4K Editing/Gaming for $2,000-2,500?

Funny, I gave the same recommendations earlier today

If you're wanting to do 3D rendering, photo and video editing this is the kind of machine you should be looking at. Forget the gaming side of configuring because what you will be doing is much more demanding. You'll need a PC with as many cores and threading as you can get (because CPU is king with video/photo editing), so I picked a 6-core Intel--with hyperthreading that's 12 threads you'll be able to run simultaneously. It doesn't come with any cpu cooling so I got a very affordable one, and a mobo to match---with dual BIOS (if you're interested in overclocking let me know). This is a circumstance where the quantity and speed of ram matters very much, so I picked 32 gigs at a high clock speed, which is what you'll need at minimum. I stuck with the size of SSD you chose, but it won't be much more to step up to 250gb if you're interested, and I saved you some money on your HDD. The video card needs to be Nvidia for the CUDA cores, and the 980 is much better quality than the 970. The only exception is if your software is using OpenCL, then go for an AMD card as they have better optimizations than Nvidia.

I chose a terrific (and inexpensive) full-tower which should be great for you, and threw in a third case fan which should help with exhaust and airflow. The power supply is great and enough for your needs but if you'd feel comfortable with 600W or above just let us know and we'll pick you out a good one. And optical drive rounds out your system for just over $2000, which is a good build for someone who will be doing the kind of demanding tasks you'll be asking of your system. As far as sound cards, a good card for <$100 is the Sound Blaster Z or the Xonar DX. If you can spend more than that, get the Xonar Essence STX.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4930K 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor ($563.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.66 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI X79A-GD45 Plus ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Trident X Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($350.98 @ Newegg)
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 ($56.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Video Card ($555.91 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($71.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Phanteks PH-F140SP_BK 82.1 CFM 140mm Fan ($9.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2085.45
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-20 17:37 EDT-0400