First Time Build and Need Some Guidance!

[colbya]

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=14539629

This is my current wish list. I have been a Mac user most of my life, but I am interested in getting into the PC market with Windows 7 or 8. I am not a gamer and don't intend on venturing into computer gaming. I will be using the computer for photo and video editing, autocad, matlab, media management, listening to music via headphones, and basic everyday web surfing and downloads. I have a $1500-2000 budget and have been doing some basic research online. This will be my first computer build. I would normally buy a computer from a company, but I am intrigued by the concept of building my own plus it seems that I will be getting a better value by building my own.

I only have one monitor in the wish list, but I do intend on adding a second monitor.

Please offer some advice based on my wish list and usage descriptions. Am I going overkill or am I undershooting?

I have never over clocked a computer before and don't particularly have an interest in doing so.

 

[Ubrales]

Welcome to Tom's Hardware Forums!

Nice wish list, but I have some comments along with suggestions.

1. I know you are not interested in overclocking now, but what about tomorrow? Consider the 'K' CPUs.

2. The Rosewill wireless card is crap. Consider Linksys WMP600N instead.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124342

3) The EVGA GTX 560 Ti may be a much better choice. http://www.evga.com/products/moreinfo.asp?pn=01G-P3-1563-AR

(The Corsair HX-750 is a great PSU!)

 

[C12Friedman]

Nice wish list, but I have some comments along with suggestions.


2. The Rosewill wireless card is crap. Consider Linksys WMP600N instead.

Please refer an objective review which supports that.
I've been using a Rosewill wireless card for 3 months no problems (haven't found it to be crappy at all). In fact I have had enough problems with Linksys over the years, I will not buy their products anymore.


I will suggest you drop the Arctic Silver compound, it is only needed if you have an aftermarket HSF or intend to put one on - the HSF that comes with the CPU has thermal compound pre-applied which will work adequately.

 

[Cyrak07]

Ok so for video editing you want lots of RAM, im no expert in this particular subject, but i think 16gb is enough. For the PSU well its a bit overkill but a very good one if planning for future upgrades. I would consider an aftermarket CPU cooler like the Cooler Master 212 hyper (or even liquid cooling like h100 if you have the spare money) This will keep your build much cooler and more importantly, quieter.

As the guy above me said, consider a k CPU since it would easily overclock and they are awesome

The video card is ok for video editing that does not include 3D rendering or CGI.

Beast motherboard, my personal 1155 favorite

You can drop the thermal compound since the stock cooler comes with it already applied, and the aftermarket ones normally include a tube.

Hope I was of help

 

[colbya]

Ok so for video editing you want lots of RAM, im no expert in this particular subject, but i think 16gb is enough. For the PSU well its a bit overkill but a very good one if planning for future upgrades. I would consider an aftermarket CPU cooler like the Cooler Master 212 hyper (or even liquid cooling like h100 if you have the spare money) This will keep your build much cooler and more importantly, quieter.

As the guy above me said, consider a k CPU since it would easily overclock and they are awesome

The video card is ok for video editing that does not include 3D rendering or CGI.

Beast motherboard, my personal 1155 favorite

You can drop the thermal compound since the stock cooler comes with it already applied, and the aftermarket ones normally include a tube.

Hope I was of help

Thanks for the awesome response. I will probably go with the K processor and the cooler master 212 hyper. Regarding the video card though, what should I go with if I want to do 3D rendering?
In terms of the PSU, do you have a suggestion I should look into?

 

[Ubrales]

Please refer an objective review which supports that.
I've been using a Rosewill wireless card for 3 months no problems (haven't found it to be crappy at all). In fact I have had enough problems with Linksys over the years, I will not buy their products anymore.


I will suggest you drop the Arctic Silver compound, it is only needed if you have an aftermarket HSF or intend to put one on - the HSF that comes with the CPU has thermal compound pre-applied which will work adequately.

My comments are based on my personal experience with Rosewill as well as Linksys and limited to wireless cards. No more Rosewill for me; poor product, very poor tech support. On the other hand, the three Linksys wireless cards (WMP600N) and five Linksys USB wireless adapters (WUSB-100, AE-1000) are all working well. Other Linksys items are wireless routers (2) and one PCMCIA card. All working well.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been moved from the section CPU & Components to section Systems by Mousemonkey