I have $600 to Spend on a Build for Everything EXCLUDING GPU - Where Should my Money Go?

[EmitRemmus22]

So I'm selling my ASUS ROG laptop for $650. I want to use that money to buy all the parts for my first rig build, except I want to buy the graphics card separately and set my own budget for it. I asked r/buildapc on Reddit for advice, and a user offered me this config (which I tweaked a bit on my own):

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($219.99 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($82.98 @ Newegg) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($77.98 @ OutletPC) 

Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($59.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($52.89 @ OutletPC) 

Case: Azza SIRIUS ATX Mid Tower Case  ($24.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($64.99 @ Micro Center) 

Total: $583.81

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-08 22:50 EST-0500

 

I guess I have two main questions for you guys:

1) Is this build getting the best "bang for my buck" performance wise for gaming/light media production like multi-track music production? Should I re-invest any money I have in another area?

2) With this budget/build, would a GTX 970 be overkill/underutilized? Would something like an r290 for almost $100 less be a significant downgrade?

[Katsu-K1L]

r9 290 would be a slight downgrade (4 - 7 less fps) and that build is really good except for the motherboard its a H97 Motherboard which you won't be able to overclock with and that build is a good bang for your bug

Also an i5 wouldn't bottleneck a 970 or a 980

[jnmbhj]

If this was a test I would give you an A

At the moment the 970 and the 4690k are the best bang for the buck. As for the graphics card it will be fully unitized. Cuda is good for video production as well. You can go with the 290 but the 970 is the better bang for your buck

[Katsu-K1L]

this would be a much better bang for your bug

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($89.78 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Team Elite Plus 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($61.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($104.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($52.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: Azza SIRIUS ATX Mid Tower Case  ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($48.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $603.62
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-08 22:56 EST-0500

[EmitRemmus22]

Thanks a bunch guys. I've only posted here once before, but this is one of the most helpful and active communities I've seen on the web. Linus seems to attract some good people, lol.