Finalizing plans for first build.

[PseudoSim]

1. Budget & Location
-1000$ for the initial build, however; I dont want to go overboard.

-I am living in the US (California)

 

2. Aim

-Photo Editing (photoshop)

-Casual Gaming (BF4, Far Cry 3/4, Fallout (Modded), Skyrim (Modded), Borderlands, World of Tanks, Bioshock, Etc)(really whatever I am feeling like, I dont play often)

-Massive amounts of tabs for Firefox and Chrome (IE: Tabfiend)

-Media (Movies, music)

-Sketchup (Project Modeling)

-Drawing.

 

3. Monitors

-I plan on having 3 max, 2 most likely. I dont need the highest pixel count.

--1 gaming

--1/2 workflow/utility

 

-I currently have an old 60htz monitor (VGA though) I intend to be using for the future until I start filling out the rest of the build.

-Not sure what I want to upgrade to. Maybe one 1440 for gaming and a 1080 to go with my current monitor for a triple setup.

-The idea would be to eventaully phase out my old monitor, though it is low priority

 

4. Peripherals

-I have a Keyboard and Mouse. 

--The Keyboard is just an old Dell keyboard Ill probobly be using for a while more.

--The mouse is a Logitech Trackman Marble that somehow works with most games I play (like a champ) so Ill be using that for a while until I find a better mouse.

 

-I have an OS (Windows 7) cloned from my laptop.

 

-I am thinking to get a better mouse to go along with my current one and a backlit keyboard.

 

5. Why are you upgrading?

I currently have a desktop replacement laptop [THIS ONE] that isnt fulfilling my needs and I dont want to waste any more money on it than I did in buying it. I can upgrade the Memory to 16gb and bought an SSD for it but installing the damn thing was next to impossible and I have gotten tired of simply dicking around with it (6 months and counting).

 

 

6. Others

-I plan on Overclocking

-I am thinking to get an AIO Liquid Cooler, however; my choice is also dependent on what graphics card I go with due to case constraints

-Yes, the PSU is overkill I know but its 40% off and I want one that is fully modular so I went with this one after looking a closer look at my first choice which was the EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold

 

 

_________________________

 

I plan on building the base of this thing in stages.(which is part of what I am looking for help in)

1. Core components (Mobo, CPU, RAM, PSU, Case)
2. Performance (CPU Cooler, Graphics Card)
3. Aesthetics (Led Strip, case fans, etc)
4. RAM Upgrade to 32 GB
5. HDD Upgrade to 6TB
6. Further Storage Upgrades
7. Graphics Card Upgrade to SLI/Crossfire (depending on what I get and the cooler)

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($224.29 @ Amazon)

Motherboard: Asus GRYPHON Z87 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($91.98 @ Newegg)

Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($109.99 @ Amazon)

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (Purchased For $0.00)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (Purchased For $0.00)

Case: Corsair Air 240 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($79.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: Corsair RM 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.99 @ Newegg)

Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($29.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Total: $616.23

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-27 22:20 EDT-0400

 

 

At the moment I am fairly certain in regards to my core components (listed above) however the Performance stage for the cooling solution and graphics card I am still having  a bit of trouble with due to case compatibility (300mm cards like the Gigabyte G1 cards are what I am looking at)

[TheDeadGhost]

EVGA G1

 

Do you mean Gigabyte G1?

[ESPclipse]

GTX 960 might be suitable for your needs

[TheDeadGhost]

With that much left in your budget I would go for a GTX 970 and an AIO liquid cooler like the NZXT Kraken X61 or the Swiftech H220X

[PseudoSim]

I

 

With that much left in your budget I would go for a GTX 970

Im hesitant to spend that much on a graphics card but aside from it and the cooler is there anything about the core build that stands out?

[Schlager]

I plan on building the base of this thing in stages.(which is part of what I am looking for help in)

1. Core components (Mobo, CPU, RAM, PSU, Case)
2. Performance (CPU Cooler, Graphics Card)
3. Aesthetics (Led Strip, case fans, etc)
4. RAM Upgrade to 32 GB
5. HDD Upgrade to 6TB
6. Further Storage Upgrades
7. Graphics Card Upgrade to SLI/Crossfire (depending on what I get and the cooler)

1. Can get Z97 board to fit with i5-4690K.

2. For a first build i recommend getting an ATX case, the micro ATX is not that much fun to build with.

3. get GTX 970