Hello all, my current PC is approaching 7 years of age for the core components (2009 era i7, motherboard, RAM) and I have put this together:

Edit: Final build!

I have some case fans on my old PC I decided to transfer over instead of replacing them, they were quiet and quite good fans so it seemed a waste to not transfer them. I'll also be re-using my Corsair VX550w because despite not being modular, it's a high quality PSU rated for 10 years of use by Corsair, so I'll probably replace it when I move to Asia again instead. My Xonar Essence STX, two SSDs and two hard drives will be moving over as well. So excited to build this suckah!!

The following will be transferred from my existing PC:

Xonar Essence STX (sound card)

1TB mechanical hard drive, 2x SSDs (120 & 240GB models)

I have chose the Acer Predator XB271HU 1440P monitor as it seems to be the best combination of gaming monitor (144hz) + photo editing, good SRGB calibration and IPS.

I was going to get the 5k Dell, but I read that 1080P and 1440P don't look so good on it and neither do many Windows applications, since a 1080 won't run 5K on everything, perhaps it's not worth it even if it would look spectacular at showcasing my photos. On top of that, 27" seems too small to use 5k without a lot of scaling up which kind of defeats the point of high resolution a little no?

I need to pick a case next, I haven't looked into those at all.

Do you have any recommendations? I read that the motherboard is good, but I think choosing a motherboard is the hardest part. How about RAM, should I go to 32? Are hybrid hard drives actually feasible? I was thinking of having a hybrid 2TB drive to store my photography work, with the idea that being hybrid will speed up Adobe Lightroom when accessing the photos.

Use of this PC will be a split between gaming (including VR at some point), Adobe Lightroom/Photoshop work (my camera is 36 megapixels so the files are quite demanding to process) and of course the usual web browsing/general use type of things (I don't mean porn, but...). Adobe Lightroom is a rather sluggish program so I'm hoping extra raw power, hybrid drive and RAM will result in a much speedier experience than my current PC and laptop setups.

Everything looks good but i must warn to be wary of that motherboard and ram, i have a gaming 5 and it has major issues with my ram even though it was supposedly compatible on pcpartpicker. Check the site and make sure it's 100% compatible and also do some google searches to see if people have that issue, i ended up having to underclock my ram to keep it stable even though it's supposedly supported. As far as a case goes you want to make sure your card will and cooler will both fit, i am using a full tower now because i got tired of worrying about that stuff lol, but again google should help alot as it's hard to find people with the exact same components. I use 8gb of ram and will upgrade to 16 at some point, bu i think it really only matters for things outside of gaming like rendering etc otherwise i think 8gb is more than enough right now.

I game on a 4k tv, and have a dual monitor setup with a 1080p monitor as my main one. I don't have too much issue but I run it at native 4k and have scaling on, sometimes text on certain programs and stuff have issues in windows 10 but that's why i have the other one. 4k will definitely help out with image editing IMO, but obviously even a 1080 isn't 100% 4k ready(unless your cool with sub 60 in which case it is pretty damn good). 1440p is probably your best middle ground choice for good image quality and game performance.

Also don't forget your OS, unless you already have a full copy of one that'll be another 100-200 bux for win10

I agree with what @oursin_360 said although i dont belive the RAM to be much of a problem but why dont check an extra time if you are unsure about it.

Hybrid drives gives you a little boost but mainly for gaming and general work in Windows porn. For heavy duty processes like loading huge pictures etc. i dont think there will be much of a difference.

Go for 16Gb RAM becouse some oddly programmed Iron Galaxy releases already maxes out above 8Gb and its only a question of time when it becomes standard. I cant see 32Gb ever being needed in your new PCs lifetime however.

That monitor is a very good choice.

I have the Gigabyte Gaming 7 and it works great with GSkill RAM.

I will have a look at other successful PC builds and copy the RAM combination they used with their motherboard, that should work out. I'm going to go for DDR4-3000 because the price difference is so small.

I'm going to research a little into the hybrid drives, maybe drive speed is not what is slowing down Lightroom - it's probably my now weak CPU trying to render the RAW image files and taking a little too long.

Choosing a monitor was difficult, I am not a fan of IPS due to the glow effect on darker content but it looks like there's really no choice other than TN or IPS if you want to use 144hz and G-Sync, on top of that the IPS screens seem to have the best colour calibration. I'm sure I can live with the glow though, for any horror games where it's dark I will either use VR or put the games onto my plasma TV which has no glow and has really good black levels.

Edit - Found that this RAM does work with the motherboard I chose but to boot the XMP profile at 3000Mhz you have to update the BIOs first. Great!

