post capable processors from Intel or AMD that can use the Unreal Editor effectively , must be $200 or under
if at all possible please post your build at the highest settings / frames your can get.
Have a look…
https://forums.unrealengine.com/showthread.php?20643-Official-Hardware-Performance-Survey
Intel processors will have better single core performance, so general moving around and using the editor will be faster and feel more snappy with Intel. AMD processors will give you better bang for your buck when doing lightmap baking, and anything that can take advantage of all cores.
since im considering pairing with a 970 or potentially a 980 if my budget can stretch for it ( pretty sure it can )
Would you consider an Intel i5 2500k budget? It worked extremely well on my old one!
If you’re going to use a high end GPU, you can’t skimp on the CPU budget. You need a reasonable CPU in order to not throttle the GPU.
His (op) question should really be read: go all out on GPU and get cheap CPU now and upgrade it later, or get cheap GPU best CPU nwo and upgrade GPU later?
Imo that depends if budget is big enough (or can be for upgrade) to get 980 GTX then i would get best CPU now and wait about a year for nvidia to release 980 gtx somewhere for next Christmas.
If there is no to get 980 GTX i would go now for 980gt plus best motherboard, then upgrade ram and cpu later.
is almost dead on , but I actually am looking to get a decent Intel Processor like the i5-4690k , I have the budget to get the i7-4790k , but I’m trying to lower my costs and cut as much money as possible from the build cost , I know I can get the GTX 970 right now and if I lowered down to the i5-4690k then I could end up expanding the build cost to get a GTX 980 … but when it comes to gameplay the difference on avg. is between 1 and 2 frames … not a big thing to me considering that the 290x is roughly 10 frames less and in more gnu intensive moments in games it is lowered down to 15-20 frames less than the 970 and 980 , the only viable gpu that I would be willing to get ( would have to get the 860k , GPU stripped APU ( the Kaveri without iGPU ) from the Radeon series right now would be the r9 295x2 which would be WONDERFUL for 4K or lower
now I have $1,600 for a budget , but I would love to come under $1,500
I’m looking for something that will last me a LONG time and won’t start dying on me until well past the 4 year mark.
I can report that using a gtx 980 with an i5-4670k works extremely well, I have not come across any issues so far. Make sure you get SSD’s as well, they make a big difference.
A high end i7 would be nice of course, but plan for the future with upgradable hardware. Currently most of the high end i5/i7’s use the LGA 1150 socket, so you can always upgrade if you buy an i5 now, maybe an i7 1-2 years later when 4+ cores becomes widely used.
I highly recommend the GTX 970/980 though, it is an amazing card. 
My recommendation would be to start out with a base platform that will allow for the greatest flexibility/improvement in the long run.
That generally means spending more money on the core components now (CPU/Motherboard) and bite the bullet and possibly go for a mid-range video card for now. The reason for is simple: It’s far easier to swap out/upgrade your GPU/Video card than it is your CPU/Motherboard. It’s a way of future-proofing your system. If you paint yourself into a corner now by skimping on the CPU and spend more money on the GPU, a year or two down the road, you may want to upgrade your GPU, but may find that your current CPU/Motherboard is holding you back. (Ie. Say you want to get a second video card, but your chipset only supports 2x PCI-E x8/x8 and not 2x PCI-E 16x/16x. In simpler terms, that would essentially hinder performance on your video cards, meaning a less substantial upgrade and possibly even a waste of money).
For example, my PC is currently running an i7 920 overclocked to 3.6ghz, and never once has it throttled my video card or anything else. It holds its own with even modern hardware, even though it’s a 6 year old CPU. The only upgrade I do is I pop in a new video card every once in a while and I’m good to go. The initial investment of the i7 920 has lasted me 6 years, and by the looks of it, it may last me another year or 2 before a sizable upgrade comes along.