OK it is time for me to break out of the 'office' at home and build myself my own PC for photo editing and other general use out in the living room. I want something that will run LR and CS5 comfortably, and do a little bit of video editing at times, doesn't have to be a super system, rather good performance value for money type. I don't really have a budget set, cheaper is better but wouldn't mind going up towards $1000 or $1500 if it is good box that will last me a few years (ie can be upgraded as needs etc).

I've been reading here and here amongst other places which has been a good start. Have also been reviewing systems on MSY and CPL websites (man their cheap!!) but there isn't a package that seems to nail all my thoughts on what I need at the moment.

It has been about 10 years since I built one from scratch so my main concern is building something that isn't compatible with itself, if you know what I mean!? I also don't want to waste money on parts I don't need, ie a super dooper graphics card if my intended usage doesn't need it. I'm not talking monitors or HDD's here, they're simple. Although if I keep the price down I might be able to justify the Dell U2410 I have my eye on.

My focus is on motherboard, processor, case/psu, ram and graphics card. So I'd be grateful to anyone with some advice on what to look for, pro's and con's. Where I'm at so far:


  • It will be a Windows 7 system (64bit Home Premium probably, any reason to go any different?)


  • Processor - am thinking of an i5 or i7 intel setup, or the AMD x4 or x6 range as they seem to give good bang for the buck. Thinking 8MB cache is a good option?\


  • Motherboard - no clue at all - help!! Probably depends a little on processor, what else is there to consider here?? Upgrade options? Bus speeds?


  • RAM - thinking 8GB minimum, seems the go is generally DDR3 1333MHz?


  • Case/PSU - Open to ideas, seems Antec gets the generally.


  • Graphics card - thinking 1GB dedicated card, but there are so many at varying prices, is this over the top? What's good?


  • A small SSD drive for installing the OS on, would that make things fly better?


  • Sound card?? Also wondering about a tv tuner card given where this will live.


Any ideas or pointing me in a direction to follow I would appreciate. I'm sure many consider doing this but find it is all too hard and end up at Hardly Normal or Dell (like I have in the past, my 5 year old Dell Dimension that has had some upgrades will stay in the office to do office type things). I'd like to build from scratch this time and have a nice clean OS without all the bloatware etc and have a system I can add to if I want. Thanks for you time!!