First build: Family desktop

[Familypc]

Part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/y2xjYJ

I've been researching this topic for about two weeks now and have been slowly improving my build. I feel I am now at the point where this is something I'd like to order. I've always wanted to build a computer and taking apart my old desktop was awesome! I'm not confident I can build one yet, although this case is apparently tool free (?). So I have some time to keep improving the build if that is possible.

My mother and sister would like to get back into taking pictures and editing them, so the rig will be running Photoshop fairly often while multi-tasking. I want to stream high quality videos with a (2k) 2560 x 1440 @ 1440p with no buffering and amazing picture. I also will be gaming at some point during this computer's life, so I want to be able to game on High settings @ 60 FPS for some games. I'm not too crazy about spending a ton of money to play ridiculously GPU intensive titles @ 60fps.

What do you guys think? I even went for a nice black/red color scheme. I think it'll look badass, but will it perform well too?

And please do not comment on the optical drive. I am buying one, and that is all there is to discuss about that.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

Hey man, I love my optical drives also That is a quality build there. Enjoy it!

 

[Familypc]

Hey man, I love my optical drives also That is a quality build there. Enjoy it!

Thank you!! Do you know anything about the tool-less cases?

 

[turkey3_scratch]

The only tool-less things I can think of are hard drive cages. You'll still need to screw in the motherboard and power supply.

You don't have a Philips head at all?

 

[Familypc]

I do have a Philips head but in my old desktop it seemed like I needed some type of different tool to remove the hard drive. What tools do I need to build this computer? I don't want to buy some kit with 30 tools I will never use. My last desktop lasted 8 years, I don't want extra tools lol.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

No you only need a Philips to build a computer. Hard drives use normal screws that a Philips works with (unless you get a tool-less hard drive case like yours).

 

[azaran]

Looks like a good build. The only thing that looks to be missing is a mouse. If you're going to be running Photoshop very heavily, an i7 wouldn't be a bad idea if budget allows for it. The 16GB if RAM will be well loved by anything with Adobe in front of its name and you 'll have room to max out the RAM if you want to later on.

As for the tooless case, its only kind of tooless. You'll still need to screw down the motherboard to the case and the powersupply in to its placement. But the drives use rails. They snap on to the side of the drives and you slide them in to place in the case. I would recommend screwing in the optical drive however as I've found tooless options for optical drives just creates a lot of vibrations. Don't sweat toolless vs tooled (is that even a word?) case options. All it really is, is a convenience factor for putting things in or taking them out of the case. The most complicated tool you'll need on building a computer is a phillips head screw driver. If you're concerned about how to put it together, there are tons of building videos you can watch on youtube, and the forums here I'm sure will be filled with people to help with any questions you might have.

 

[Familypc]

Looks like a good build. The only thing that looks to be missing is a mouse. If you're going to be running Photoshop very heavily, an i7 wouldn't be a bad idea if budget allows for it. The 16GB if RAM will be well loved by anything with Adobe in front of its name and you 'll have room to max out the RAM if you want to later on.

As for the tooless case, its only kind of tooless. You'll still need to screw down the motherboard to the case and the powersupply in to its placement. But the drives use rails. They snap on to the side of the drives and you slide them in to place in the case. I would recommend screwing in the optical drive however as I've found tooless options for optical drives just creates a lot of vibrations. Don't sweat toolless vs tooled (is that even a word?) case options. All it really is, is a convenience factor for putting things in or taking them out of the case. The most complicated tool you'll need on building a computer is a phillips head screw driver. If you're concerned about how to put it together, there are tons of building videos you can watch on youtube, and the forums here I'm sure will be filled with people to help with any questions you might have.

What is your standard for 'heavily'? I know I'm missing a mouse I've never even experienced using a 'good' mouse, just generic <$20 ones. I see these fancy mice and they are in weird shapes with buttons on the side. I couldn't deal with that. How good can a mouse really get? I'll buy one if its worth it.

I'm not hung up on it. The case I chose just happened to be tooless. I'll be binging on build videos and tutorials, don't worry! Hah.

 

[azaran]

My standard... well is $100 worth better performance? Thats the easiest way to decide. For me, when I built my computer I built it with Photoshop and VM's as its primary usage, so the $100 made sense. If they're just doing small easy edits, an i7 is likely not worth the upgrade cost. If your sister was a graphics student or your mom was doing it as a job, then the cost would likely be worth it for the increase in productivity when you start going heavy in to the functions of the program.

As for the mouse, if you have a computer story nearby go to it, bring some hand sanitizer and then fondle as many mice as you can. The best mouse is the mouse that fits in your hand and works in the way you want it to. If that happens to be a weird shaped mouse, then go for it, if a $20 mouse is everything you need then why spend $100 on one? I have a Razer Mamba, not because of the software where I get pretty lights, not because I can fine tune crap, and certainly not because I love being overcharged for a mouse, but because it fit better in my hand than any other mouse on the market at the time.

 

[Familypc]

My standard... well is $100 worth better performance? Thats the easiest way to decide. For me, when I built my computer I built it with Photoshop and VM's as its primary usage, so the $100 made sense. If they're just doing small easy edits, an i7 is likely not worth the upgrade cost. If your sister was a graphics student or your mom was doing it as a job, then the cost would likely be worth it for the increase in productivity when you start going heavy in to the functions of the program.

