Help a Newbie! Overwhelmed.. juuust a tad.

Thank you so much for all the help!! I love this place.

I admit.. I do like gaming, but I'm not a hard core gamer. I tend to go overboard and want 'the newest and the best!' with these types of things. I'm the type that buys something that's high end-ish for its time, then use the hell out of it until it's literally left behind. (For example, my Dell Dimension 8250 is going on 11 years old.. and it's my main computer, my only computer.) It's given me hardly any problems over the years, except for the hard drive dying a year after I bought it, and it's probably because I'm extremely possessive and protective of it and what goes on it... *shrug* I only say this because my mom has a $900 Toshiba that's about a couple years old, and my 11 year old system runs faster that her two year one does. I can only think it may be because my mom is not computer savvy I always end up having to remove a ton of malware, spyware and other bloatware that comes bundled with stuff that she neglects to uncheck.

One big problem is that because Windows 8 is officially out, (I hate Windows 8 and refuse to buy it.. but what are you opinions on this OS?). Well, because of Win8, it drastically cuts down options for 'computer in a box' systems. This is one of the main reasons I turned to Maingear, and companies like it, because they still offer Windows 7, and they offer the level of customization that I require. (I'm very nit picky about everything and want complete control.. I'm a control freak with my future computer, I admit it.) Honestly, if XP allowed for more than 4GB of RAM, I'd still want to stick with it.

I think it would be best if I say what I mainly use my current computer for.. and you guys can help me adjust my specs (so I don't go crazy overboard.. even though it's SO SO tempting).

I use Adobe programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, and inDesign on a daily basis. (At the moment, I have to close everything and open one of them at a time because of my computer's age... but it gets by.)

I also dabble in 3d, and my computer can run Maya 9 and Max 9 (not at the same time of course). I have a single monitor set up, and I doubt I'm going to do dual monitors... but you never know. I can render, but it's not that great, since my system is so old. I'd like to be able to create full scenes, with movement, and render them fully, with the resulting video being high quality.

I do some video editing, and I would like to be able to use After Effects, Premier Pro, Sony Vegas, etc. At the moment, I use a combo of Flash, Photoshop, and an older version of program called Magix Video Edit Pro (the version I have is about 6 years old, and works much better than the current version).

I do love to play games on my PC, but I'm not a hard core gamer. The games I play are free to play MMORPGS that have been around for years, and are more forgiving of older PCs, as well as the Sims 2 and the Sims 3 (although the Sims 3 does give me grief and I have to set everything to the lowest setting so it looks fugly. But for the new traits, including being 'evil' and being a kleptomaniac, I can ignore the poor graphics).

I watch a lot of videos on my PC, and sometimes it can handle 720p, and sometimes it can't. It's kind of odd.

For the system I would like:

I want a computer that is able to handle having six or more programs open simultaneously that each eat huge amounts of RAM and CPU power. (Adobe programs are notorious for this, at least on my system). With Adobe programs, it's often much more useful to have a lot of them open so that you can switch back and forth, and end up with a hybrid outcome for your work (for me at least).

I'd want the system to be able to handle high quality 3d rendering, both of stills and of video frames that would form a clip.

I'd want the system to be very future proof, meaning it will last me a long long time. I like to keep my current systems for as long as possible (heh, look at the example I posted of the 11 year old one for evidence of this.).

I guess I'm the kind that likes to get a high end system at the current time, use it for as long as possible, and then get another high end system 8 or so years later. I know this is not the norm, and most people seem to buy a new computer very 3 to 5 years.. but I personally dislike this model of purchase. It would be different if they were buying components to update their system, but buying a completely new system every 3 years doesn't agree with me.

Do you think this opinion I have on buying systems is a good one? Or, am I screwing myself over? Is it better to buy a midrange system every 3 years or so? It just seems to make more sense to buy a high end system, and have it last quite a bit longer if you take good care of it.

The reason I keep eyeing the GTX 780 is because it seems more future proof than the 770 or lower.. which is something I'm all for.

Thanks so much for all of your help. Everyone here has given me the confidence to (consider) building my own system. I have basically gone from the point where I was terrified of opening my Dell's Chassis to change the cmos battery, to considering building a computer from scratch.
-Michelle

Heh, you replied while I was still editing my post again. (Yes I tend to be OCD with... everything.)

And I'm ashamed to say I didn't know what CUDA was until I googled it a moment ago. It's probably because I was out of the technology loop for some years, back when my computer was handling my programs better (I had to stop at Adobe CS4, I think the current CS6 would make my computer cry out in pain.)

Thanks so much for the advice on the video card, the RAM, and the bit about which WIn7 version.

And yay, someone agrees with my theory on purchasing/upgrading!

Thanks for the help!