Help non-techie build a PC for video and photo editing and general purpose

I've made a build that shouldn't dissapoint you at all in productivity.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4930K 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor ($576.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($61.04 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus P9X79 LE ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($219.79 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($144.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($55.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 750 1GB Video Card ($109.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($68.99 @ Mwave)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1547.72
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-16 05:06 EDT-0400



CPU: This cpu is faster than what you'll find in most $2000 pc's. Though that's because you have a really low need for GPU power so all that money could go in a better CPU.
COOLER: I choose a Noctua cooler because they can run extremely quietly, it also lowers the temperature of the CPU compared to a intel stock one.
MOBO: ASUS uses quality components, I'm sure this will last.
MEMORY: 16GB is enough to do video rendering which is the most RAM demanding thing you're doing.
STORAGE: The SSD will be lightning fast and Samsung also makes some good SSDs, put the OS and the Programs on this drive. The HDD is a Filler for files, though i expect that you can use your external drives for that too.
VIDEO CARD: The GT750 is very power-efficient and will run quietly, it's a little over the top for flight simulators but going for a lower end card at ~$20 less and you'll get much less performance from it. You can run all the simulators on this video card and it supports multiple monitors.
CASE: i just choose a case that didn't stand out too much, Corsair cases is also pretty decent quality.
POWER SUPPLY: this is a high quality unit, 550w is more than enough for your pc and having a high quality unit will mean your pc will last longer.
OPTICAL DRIVE: a DVD-RW drive just as you wanted.
OS: Windows 8.1, will be quite the leap from XP to 8.1, if you want a new but still like XP experience, go for Windows 7 instead which is a bit older than 8.1 (they cost the same)

This CPU is way powerful and the GT750 should last a fair time if you only play simulators. You can easily add a extra kit of 2x8GB RAM to have 32GB, a new storage drive or a 2nd dvd drive. The PSU will also be powerful enough to support a bigger and better video card if ever needed.

Overall this build is very quick at almost anything exept 3D rendering and more demanding games. It will stay quiet and not annoy you when you're working, and it shouldn't draw much power because of the efficient GT750 and quality power supply. And at last, it's just in budget range.

(English isn't my native languange)

Hope this helped you!

Yeah, please feel free to ask, if you want a budget change then i would replace the CPU with i7 4790K and the motherboard for the ASUS Z97-A, would make it a ~$1250 build instead, and the 4790K is still a very fast CPU.

Would recommend my current shown setup if you want to spend $1600, but probably recommend making this change if you want something that would work and work pretty nicely too.