First Gaming PC Build

Before I start, I'd like to thank everyone that helped on my first PC build. It went relatively well, and I ultimately got a good multipurpose PC out of it.

Now I'm planning my first gaming build (that has a graphics card and everything). I'm currently working with a budget of $1,500. There are a number of ways I could go with this and I am torn between two directions. That is, I could choose a smaller form-factor(mini-ITX) that is relatively powerful, but is limited in terms of future upgradability. On the other hand, I could choose a more expensive build that is bulkier but has plenty of room for RAM upgrades, and the CPU is slightly more powerful. In the latter build there is also room for a 2-way SLI configuration should I choose to go that way in the future.

Option #1
CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150
RAM:Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600
Storage: Sandisk Solid State Drive 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM
Video Card:MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V
Case:Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case
Power Supply:EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX
Operating System:Microsoft Windows 8.1 (32/64-bit)
Optical Drive:LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer

Option #2
CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper T4 70.0 CFM
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3
RAM:Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400
Storage: Sandisk Solid State Drive 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM
Video Card:MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V
Case: Corsair SPEC-02 ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply:EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX
Operating System:Microsoft Windows 8.1 (32/64-bit)
Optical Drive:LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer

--Clearly, these configurations are similar, but the second one is clearly more powerful but more expensive. Basically, I'm asking if I should pay the premium for the X99 architecture and forego the sleek mini-ITX from. What do you all think?

I would personally go for Option 2. At this point I think it makes more sense to move forward and go with the X99 and DDR4.

+1.

I was always Power>Looks.

And one more thing.

RAM:Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400

Choose 4x4GB in order to use the quad channel.

If you are thinking SLI, that 600W PSU may be limiting in the future. I know the 970 is very power efficient and you can probably run 2 in SLI with 600W. However, if you start looking at overclocking the CPU and GPUs, you could run into trouble. Also, good to think ahead when you may want more power hungry cards. I have 970 SLI and have an 850W PSU.

You could go with mini ITX build and it's still very powerful, but if you want something abit more powerful and still small I'd recommend this:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/WrmwnQ

If you want SLI GTX 970's then you have to go with Z97: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/nNxpnQ

If you want X99 then you can still get a GTX 980: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/DH7QnQ

Alright, I've taken your comments into consideration. I do not plan on using this as a workstation PC for rendering and what not. The most demanding workstation application I'm likely to use is R. Running SVMs on a lot of data can be computationally demanding. That said, this is likely to be a gaming PC primarily so an X99 direction may be 'frivolous.' On the other hand, X99 does provide me with a lot of options moving forward in terms of upgradability but it does hit the upper limit of my budget with little in terms of a performance boost from Option 1. That is, until I decide to upgrade the RAM, Graphics Card, or Processor. When the time comes for that, I have a lot more room to maneuver with the X99s. I'm pretty much stuck where I am with Option 1 with little in terms of upgradability. But I'm really uncomfortable with exceeding my budget, especially since this is my first gaming PC build.

Option 2 Revamped
CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core
CPU Cooler: Corsair H55 57.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory
Storage: Sandisk Solid State Drive 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM
Video Card:MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V
Case: Corsair Air 540 ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply:EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX
Operating System:Microsoft Windows 8.1 (32/64-bit)
Optical Drive:LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-N10 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1

I don't know... I just might eat it and go with the Revamped Option 2 since it gives me more options into the future...