http://pcpartpicker.com/p/8rCXRB

I'm curious if this build will stay relevant enough to play most games and be possible to upgrade in the future as far as the motherboard goes. I'll probably need to change the motherboard, though, sadly. Any advice will be highly appreciated. I added in a wireless adapter for internet purposes as this computer will be for pretty much all purpose stuff and I don't have my own modem. I also don't have a modern computer monitor, which is why the monitor in on the build's list.

I made this build list when last gen was still current gen, so that's why I am asking.

Whether the computer will be "relevant enough" depends on how long you want to use it and how much you care about running everything on the highest settings. It'll be a very good PC for a number of years. That said, there's no avoiding the fact upgrading the motherboard also means upgrading the CPU (unless you want to throw money away) and often upgrading the RAM and OS. Oftentimes if you're doing a motherboard upgrade, it's time for a complete system rebuild.

why?

I'm not sure how long the motherboard's compatibility with parts will last. For all I know, this motherboard might end up becoming incompatible with newer parts. That's why I mentioned changing it. I was aware that changing the CPU and everything else would be required, though.

As far as highest settings, I really don't care as much about running games on ultra as I do about them running at a stable framerate. I'm already doing fine with running games at low if I have to and the low setting graphics don't look too bad, so if I had to run a game at medium, I wouldn't mind at all. Only games I can say I'd even care about running at the highest of settings are the ones that are all about atmosphere. Even then, I probably can get the same experience on medium if I have to.

If you want to overclock you need an unlocked CPU, if you do not want to overclock get rid of the cooler, step down the motherboard and get a 4670. 750W is overkill for that system, I'm running a similar system on a 550W XFX. If you are spending nearly $1300 on a computer in 2014 you should really be getting an SSD, get that with the savings from the cooler and the motherboard. I recommend getting a 840 Evo with whatever amount of space you want.

Here is the build that I just bought, if that helps:

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/sgt_deacon/saved/r7Dj4D

The 3rd party cooler may help it be quieter though, if that's what you're getting at. But other than that it isn't worth the investment if you aren't overclocking, which you currently couldn't do.

Overall recommendation (if you aren't overclocking): Get an H97 chipset motherboard, step down on the PSU if you aren't planning on doing SLI, get rid of the 3rd party cooler and buy a Samsung 840 Evo and an i5 4670.

Okay. I fixed up the build list and added in what was recommended. It a bit more expensive still, but I am wanting this to be a computer I can use for years and enjoy for years. The cooler really isn't needed. I just was unsure if I should or shouldn't have it as a result of fearing the computer will melt. Heh.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/VTGKcf

I'm keeping the overkill of a PSU, though. I'm aware it is overkill now, but I would rather have it just to be safe. Couldn't find much detailed information on what the H97 chipset has in it, sadly. Seems pretty good, though.

I'm confused with why you say it is more expensive, it's about $100 cheaper than what you had before. Don't worry about the CPU, the stock heatsink is designed for stock settings, if you clean it occasionally you won't have any problems.

Couple of things:

Drop that WD Black and get a blue. A black is not worth $120. If you look at the benchmarks the black and blue drives are virtually the same, blacks just have a slightly better warranty. A blue will run you about $56, so you'd be able to buy 2 blue's and still have some money left over, at the cost of a couple years of warranty. Get an SSD with the money you saved here. http://pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz7te120bw.

Are you intending on upgrading to 32 GB at some point? If not you will see some minor performance improvements by going 2 x 4 GB instead of 1 x 8 GB. Regardless, http://www.anandtech.com/show/4503/sandy-bridge-memory-scaling-choosing-the-best-ddr3/6. Kind of an old article, but still applies.

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1750bbefx. Assuming you will actually do the MIR it's slightly cheaper, comes from a reputable brand, is gold (versus bronze) and fully modular (versus semi modular). It's the same wattage.

The H97 chipset was released recently, but if you get the board from a reputable brand you should be fine. If you are particularly worried you can get a H87 board, but there is no reason to.

Thanks for the tips. I've fixed it further. I didn't fully notice the price for some reason... Thanks for correcting that mistake. I see no point in going with 32 gigs of RAM, so I am going to go with the 8 gigs I had on the list, I am now going to use a 1600 one.

I always saw that the Caviar Black got good reviews and stuff, so I thought it was the best one. Thanks for telling me the blue one is just as good.

Can you post the link of what you have now?

The point I was making about the 32 GB is, unless you want to go to 32 GB in the future get 2 x 4 GB. The reasoning for this is if you go for 2 x 4 GB the maximum RAM you can get in the system is 16 GB (without replacing old DIMMS). So if you are not going to go for 32 GB in the future there is no reason to buy a 8 GB DIMM when you could get mild performance improvements by getting a 2 x 4 GB set.

I'm personally waiting until the next generation of CPUs comes out, or at least until we get some more mainstream options comparable to the CPUs in the current console generation. DDR4 is also on the horizon, and while it won't likely provide any significant performance increase, it'll pretty much guarantee that you'll need a full MOBO/RAM overhaul next time you want to upgrade your CPU (assuming you go with a DDR3 setup now). If you wait until DDR4 becomes a little more mainstream, hopefully with the next round of CPUs, that should futureproof you a little bit more than getting one of Intel's last-gen CPUs (which I'd recommend in favor of Haswell anyway, although LGA 1155 is a pretty much a totally dead socket).

By the time you want to upgrade a 4670 or whatever the next Intel equivalent is, you are going to have to buy a new motherboard anyway. Intel is going to change the sockets in 4 years. What do you mean more comparable with the consoles? A 4670 is significantly better than the CPU in either console.

You can get stuck in a cycle and wait forever because something better will always be on the horizon, just buy the computer when you want it. When DDR4 is first released it is going to be priced at 'enthusiast' levels anyway, so it's going to be couple months after release till it will generally be recommended.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/jBwNvK

Once again, thanks so much for all the help.

For that price I'd recommend getting something that wasn't from Corsairs "Value Select" line. It also doesn't look like it has any heat spreaders, which isn't that great. Spend an extra $4 and get the http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-memory-cmz8gx3m2a1600c9b. Or another brand if you like.

Do you have a particular aversion to an SSD? It's your money so you can obviously do whatever you want, you'll notice a great boost in general speed / snappiness of the OS for $70, so I'm wondering what your reasons are?

It's worth considering Win8.1 as well, rumour has it the next update they'll be adding the start menu back natively (right now there are separate programs you can use to get it back), and it has some nice features.

You system is only rated for less then 500Watts power usage, so you can probably get away with a "smaller" one if you want to save a few bucks. I know you should never skimp on your PSU, but there is no sense in overpaying for more then you need.

Not really sure why I need an SSD outside of the performance thing. That's all.

Well, isn't the reason for a better computer "the performance thing" . I can boot into Win8.1 in about 6 seconds, which is nice. If you use any more intensive programs, like Mathematica, Gimp, etc.. It's nice them being able to start very quickly. It's your call though, once people get their first SSD they never want to go back. At the very least spend an extra $4 and get RAM with heat spreaders.

SSD gives you better boot times, faster response when opening windows, less noise, marginally less power, endurance problems sorted compared to early models make them at least as reliable as drives with moving parts. An expensive GPU just gives prettier graphics, at the cost of more noise and more power draw. Also the precedent set by the 750s could mean all present generation GPUs could become less relevant even sooner than usual for this fast-moving market.