re: Build the Best Gaming PC Your Money Can Buy: A Detailed Guide (Updated Sep 2014)

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The only thing I'm slightly confused on is the difference between Z77 and Z78 sockets.

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Z77 and Z87 are chipsets -- Z77 is a chipset that uses socket 1155, and as blue said it's the older platform. Z87 is a socket 1150 chipset, which was released in June this year. The socket dictates the type of CPU you'll be able to use, while the chipset dictates many of the features you'll be able to use with the motherboard, such as overclocking, SLI/crossfire, and number of USB 3.0 and PCIe 6gbps ports. The only real difference between Z87 and Z77 is the number of native SATA 6Gbps ports. Z77 has 2, and the Z87 has 6. SSDs are the only drives that can take advantage of the extra bandwidth vs SATA 3Gbps, so it's not that important unless you are planning to use more than 2 SSDs.

At the $1,000 budget mark, if you're deciding between Z77 and Z87, you are essentially deciding between the 3570k (Z77/1155) and the 4670k (Z87/1150). It looks like the price is the same for both CPUs online (if bought new), according to PCPartPicker. The 3570k is a bit overpriced at $220, but since it's a discontinued chip, you might have better luck getting it used on eBay or a forum.

The Haswell is about 5% faster than the Ivy Bridge, clock for clock, and in gaming there's probably no difference at all.