Finalizing Plans for First Build - Gaming + Video Editing - Windows + Linux

[Trainguyrom]

Greetings! I'm preparing my first PC build, and I would like some input on my current plans. This PC will be my main computer, used for gaming, video editing and digital design. My current computer is a rather powerful laptop, but I do need a desktop with all of the standard benefits (upgradability, stability, cooling, storage, power, etc.) along with being a backup for when my laptop bites the dust (which is inevitable, since I take the laptop to school 3+ days per week and run it for about 60-120 hours per week, plus I cannot go without a decent computer for editing, thanks to my selected major and profession, even if it is only for a period of a couple weeks)

Specific software:

Design: Adobe Premier Pro, Audition, Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator, InDesign, and Dreamweaver, plus Blender, Audacity, LMMS, GIMP, Inkscape and Code::Blocks IDE
Games: The Sims (2-4)¹ Burnout Paradise, Civ 4-5, Beyond Earth, Cities: Skylines, GTA 3-5¹, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Euro Truck Simulator 1-2, OpenTTD, OpenRCT2, Half-life (all), BeamNG.drive, Besiege, Skyrim, Anno 2070, Trainz Simulator, Tropic (1-5)¹MineTest, Simutrans and Minecraft, plus a large veriety of other games.
OSes: Windows 7 (and 10 upon release) Linux Mint (17.2 with the Cinnamon DE), and Arch Linux (assuming I can get over my intimidation...)

Planned Tower:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/vCDhwP
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/vCDhwP/by_merchant/

• CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($279.99 @ Micro Center)

• CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($26.98 @ OutletPC)

• Motherboard: Asus Z87-Pro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($104.99 @ SuperBiiz)

• Memory: Team Elite Plus 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($98.99 @ Newegg)

• Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($99.99 @ Amazon)

• Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($69.89 @ OutletPC)

• Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB FTW ACX 2.0 Video Card  ($343.98 @ Newegg)

• Case: NZXT Source 530 ATX Full Tower Case  ($89.99 @ Amazon)

• Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($64.99 @ NCIX US)

• Total: $1179.79

• Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

• Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-07 02:32 EDT-0400

I have an older DVD drive which I plan on salvaging from an old computer, although later on I would like to upgrade that...

Peripherals:

• 2 ViewSonic VX2252MH 22" 1920x1080 monitors²

• TBD Mechanical Keyboard

• Anker 8200 DPI High Precision Laser Gaming Mouse²

• MIDI Keyboard (I'm using a 15+ year old music keyboard with a MIDI to USB adapter.)²

• 3 1TB USB 3.0 External HDDs (not always connected, but I do use up to 2 at a time)

I also intend to add additional IO to the front pane, likely in a format like this (please feel free to recommend an alternative)

Preferences:

General:

• Since this is likely the last chance I'll have for a large system build like this for quite a while, I am trying to build something powerful and upgradable (good IO, CPU and mobo, space for more RAM and graphics cards (SLI or just upgrading existing cards) plus whatever other components I end up adding and the cooling necessary.)

• Linux compatibility is important, but I don't mind some configuration to get it working.

• I'm trying to keep the pricepoint close to $1,000, but a bit over for better performance doesn't bother me too much (I'm currently at ~$700, and each paycheck adds ~$250 to this build, so ~$500 per month. One I start up classes again, my work hours will decrease noticeably, though...)

• Right now I've managed a nice blue and black theme, and maintaining that would be nice, but not required.

• I absolutely cannot go under 16GB of RAM. End of story.

• Watercooling is too intimidating for me, and the risks involved do not thrill me

• I'm not quite comfortable overclocking, so I don't want to count on it for good performance

• Hopefully not too loud, but silent running isn't necessary

• Overkill on storage is preferable

Case:

• IO is important, and overkill would be preferred. disk drive, USB3.0, SD and CF card readers, along with USB2.0 and possibly even audio is preferable, and occupying an external 5.25" bay for IO is not a problem.

• Case should be large. I want plenty of space to work with, and I want something with plenty of extra bays for later additions/changes to the system.

• I would prefer a somewhat formal style to the case, but still something fairly good-looking, preferably black.

• A side window would be nice, but is not a necessity

• Good airflow is a must

 

Notes:

1. Particularly-old games will be played on another old box of mine running XP or earlier. Don't worry, that machine will be air-gapped and the hardware is perfect for the job of retro gaming. I'm mentioning these older games because some of them still work on modern hardware

2. This is hardware I am currently using and know will work with Linux

3. I have hyperlinked all mentioned products that I believe to be fairly obscure, including a number of games and software. The listed software is  software I actively use, so please don't rant about how much better some other, similar software is, or how terrible any of the listed software is.

[aircrafttech]

Great for the price and what you will be doing with it. Make sure you know how to flash the BIOS on the z87 board, but other than that seems great. Enjoy your new PC! @Trainguyrom

 

Edit: For the I/O, that is a good idea. Cannot think of any better idea. Also look at the 750D airflow edition if you don't like that case choice.