First Custom Build, Looking for Opinions and Advice

[mrme1003]

I've done a fair amount of research on parts, but I'd still assume I'm fairly ignorant on the subject. I'm essentially trying to get the best bang for my buck (who isn't, after all) with the first PC I'll be putting together myself. I currently have a custom rig that someone else built for me, and I'm planning to sell it and use the money to put something together, both for self-entertainment and to get something a bit more efficient.

Anyway, I'm basically looking for advice/warning about any blaring flaws in the components I've picked out, or if anyone just has any general recommendations.
Here's what I have picked out so far:

• 
  ■Case: IN WIN GT1 Black SECC Steel ATX Mid-Tower
  ■MOBO: Gigabyte LGA1151 Intel H110 Micro ATX DDR4 Motherboard GA-H110M-A
  ■CPU: Intel Boxed Core I5-6500 FC-LGA14C 3.20 Ghz 6 M Processor Cache 4 LGA 1151 BX80662I56500
  ■GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SC ACX 2.0
  ■RAM: 16GB (2x8GB) Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR4
  ■PSU: Rosewill VALENS Series VALENS-500 500W
  ■HDD: WD Blue 1TB Desktop Hard Disk Drive - 7200 RPM SATA 6 Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch - WD10EZEX
  ■CPU Cooling: Phanteks Slim Twin Tower Heatsinks, 140mm PWM CPU Cooling PH-TC14S
  ■Wi-Fi/Bluetooth: Gigabyte Bluetooth 4.0/WiFi Expansion Card GC-WB867D-I

I'm trying to get a PC that's capable of playing games like Dying Light, AC: Syndicate, and other new-releases effectively.

 

[rwoody]

Any particular reason you are using mismatched ram? Ram is designed to perform better when paired with identical sets. Mixing 8+4 isn't really ideal. I would just add a second 8GB stick instead of a 4GB.

Its by no means absolutely necessary, but you could put your OS on an SSD and speed things up quite a bit.

 

[mrme1003]

Any particular reason you are using mismatched ram? Ram is designed to perform better when paired with identical sets. Mixing 8+4 isn't really ideal. I would just add a second 8GB stick instead of a 4GB.

Its by no means absolutely necessary, but you could put your OS on an SSD and speed things up quite a bit.

It was just a small cost cutting decision. I figured I wanted more than 8GB, but 16 seemed slightly excessive. If it'll effect performance very much, I guess a $20 upgrade isn't too much.

As far as the SSD, I considered it, but then I thought I would just go with Win 8.1. I know it gets a bad rep, but I've tried it and I can live with it; the main reason I'd use it is because it boots up pretty quickly.

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[rwoody]

Any particular reason you are using mismatched ram? Ram is designed to perform better when paired with identical sets. Mixing 8+4 isn't really ideal. I would just add a second 8GB stick instead of a 4GB.

Its by no means absolutely necessary, but you could put your OS on an SSD and speed things up quite a bit.

It was just a small cost cutting decision. I figured I wanted more than 8GB, but 16 seemed slightly excessive. If it'll effect performance very much, I guess a $20 upgrade isn't too much.

As far as the SSD, I considered it, but then I thought I would just go with Win 8.1. I know it gets a bad rep, but I've tried it and I can live with it; the main reason I'd use it is because it boots up pretty quickly.

Thanks for the suggestions.

It's not like your computer will blow up if you use 8+4 (I've done it before) but it would be one less thing to worry about causing issues in your system.