New PC for Mom

[Rollo]

Planning a new build for my mom.  She's been using a 6 year old laptop since my dad apparently monopolizes their desktop.  Budget isn't really much of a concern since this won't be a gaming PC by any stretch.  Although I am leaning putting an i7-6700 in since she does photography as a hobby and has used Photoshop quite a bit in the past.  I'm shooting for small size and quiet operation for the most part.  However, I've read some horror stories about mini-ITX builds.  Micro ATX might be a better way to go, but I don't know.  Not even sure what size of aftermarket CPU coolers will fit in smaller cases.  I've never built anything smaller than ATX before.  This will actually be the first non-gaming PC I've ever built even though I've been building PCs for over ten years.  Craziness.

 

Won't need a keyboard, mouse or a copy of Windows.  Suggestions on a quality case (either mini-ITX if they aren't too much of a hassle or Micro-ATX), aftermarket CPU cooler and a  24"-ish monitor would be very helpful though. 

[Stardar1]

2 minutes ago, i7-3770k said:

Put in a @i7-6700K!

 

1 minute ago, i7-6700K said:

Would ya quit tagging me in posts!

 

Just now, i7-3770k said:

No!

1. This is hilarious

2. I initially though you two were the same based on the pictures

3. just start tagging him in posts too! deliberately put 3770ks in builds!

8 minutes ago, Rollo said:

Planning a new build for my mom.  She's been using a 6 year old laptop since my dad apparently monopolizes their desktop.  Budget isn't really much of a concern since this won't be a gaming PC by any stretch.  Although I am leaning putting an i7-6700 in since she does photography as a hobby and has used Photoshop quite a bit in the past.  I'm shooting for small size and quiet operation for the most part.  However, I've read some horror stories about mini-ITX builds.  Micro ATX might be a better way to go, but I don't know.  Not even sure what size of aftermarket CPU coolers will fit in smaller cases.  I've never built anything smaller than ATX before.  This will actually be the first non-gaming PC I've ever built even though I've been building PCs for over ten years.  Craziness.

 

Won't need a keyboard, mouse or a copy of Windows.  Suggestions on a quality case (either mini-ITX if they aren't too much of a hassle or Micro-ATX), aftermarket CPU cooler and a  24"-ish monitor would be very helpful though. 

 

anyways, you may find this to be nice:

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Nv39hM
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Nv39hM/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($239.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($111.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($62.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($87.89 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.48 @ Directron) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 4GB Superclocked Video Card  ($194.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Corsair 380T Mini ITX Tower Case  ($119.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($55.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $923.30
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-21 22:08 EDT-0400

[Rollo]

1 minute ago, Stardar1 said:

anyways, you may find this to be nice:

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Nv39hM
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Nv39hM/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($239.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($111.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($62.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($87.89 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.48 @ Directron) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 4GB Superclocked Video Card  ($194.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Corsair 380T Mini ITX Tower Case  ($119.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($55.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $923.30
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-21 22:08 EDT-0400

 

That's a pretty good looking build.  Appreciated

[Stardar1]

Just now, Rollo said:

 

That's a pretty good looking build.  Appreciated

A bit pricey, but I figured that there would be no OCing, and the small size would be appreciated. 

 

You can go down to a GTX 950 and a I5 4460 if budget is an issue, but for photo/video editing the extra threads in the xeon will help. 

[Rollo]

Eh I'm not too concerned about price.  She gave birth to me, the least I can do is build her a quality PC of her own.  And I want to make sure she can mess around with Photoshop when she has the time.  That build looks very solid.  Case seems like it wouldn't be too difficult to build in with proper planning too.  Just need to settle on a good monitor.

[NumLock21]

4 minutes ago, Rollo said:

Eh I'm not too concerned about price.  She gave birth to me, the least I can do is build her a quality PC of her own.  And I want to make sure she can mess around with Photoshop when she has the time.  That build looks very solid.  Case seems like it wouldn't be too difficult to build in with proper planning too.  Just need to settle on a good monitor.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2699 V3 2.3GHz 18-Core OEM/Tray Processor  ($3889.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2699 V3 2.3GHz 18-Core OEM/Tray Processor  ($3889.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.49 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.49 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z10PE-D16 WS SSI EEB Dual-CPU LGA2011-3 Motherboard  ($495.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial 128GB (4 x 32GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($1169.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial 128GB (4 x 32GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($1169.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel 750 Series 400GB PCI-E Solid State Drive  ($349.95 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 PRO 2TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($851.48 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 PRO 2TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($851.48 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB VR EDITION ACX 2.0+ Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($699.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB VR EDITION ACX 2.0+ Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($699.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Luxe ATX Full Tower Case  ($159.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA T2 1600W 80+ Titanium Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($392.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer  ($56.79 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM (64-bit)  ($124.86 @ B&H)
Total: $14852.45
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-21 22:26 EDT-0400

[Rollo]

When did these forums get so freaking trolly? 

[NumLock21]

16 minutes ago, Rollo said:

When did these forums get so freaking trolly? 

Since the beginning of time.

 

What is your budget?

[Rollo]

Let's put it at an even $1000 budget.

[NumLock21]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($327.99 @ B&H)
Motherboard: Asus B150M-C/CSM Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($81.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($64.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Crucial BX200 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($63.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate  1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive  ($69.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 950 2GB Video Card  ($129.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: Aerocool DS-Cube Red MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($92.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Rosewill 500W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  ($58.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer  ($15.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($86.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $993.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-21 23:15 EDT-0400

That case come in many colors, can pick one based on the color that your mom likes. The alternative to this would be the BitFenix Prodigy M, but the psu is mounted on the front. Core i7 with HT, 16GB of ram, expandable up to 64GB max.  A SSD with hybrid HDD so she still get's that SSD like performance when she is doing her work. DVD writer and Windows 10 Home 64bit.

 

Spoiler

 

Spoiler

 

[Rollo]

I like the fact that that case supports an optical drive.  Plus it has removable dust filters.  I haven't seen that on many smaller form factor cases.  Very much appreciated.