Me and my buddy cobbled together a reasonably good computer for around $1000 CA:
Intel Core i5-4570 Haswell Quad-Core 3.2GHz LGA 1150 84W

ASUS Z97-K/CSM LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL

CORSAIR CSM Series CS650M 650W ATX12V v2.4 and EPS 2.92 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

ASUS GTX750TI-OC-2GD5 G-SYNC Support GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB 128-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready Video Card

Western Digital WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive - OEM

Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Hardest thing I'll be putting it through is some moderate/intensive game graphics, not looking to overclock it or anything. Any advice on something I've missed or on hardware you'd switch out for something better would be appreciated!

 

Your committing the cardinal sin of spending more on your cpu than gpu. If your focused on getting gaming experience out of it that's a big no-no. I would recommend going for a r270 or a 760.

The modo is on the expensive side. Do you actually need those two pci 2.0 slots? You could also free up some cash by not going with a fully modular psu.

Also get yourself a ssd. It might not give any real performance increases but damn are loads faster and smoother. It's a major quality of life improvement imho.

 

I've looked at my finances and I can definitely go up to a 760 if I cut the two pci slots. Power supply should be fine. As for SSD.. I want one but I don't know if I can justify the cost increase/size decrease I'd need to fit it in. Might be able to switch over in a year or so but not at the moment.

 

My personal suggestion would be to go for the R9 270X. It'll be better than the 750 ti, very slightly below 760 (Purely from a benchmarks perspective), essentially more VFM.
The price difference between the R9270X and the 760 (At least the Indian prices I see, which are admittedly inflated) should get you a very basic SSD.

 

The 270 is definitely at a more reasonable price then the 760. Is the HDD to SSD move really worth the drop from 1TB to 250GB?

 

Don't drop the 1 TB HDD. Use something like a very basic 64/128 GB SSD (Since you're on a reasonable budget) as the primary Partition for your OS and most frequently used applications. Use the 1 TB drive for your normal games, videos, music, etc.
The SSD for your OS in my opinion, is definitely worth it.

I believe a Samsung or Transcend starting range would be within the price range.

Also, you probably meant the R9 270X. But just in case, there is a noticeable performance difference between the 270 and the 270X (Edit: Wait, Never mind. I keep forgetting people actually do overclock. I have both 280 and 280X at work. I can't overclock it there, lol)

 

OK so new build is looking a little like this:

Intel Core i5-4570 Haswell Quad-Core 3.2GHz LGA 1150 84W 205$


ASUS Z97-K/CSM LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard 144$


G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL 100$


CORSAIR CSM Series CS650M 650W ATX12V v2.4 and EPS 2.92 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply 120$
[FONT=&quot]MSI R9 270X GAMING 2G Radeon R9 270X 2GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]230$[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]ADATA Premier Pro SP600 ASP600S3-128GM-C 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) 80$[/FONT]


Western Digital WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive – OEM 75$


Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 90$

So just over a thousand before taxes.

Was thinking I could switch the mobo out for the ASUS H81M-K LGA 1150 Intel H81 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard and save sixty.

 

Don't go for the H81 chipset, that's the "lowest" of the 87 chipsets and is missing some things. Go for the H87 chipset instead - the only difference between that one and the best one (Z87) is no native overclocking support and no native SLI/Crossfire support (though resellers more often than not offer that themselves on H87 boards)

Also, rather than the Corsair, go for this Sesonic PSU (if it's cheaper in your region, which it should be). Unless you're going to use SLI/Crossfire, you'll never need 650W so you can also save some money there. As for the SSD, you should rather go for either a Samsung 840 Evo or the Crucial M550. Both are pretty even in terms of performance, so grab whichever is cheaper (also be aware that the 128GB models of both are slower than 240+GB with write speeds, but even then the 128GB models are still faster than the Adata you've selected).

 

I would suggest not getting a Micro-ATX board.

The only reasons I would ever buy a Micro-ATX board would be if I was really, really, strapped for cash. As in didn't have a penny to spare.
Or if I was trying to fit in a new MB within an old Micro-ATX case.
Or in select Office Desktops which need to look nice in those small little adorable cases.

Since you've chosen a pretty spacious Mid-Tower Cabinet, I wouldn't suggest getting a Micro-ATX MB.

Also, make sure your GPU fits in the case. Some of the AMD variations are really long.
I had to remove a small panel in my Cooler Master HAF 912 Case to fit in the 280X card.
And If you're buying a liquid cooler or one of those Coolers with huge sinks for the CPU, make sure to check the dimensions.

>_>.
I had to return the H100i Liquid cooler since it wouldn't fit in the above mentioned case.
<_<

 

There is nothing wrong with a micro-ATX motherboard. So long as it has the features required, it is a viable alternative. Of course, if it doesn't have the same feature set, then it can be problematic.

My pick would be, if the OP can do so, change it to the Asus H97M-Plus (sticking with Asus here because OP chose an Asus motherboard). My reasons:
1. You're not overclocking, so the Z97 chipset costs more and is of no more use to you than H97.
2. It comes with an Intel NIC (compared with the Realtek on the Z97-K)
3. Has some right-angled SATA connectors (whereas the Z97-K has none)

You lose the PCIe x1 slots, which may or may not be negligible depending on what else you install in the computer, but hey, the H97M-Plus is slightly cheaper for a reason. If you do decide to go this route, you can change your case to something smaller that fits micro-ATX.

My second thought is to drop the CPU to an i3, such as the Core i3 4350/4360. You'll lose some performance (Hyper-Threading will try to make up for some of the deficit) but it'll be cheaper. Don't do this if your games benefit heavily from extra cores.

Lastly, the power supply is overkill. Nothing more than (a high quality) 500W needed here. You could do with an Antec True Power Classic/Seasonic G-series (they're exactly the same unit, just different quantities of connectors). Even if you just dropped down to a 450W/550W unit of Corsair CSM would be something to consider.

 

I've had heating issues in two systems I've used with Micro-Atx form factor. This heating problem was especially troublesome when I had a gaming card on the system ( A 7790, I think).

Not sure if its just personal bias, but I will never suggest Micro-Atx to anyone.

 

Micro-ATX is nothing like mini-ITX where cooling usually doesn't fit. I have a hard time believing that it was form factor related and not something else (high ambient temperatures and/or low airflow conditions) though the smaller form factor does exacerbate the problems these conditions cause.

That said, a lot of micro-ATX boards tend to have smaller or no heatsinks around the CPU socket to save money, but the H97M-Plus has this heatsink, so there is no issue there especially since there will be no overclocking. Combined with a case like the Silverstone TJ08-E which has a 180mm fan in the front, OP will have no issue with thermals unless it can can't draw in air.