Mechanic building a computer :/

[marshall9901]

Hello,

My name is shane and i am a mechanic by trade but i thought i would give 'building my own computer' a try. After extensive research on the 'all knowing' google; i seem to have grasped the actual building of a computer BUT the one thing i cant seem to get my head round is whitch parts fit with which.

I was recently browsing ebay and found a 'ZALMAN Z11 PLUS' TOWER and then i am stuck about which parts to place inside. and i was wondering if anyone could reccomend some parts. bearing in mind these points:

My computer must:
1) Be exstremly fast and stay fast for the rest of its life
2) Have a great deal of memory for storage of music/ films/ videos/ photos ect.
3) Be able to store and play the entire 'The sims' collection and the entire 'Command and conquer' collection along with various other games (sim city ect.)
4) must have the ability to read and write cds/ dvd/ blue ray/ and floppy disk (preferably 1x floppy drive and 2x dvd ect)
5) must support windows 7 as this is waht i plan to use
6) must support windows office
7) must support usb 2.0 and 3.0 and have the ability for two of each on the front
8) must support 7.1 surround sound
9) preferably be able to connect to a moniter and my 42inch tv
10) must support video and picture edditing software (for the mrs)
11) must have the ability to overclock (but i need to read into this more)
12) preferably a watercooled system aswell
13) must have wirless internet

Computer uses:
1) internet surfing
2) serious gaming
3) storage of films ect
4) editing photo / video
5) open univecity assignments
6) playing a film on my television which is stored on the computer while writing an assiment on my moniter.

my budget is fairly flexible as i will be buying the parts over the next six months or so.
So surprise me

Any help would be much appreciated.
thanks
shane

 

[g-unit1111]

I wouldn't purchase a Zalman Z11 and I especially wouldn't buy it from eBay unless it were brand new in box.

Here's what I would suggest:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2 37.9 CFM CPU Cooler ($60.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($132.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($88.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($247.86 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus ML239H 23.0" Monitor
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1083.74
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-20 14:29 EST-0500)

Then add whatever keyboard and mouse you want and you're good to go.

 

[jmsellars1]

I would do whatever you can to stay away from water cooling and wireless networking. If it is any way possible to run a wire, I would do it. Wireless networks can be temperamental, especially in desktops.

Water cooling isn't going to offer any significant advantage until you start spending hundreds on a 'real' water cooling setup. The Corsair H100 for example would probably be only a couple of degrees cooler than that Noctua that was suggested for a lot more cash. A Noctua NH-D14 would be about the same (as the H100) and still slightly cheaper.

Another thing, to have a PC that 'feels' quick, I'd definitely use a SSD as well as a big storage drive.

For a PC to do what you want it to do well, I would look at the $1000-1200 range like g-unit1111 suggested.

 

[DarkSable]

Yep. Stay away from kindergarten watercooling sets - you get better performance for quieter and a lower price with a good air cooler.

Also, throwing out there for builders after me - he doesn't want gaming other than the Sims and other light games like that. A 7750 is more than enough GPU.