As for the mouse, if you have a computer story nearby go to it, bring some hand sanitizer and then fondle as many mice as you can. The best mouse is the mouse that fits in your hand and works in the way you want it to. If that happens to be a weird shaped mouse, then go for it, if a $20 mouse is everything you need then why spend $100 on one? I have a Razer Mamba, not because of the software where I get pretty lights, not because I can fine tune crap, and certainly not because I love being overcharged for a mouse, but because it fit better in my hand than any other mouse on the market at the time.

Yeah they aren't going to go crazy with it, so I'll stick with the i5. I'll see if I've got any computer stores nearby. There is a Best Buy, but I refuse to purchase anything from them.

 

[azaran]

My standard... well is $100 worth better performance? Thats the easiest way to decide. For me, when I built my computer I built it with Photoshop and VM's as its primary usage, so the $100 made sense. If they're just doing small easy edits, an i7 is likely not worth the upgrade cost. If your sister was a graphics student or your mom was doing it as a job, then the cost would likely be worth it for the increase in productivity when you start going heavy in to the functions of the program.

As for the mouse, if you have a computer story nearby go to it, bring some hand sanitizer and then fondle as many mice as you can. The best mouse is the mouse that fits in your hand and works in the way you want it to. If that happens to be a weird shaped mouse, then go for it, if a $20 mouse is everything you need then why spend $100 on one? I have a Razer Mamba, not because of the software where I get pretty lights, not because I can fine tune crap, and certainly not because I love being overcharged for a mouse, but because it fit better in my hand than any other mouse on the market at the time.

Yeah they aren't going to go crazy with it, so I'll stick with the i5. I'll see if I've got any computer stores nearby. There is a Best Buy, but I refuse to purchase anything from them.

Well you can likely find a better price than Best Buy, but they might price match it depending on the source so it may be worth it. I know the one near me has started upping their selection of gaming products, so even if you don't buy from them, they may have some stuff you can try on and see if you like it.

 

[Familypc]

My standard... well is $100 worth better performance? Thats the easiest way to decide. For me, when I built my computer I built it with Photoshop and VM's as its primary usage, so the $100 made sense. If they're just doing small easy edits, an i7 is likely not worth the upgrade cost. If your sister was a graphics student or your mom was doing it as a job, then the cost would likely be worth it for the increase in productivity when you start going heavy in to the functions of the program.

As for the mouse, if you have a computer story nearby go to it, bring some hand sanitizer and then fondle as many mice as you can. The best mouse is the mouse that fits in your hand and works in the way you want it to. If that happens to be a weird shaped mouse, then go for it, if a $20 mouse is everything you need then why spend $100 on one? I have a Razer Mamba, not because of the software where I get pretty lights, not because I can fine tune crap, and certainly not because I love being overcharged for a mouse, but because it fit better in my hand than any other mouse on the market at the time.

Yeah they aren't going to go crazy with it, so I'll stick with the i5. I'll see if I've got any computer stores nearby. There is a Best Buy, but I refuse to purchase anything from them.

Well you can likely find a better price than Best Buy, but they might price match it depending on the source so it may be worth it. I know the one near me has started upping their selection of gaming products, so even if you don't buy from them, they may have some stuff you can try on and see if you like it.

I think I'm going to go with this one: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/redragon-mouse-m601

 

[azaran]

Yeah that should be as good as any other $15 mouse. Use that while you figure out if you want a better mouse and what kind you'd want.

 

[Familypc]

Parts have been ordered: $1597.79

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/w7TxLk
http://www.amazon.com/WIN-PRO-SP1-Bit-OEM/dp/B00OJ7Y0R4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00&tag=pc088d-20
http://www.amazon.com/Redragon-P001-ARCHELON-Gaming-Mouse/dp/B00NV4XL62?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00&tag=pc088d-20

 

[azaran]

Killer deal on the OS. I think you'll like the keyboard, just remember there will be an adjustment period, but once you're used to it you'll never want to go back.

Happy Building!

 

[Familypc]

Killer deal on the OS. I think you'll like the keyboard, just remember there will be an adjustment period, but once you're used to it you'll never want to go back.

Happy Building!

Yeah, I was really skeptical about the price with the whole OEM thing. After some research I realized its a fantastic deal and the same thing you'd get if you were to purchase the official transferable OS.

Thank you! I'm excited for my first build.

 

[justinf10000]

I use that keyboard and love it so much!!

The first day I was using it, i really didn't like it and thought about switching back to a non-mechanical one, but now I can't even imagine typing without it.

After you adjust to it, you will love this keyboard so much!

 

[Familypc]

I use that keyboard and love it so much!!

The first day I was using it, i really didn't like it and thought about switching back to a non-mechanical one, but now I can't even imagine typing without it.

After you adjust to it, you will love this keyboard so much!

Hell yeah!!! I know I may have to adjust to it, but I am extremely excited to type with a mechanical keyboard with blue switches. I just got a job as a contract typist, and I'm hoping this keyboard will enable me to reach new heights in typing speed and accuracy. I wish my keyboard was coming today instead of the processor and motherboard lol.