With your budget I would say you are in the i5 range already, so it is then a case of bang for buck, which really means, GHz and/or K series for overclocking capability.

With no idea what else you are going to run in terms of graphics card(s), then it is hard to know whether to aim for SLI/XFire capable or not.


With that in mind, I would aim for a i5 4690K, and then the best MB you can get for it with the leftovers, while still trying to get something decent.

The two I came with is slightly over budget at $320 (w/promo), but it is just a starting point.

Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
Asus Z97-P ATX LGA1150 Motherboard

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/WZ7RYJ