Computer build help

Hello everyone,

I’m very interested in building my own gaming computer, but I really don’t want to screw it up by purchasing incompatible parts seeing as I’ve never done this before. I’m on a very tight budget of $3,000 total, and I really need to get the absolute max. for my money.

I think it’s important to point out that I will not be playing any video games on it. I will mostly be doing HD video editing along with a great deal of multi-tasking (photo editing, listening to music, MS Office programs, etc.). I know the following is over-kill, but I want to stay a little ahead so I don’t have upgrade anytime soon, especially with the Triple-Channel DDR3/1600 on the motherboard w/USB3.0, and the 9-12GB DDR3/1600MHz Triple Channel Memory.

If at all possible, I’m looking to build a computer with the following or similar, and most importantly, I want to minimize the noise output (e.g. fans, hd, etc.):

• Any full size tower fully compatible with max ventilation.
• Windows7 64-bit
• CPU: Intel CoreT i7-930 2.80 GHz(or higher) 8M L3 Cache
• MEMORY: 9-12GB DDR3/1600MHz Triple Channel Memory Module
• MOTHERBOARD: (3-Way SLI Support) GigaByte GA-X58A-UD7 Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Ultra DurableT3 Triple-Channel DDR3/1600 24 Phase Power ATX Mainboard w/ 7.1 HD Dobly Audio, Dual GbLAN, USB3.0, 2 x SATA-III RAID, 4 Gen2 PCIe, 2 PCIe X1 & 1 PCI. Anything similar would be fine.
• 12X Blu-Ray Writer Drive
• 20X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (doesn’t have to be double layer, but it would be nice).
• Neon Lights would be nice!
• Good Case Cooling Fans
• A decent Ultra Silent cpu fan/radiator type or whatever you would recommend. I would prefer to stay away from any kind of coolant though, I’m afraid of any kind of leakage.
• FLASHMEDIA: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer
• HDD: 300GB Gaming Western Digital VelociRaptor 10,000RPM SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache WD3000GLFS
• HDD2:Extreme Performance (RAID-0) with 2 Identical Hard Drives (2TB (1TBx2) SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM
• IEEE 1394 CARD
• MODEM: US Robotics PCI 56K v.92 FAX Modem (I occasionally fax things)
• NETWORK: Intel Pro Gigabite 10/100/1000 Network Card
• POWERSUPPLY: 850 Watts Power Supplies (In-Win Commander IRP-COM850 SLI/CrossFireX Ready)
• SOUND: Creative Labs X-FI XtremeGamer 24-BIT PCI Sound Card
• TVRC: Avermedia AVerTV Bravo Hybrid (ATSC/ClearQAM/NTSC) PCIE Media Center TV Tuner + Remote Control
• USB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
• VIDEO: ATI Radeon HD 5850 1GB DDR5 16X PCIe Video Card [DirectX 11 Support]

I was going to buy the one I customized through CyberPower, but I checked on the BBB and the reviews were consistently bad and downright painful! Other than buying through them, every place on the internet others had highly recommended building my own, so here I am.

If there is any chance you could give me a good idea on what compatible items I could buy using the above information as a guide, I would greatly appreciate it.

I almost forgot to ask, would you happen to know a good step-by-step resource that I could follow which shows me how to build my computer? Also, could you tell me if the drivers come with each piece of hardware that I buy?


Thank you,

~John~