow 69.7 CFM 120mm Fan ($5.99 @ NCIX US)
Case Fan: Cooler Master SickleFlow 69.7 CFM 120mm Fan ($5.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Asus VS238H-P 23.0" Monitor ($115.99 @ NCIX US)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($24.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $1267.48
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-22 18:32 EDT-0400


This next build is for no overclocking:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($88.75 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.33 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($318.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($78.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Asus VS239H-P 23.0" Monitor ($143.99 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Quick Fire TK Wired Gaming Keyboard ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Mouse: Cooler Master CM Storm Havoc Wired Laser Mouse ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1251.38
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-22 18:34 EDT-0400

Any suggestions? Which would you pick? What would you change?

 

[turkey3_scratch]

Power supplies are low quality. The EVGA B1 and G1 power supplies are not very good, the Supernova G2 and B2 are the quality ones. You are buying too many fans - just one more intake will be fine. I would buy WD hard drive over Seagate - better reliability. I would buy the Cryorig H7 over the 212 EVO.

 

[Matty141]

Didn't realize the PSU's were low quality. Learn something new everyday. I am not to worried about the HDD as of right now. I may stick to the one I have in my current computer and add a new one in later months. Thank you for the suggestion on the cooler as well. I just always default to the 212 Evo.

 

[Matty141]

Also wanted to add that I upped the ram to 16gb since Star Wars Battlefront uses so much ram and the latest video I watched from NCIX Tech Tips suggets 16gb...and I do plan to play it quite a bit

 

[turkey3_scratch]

Looks good!