bnsf

As a computer builder there are a lot of things you must purchase to make it a one of a kind unit. How big of power supply are you going to use, what kind of processor AND or Intel along with processor fan. I purchased fan and processor as one unit.After burning out processors putting fan on it pays to do it. Now what kind of motherboard raid or non raid along with how fast video card, sound card built in on motherboard.
Next how much memory are you going to have. I used one gig memory for gaming and video editing. Faster memory faster get things done. Do you want a tower or a flat table model? Now comes the most important thing what size of hard drive or hard drives for the raid board.

Now after this is done what kind of operating system are you going to install. I used Windows 10 home professional full OEM version. After that is done you have to check and see if you need new software programs or does it accept Wind9ws 10 Pro Home? Finally what Microsoft office system are you going to install.

If you take your time and resource what you are buying them you will have a trouble free computer for years.
Good luck hope this helps you.
Dennis Louden

Dziadzi Loc: Wilkes-Barre, PA

I would put in as many fans that your tower can accommodate. Keeping the CPU and ram cool is tantamount. Newegg.com is my supplier of parts. 32gb of ram seems like a lot of memory if you are flying to the moon. I don't know if you need that much for photos.

romanticf16 Loc: Commerce Twp, MI

This is a great article on building a Win box for photography- it covers laptop and tower specs:
https://photographylife.com/the-ultimate-pc-build-for-photography-needs#more-115410

romanticf16 Loc: Commerce Twp, MI

Oh yes, drop the "s" from https to get the site to open.

bnsf

That qas a great article. I had a GeForce video card. He forgot to mention about a DVD player/burner. The faster the video card along with more memory the better the video play back. The faster the burner is shorter the time it takes to burn a dvd or cd. The what are your going to use for burning software. I use Roxio. Easy to use right from the start. Now what software are you going to use for video editing? I use Pinnacle20. This is the latest in video editing software. It does a great job in a short time.

PhotoArtsLA Loc: Boynton Beach

If only the software I needed to run were Windows-centric. The good news: My next computer has dropped in price by $4,000. This shows waiting can be cost effective. Not that it doesn't still cost like a nice late model used car. The 4K displays, now they are pricey when they get color accurate. Eizo or bust, and a big OLED for editorial. Big OLEDS which are color accurate cost like a new car. With how I am computing now thousands of miles from my better machine, it reminds me of a saying: We've done so much, with so little, for so long -- you'd expect we could do anything, with nothing, in no time flat.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

That's no longer necessary.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

My son is due for a new monitor, so that will be a major Christmas gift, but it won't be in the $1,000 range.

As for that saying, how about going out and buying an Apple lle and trying to computer with that. We've come a long way in a few years.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Now this is going to extremes.

http://www.howtogeek.com/269486/how-to-pimp-your-gaming-pc-a-guide-to-colors-lights-and-other-mods/

OnDSnap Loc: NE New Jersey

I have liquid cooling in my cad machines...

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Prestone? Mine will have radiant cooling, which will be good in the winter.

OnDSnap Loc: NE New Jersey

A computer I built with a cooling system years ago, after a couple years of no problems, sprung a leak, fried one of two $700 video cards. They have come a long way since then...

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

I'm sure they are more reliable now, but water cooling in a computer environment just scares me. I know that some Crays have been liquid (not water) cooled, and some modern computer racks use liquid cooling for the racks (not directly to the boards). Macs tried this a few years ago, and after a slew of problems, you can't give that particular machine away. I'm reminded of a local hospital who was a customer. They had a drip from an overhead A/C line (condensation) and the maintenance dept placed a bucket on top of a rack in the data center to catch the drip (seriously). You guessed it - the vibration from the rack ultimately caused the bucket to turn over spilling water inside the rack and onto the servers and storage. Cost: $180,000 to replace the damaged units (yes, water can actually ruin a server). Personally, I'd prefer to eschew the small gain from overclocking, run the processor cooler, and rely on high flow efficient air cooling, but that's just my conservative nature.

OnDSnap Loc: NE New Jersey

Yes the couplings have gotten a lot better, They're fine if installed properly, but yes they are still a bit scary...That would have pissed me off a bit (the hospital debacle). Real scary, especially around the high end Quadro cards.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

It trashed an Oracle Exadata system, and insurance paid for it (and I got to sell it twice), but the customer was not happy!