Thanks will do, I remember RAM problems being the biggest issues in past builds. I think I can transfer my existing Windows 10 license but if I can't I will just install a trial and figure out what to do later.

I guess I will wait for the next line of cards to upgrade to 4k and when they become more on par feature wise with 1440p monitors.

Do you think I should buy a new PSU? I have a 600w Corsair from 2010 or maybe even 2009, that seems old and something I should upgrade right? The wattage is more than enough but I'm concerned about the longevity of a PSU.

Aside from the new PSU being modular, is there much reason for me to buy a new one or should I save the money?

@deepcovergecko: looks a lot like my build! :) i went for the corsair carbide 600Q for it's small size and it's a very quiet case.

That is the best gaming CPU and GPU you can get right now so you'll be set for a long time. 16GB is enough but for such a monster PC I would get 32GB just to future proof it a bit since all the other things are top of the line and RAM is not very expensive now.

I've not bought a case in years but Antec and Silverstone both used to make good ones. 600W should be enough as long as you don't plan on going extreme overclocking or running SLI. The new video cards are very energy effecient, The 1080 should use the same amount of energy as my 280X despite being a lot more powerful and I run that fine on a entry level Corsair 500W PSU.

Have fun with your new PC. Mine is from 2013 but I don't plan on upgrading until 2018. Maybe justa new video card next year or 2017.

I was really tempted to go for 32GB but since people online say games don't scrape 8GB and Lightroom doesn't benefit from over 16 I'm going to stick with 16 for now as I am already spending a lot.

The stickler right now is what to do with my PSU! I feel a bit concerned about using such an older PSU in my new PC even though it was an expensive Corsair back when I bought it, I'm not sure if my concerns are baseless though.

And thanks! I'm finalising it all now and will put it together when I am back home in August, maybe I'll get lucky and prices will drop a little before then too.

I may drop the power supply and use my old one and I'm not sure which hard drive I want to buy, I'm a little torn on a 2TB SSHD as I have never used them before.

Funnily enough I had just decided to get the Carbide 400Q, since I may be moving back to Asia next year the case may be discarded/sold (easier to send components to my new home separately) so I don't want to go all out on a case. :)

I have a 750w PSU on my system, startlingly similar to your build with an ASUS Maximus VIII board. 1080 has low power consumption, but your never know about future upgrades etc.

I know I'm just one guy so this is anecdotal but I've built hundreds of PCs and I've had more weird RAM issues and conflicts with Gigabyte boards than both Asus and MSI combined. I no longer use Gigabyte unless the client specifically asks and even then I tell them the same thing I'm telling you in order to give them the chance to change their mind. I also find G-Skill to be the most reliable RAM out there, especially if you're going to do a little overclocking, casual or otherwise. I've never had a pair of G-Skill sticks that didn't easily hit or even exceed their XMP rating with no other adjustments needed where Corsair, for whatever reason, seems to like to resist more often than not.

As far as the PSU is concerned, even though your old one may still work they do degrade and become less efficient over time so if money isn't a significant issue I'd grab a new one. While your current build likely doesn't need more than 420w or so I personally like to give myself a 200w buffer for both longevity and in case of any issues affecting output efficiency that may arise. Unless I'm building an extreme budget machine or small HTPCs I like to use 600w to 650w PSUs.

If I were putting together a machine like yours I would use

Motherboard
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015JKNDJ0/?tag=extension-kb-20

RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231902

PSU
If you want to stick with the 550w you can't do much better than the one you chose. I use that exact one in my office PC. If you want a bit extra just grab the 650w version.

Just my 2 cents.

@deepcovergecko: Nothing to add other than that is a sweet new setup that must have cost an arm and a leg. I might upgrade in a year or so, considering the console stuff is starting to make less sense. I love gaming on consoles, I love the convenience, but after a lengthy break from PC gaming I'm starting to buy more and more titles for my desktop these days. Deus Ex is another tough situation where I dunno where to go. I kind of want to just get it on PS4 and enjoy all the benefits of that, but then again I played Human Revolution on PC and I do enjoy those SSD load times which definitely help in stealth games where I'll often save scum and try different approaches.

Hmm I see, I have changed my motherboard and RAM slightly because after a bit of research it seems there's been quite some issues with the board I chose at first.

I think I will save a bit of money and re-use my trusty Corsair PSU. If I need more wattage later I will upgrade but since SLI is such a mess right now I doubt I will need more power.

