~$1200 gaming computer, with an eye towards future upgradability

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type Item Price
CPU Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor $167.99 @ SuperBiiz
Motherboard MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard $110.95 @ OutletPC
Memory G.Skill NS Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory $50.99 @ Newegg
Storage Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive $69.78 @ OutletPC
Storage Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive $89.98 @ OutletPC
Video Card Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card $319.99 @ SuperBiiz
Case Fractal Design Define R5 w/Window (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case $99.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply $59.99 @ NCIX US
Operating System Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) $87.98 @ OutletPC
Monitor Acer H236HLbid 60Hz 23.0" Monitor $137.99 @ Best Buy
Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
Total (before mail-in rebates) $1245.63
Mail-in rebates -$50.00
Total $1195.63
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-05 15:49 EDT-0400

A lot of your options dovetailed with what I had been looking at on my own, so I like that we're on the same page. Here's my tweaks to your design, I mostly wanted to make sure none of this sends up red flags for you. Two questions:

  • You listed 2 CPU coolers... is that right? Want to make sure I need 2 before I add them to this build.
  • Does the motherboard you chose allow for additional hard drives down the line?
/r/buildapcforme Thread Parent