Recommendations for a new pc

[NeoNite]

So I'll be compiling a new system, probably this month. Perhaps in January, but preferably this year.

Basically I'll be looking for a new mobo, processor, ram, gpu, psu, hdd (solid state drives f.e and backup.) and a case.
What I have in mind is a pretty powerfull machine. I want to try some of the recent games, but the main purpose will be graphics editing. I need lots and lots of memory. I've bought a graphics tablet (wacom bamboo) a while ago and want to enjoy it to the fullest extent.

I'm a bit out of the loop, so any tips/recommendations are welcome. Thank you in advance

 

[Hunter]

I think a few of us are as you don't really need to upgrade like the old days.

CPU wise probably an i7 6700 or i5 6600
Mobo wise I'm not sure I went for a ASrock with my build in Jan.
RAM HyperX maybe?
GPU probably a 1070 or 1080
HDD/SSD can't go wrong with a samsung drive for SSD and WD for the HDD

Case: Pizza box?

 

[NeoNite]

Thanks for the tips Hunter. I might consider that pizza case though.
Appreciate the input.

 

[[VaLkyR]Anubis]

If you want to play recent games at good visual quality and fps, you need a lot of computing power, that's why I recommend components such as these:

CPU: Intel Core i5 6600K or i7 6700K, both these CPUs are pure power monsters, but in games you don't really realize that significant performance difference. The only major difference is the price.

CPU Cooler: Do you want a liquid or normal (fan) solution?

RAM: This ain't that big deal these days, because RAM is pretty cheap! I would recommend 16 or 32GB of DDR4 RAM by G.Skill, Kingston HyperX or Corsair. Whether it is 2133, 2400, 2666, 2800, 3000 or even higher clocked RAM, you won't notice any difference in games, unless you do benchmark.

GPU: In this case, go for a GTX1070 or GTX1080, but it really depends on your resolution. If you want to play games at 1920x1080, a GTX1060 6GB would also be a good choice. However, a GTX1070 or GTX1080 would be much wiser, because many games these days lack of good optimization. At a resolution of 2560x1440 or 3840x2160, you are gonna have a lot of fun with both GTX1070 and GTX1080. If you ask me about brand, go for ASUS Strix or MSI Gaming, because both versions are highly reliable, efficient, cool and quiet and totally worth it.

Mainboard: ASUS MAXIMUS VIII Ranger or ASUS MAXIMUS VIII HERO, both mainboards are very reliable, support latest technologies and are good for OC.

Storage: SSDs are not that expensive anymore (fortunately), that's why go for a Samsung SSD (e.g. Samsung 850 Pro 2.5 256 GB) and 1TB or 2TB HDD by Western Digital.

PSU: Enermax, Thermaltake, Be Quiet, Cooler Master, Corsair, all brands are kind of good, but it is up to you. Whatever floats your boat. I would recommend a 650W PSU, but pay attention that it supports 80Plus Gold for a good and constant power delivery. Also, it should be full modular, because that allows you to do better cable management.

Case: I don't know your taste, that's why I can only recommand some brands such as, Cooler Master, Be Quiet, Thermaltake, Enermax and Corsair. However, don't pick the tiniest or the most massive one.

Hope this helps!

 

[NeoNite]

Thank you for that post, Anubis. I think it will help ;-) As for cooling I'll probably go for the fan option.
I'm on the lookout, there's so much to do though.

Thanks again to both of you for the info.

 

[Hunter]

no worries, I still avoid water cooling and stick to standard fans because I'll mess something up.

 

[JohnDoe641]

Neo, are you going to do just photo editing or are you going to eventually go into video and 3d work as well?

Programs like photoshop now use CUDA and other forms of video acceleration, so keep that in mind when you're deciding on going Nvidia or AMD.

I built my (now slightly aging) system for photo/video/graphics/3d work in mind:

Xeon E3-1246 V3
32GB DDR3
GTX 970
Samsung SSD's

I don't overclock and stability was my main goal, so I went with Xeon instead of i7 and it was cheaper at the time as well. I've put this cpu through hell, ran it for three weeks straight at 100% usage doing an annoyingly complicated animation render and it didn't break a sweat. I'm sure the i7's are super reliable too but I've never had one of these server grade cpu's fail me.

Definitely go for at least 16 if not 32 gb of ram. Programs like photoshop and NLE video editors like Vegas will eat up your ram in an instant if you let them. The more you have, the safer you'll be when doing work and multitasking.

Whatever you do though, your OS drive should always be an SSD. There is literally no reason to use a standard platter drive for an OS now that prices are much better and you'll thank yourself for getting one from the moment you start up your new computer.

 

[NeoNite]

Mainly image editing. I want to heavily modify my ballpoint pen drawings. And draw like mad in photoshop or any other similar program. Might as well go with the gimp. Perhaps video work, but probably no 3d work.
And gaming. But that's a smaller part.

As for OS I'll go with Ubuntu as well. Not sure if I'll install windows 10. I'm not really tempted to.