All it takes is a friend rounding up components for a gaming PC... it's been downhill from there ever since; I've officially been sucked into the vortex of PC gaming hardware.

Currently, this is my high-end (yet somewhat affordable) dream build. Some components may or may not change, but ultimately I'm pretty set on this list.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($338.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus SABERTOOTH Z97 MARK S ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($269.00 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($116.23 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB FTW ACX 2.0 Video Card ($575.91 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 750D ATX Full Tower Case ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($115.79 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer ($17.79 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series SP120 High Performance Edition (2-Pack) 62.7 CFM 120mm Fans ($27.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1836.66
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-16 22:17 EDT-0400

Thoughts? - I'll still need to pick up an OS at some point. I don't know when I'll have the balls to pull the trigger. My justifications are that it's a fun project and I have computer needs (been making my current laptop last 4.5 years so far).

This build is slightly future-proofed by being compatible with the next line of 5th gen core processors and having room for another 980 eventually. So it has that going for it.

Also, feel free to use this thread as further building discussion, not just for me. Now that I'm entrenched in gaming hardware, it's really interesting to see what's out there and what's coming down the line.