It would have been nice to have modular but maybe I will get that in the future, I don't plan to use a side window for my PC (two quietened/softened panels instead) so it looking pretty isn't a big concern, but I will do my best to keep the cables neat just for airflow.

Definitely costs a lot... I can't order it for a little while because I want to wait until I'm home (3-5 weeks) but I am excited. I don't usually go all out on PC upgrades but this is a totally new system as my existing one is getting too long in the tooth being based on 2009 technology (Lynnfield platform). When building a fresh system from the ground up, I like to research and buy a good combination of parts and then slowly add new things on top (like upgrade GPU, add more RAM) and generally I leave the CPU and motherboard dead last to change.

I could just add a new graphics card to my existing PC but I really want the extra CPU power for Adobe software, my laptop's Haswell i7 is actually faster than my PC's one at this point.

Edit - Oh yeah I gotta say, as a guy that bought a PS4 on launch and has probably put less than 100 hours into it, I have to give the middle finger to the idea of upgrading to a Neo, that definitely made me want to upgrade my PC even more, not less!

If you are still researching Power Supplies, the new EVGA line is fantastic.

I've always favored Seasonic but on my new build i got a EVGA 750 P2 and it has been great. Clean and quiet.

Since you're building anew, I'd replace that power supply. It'll save you the headache of having to rewire everything up later.

A hybrid HDD isn't going to make much difference. Unless you're going to constantly work on that same RAW file, other system files are going to get cached before your work files do. I'd either just work off a larger SSD or I'd do a RAID 0 with some WD Blacks and have a backup of that.

I've got those same fans and the same heatsink on my 6700k. Even at 4.7ghz with Prime 95 keeping the CPU max'ed, the only noise that comes out of my system is the HDD. If I was all solid state, you'd have to have your ear up to my case to hear it.

killer rig, but why not go for a Full size tower?

@deepcovergecko: Play it safe and get RAM without tall heatsinks, they are mostly just for looks and may get in the way of your CPU fans.

@deepcovergecko said:

I have an XB271HU and IPS glow isn't really a problem so long as you calibrate the panel properly; out of the box, the brightness is set way too high and the monitor's game mode defaults to the "warm" colour preset which exacerbates things dramatically. Once I notched the brightness down to around 30 and set a custom colour profile, I found glow to be pretty much a non-issue.

Next year I will be moving countries most likely so I'm a bit hesitant about buying a more expensive full sized version of the Carbide, I would either sell it at a loss or just discard it so it might be better if I buy something good enough for now and when I have to put it all back together next year, buy a new fancy case.

Thanks I will double check what RAM I have and if it has big heatsinks

That's good to know, my present monitor at home is a VA panel which was much nicer than an older IPS ASUS I had so I was worried about IPS glow this time around too.

Even if I buy a new PSU, I will still have to rewire everything when I move and strip down my PC next year anyway. :D

But I am glad to hear it's a quiet set of fans and heatsink, my current PC and laptop are very loud and easily fill the rooms they are in with fan noise.

I'll ditch the hybrid idea, thanks!

It looks very good and pay special attention to video card. Gtx1080 perfectly

I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product.

@deepcovergecko: The blackness/glow is nothing compared to a proper plasma obviously but as an PC monitor it is very good. I was afraid of the exact same thing when i bought mine but it turned out ok. There are reports of people getting really bad gloweffects however but if you are unlucky and get a bad one they will replace it for you. All people i have herd about with this problem got it replaced whitout a fuss.

I bought the CPU and motherboard yesterday! It came as part of a bundle with Doom, so I saved quite a bit of money especially when you include the cost of Doom because I was definitely going to be buying that for my new PC.

Unfortunately...can't build it for at least 4 weeks!

I have a plasma TV and an AMOLED phone, how I wish everything had black levels like those.

Here is what I believe is going to be the final build folks, I have now ordered the motherboard and CPU as part of a bundle because it was cheaper and it also came with a copy of DOOM if I ordered before August 6. :)

I have some case fans in my old PC I decided to transfer over instead of replacing them, they were quiet and quite good fans so it seemed a waste to not transfer them. I'll also be re-using my Corsair VX550w because despite not being modular, it's a high quality PSU rated for 10 years of use by Corsair, so I'll probably replace it when I move to Asia again instead. My Xonar Essence STX, two SSDs and two hard drives will be moving over as well. So excited to build this suckah!!

I settled on the Palit 1080 because it outperforms the others, is cheaper and overclocks better than most of them: http://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/zardon/palit-gtx-1080-gamerock-premium-edition-review/

You can get the non premium version which just doesn't include the GPU monitor. Very happy I looked into the 1080s available a bit more.