Where my fellow nerds at?

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That one harlot
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Hey guys, I need some help! Thinking of venturing into whole making my own computer world, and I dont know where to start. Obviously it will take me some months to get all the parts but I dont mind the wait 8D.

So I am an avid art program user, love Photoshop and SAI and have some curiosity towards 3D modeling which means I need to make something that isn't going to lag after 3-4 hours of use, nor overheat. I dont really game but would probably get sucked into buying a Sims game and deal with music stuff.

So...what should I look into?

Thanks for any help!
 
So I am an avid art program user, love Photoshop and SAI and have some curiosity towards 3D modeling which means I need to make something that isn't going to lag after 3-4 hours of use, nor overheat. I dont really game but would probably get sucked into buying a Sims game and deal with music stuff.

So...what should I look into?
Arts and Crafts, huh? Well, first, set your budget. Then, for a machine that's going to be doing adoring art stuff, you'll need this stuff in the following order of priority.
  • Processor: If a computer is like the human body, this is the muscle of the machine. You will go nowhere unless your muscles are stronk, like, STRONK AS FUCK. The processor is the fallback when the graphics card can't handle it all, it's the be all end all of all tasks. If a processor can't handle something, it's game over.
  • Memory/RAM: This is the multitasking ability of a computer. The more RAM you have, the more stuff you can do at the same time, and the more complex that stuff can be, before you encounter problems. For art programs like Photoshop, RAM is essentially the total limitation of your ability to create art things. Same goes for modeling. RAM, RAM, RAM.
  • Motherboard: This is basically the nervous system of the machine, it's the thing that allows all the other parts to communicate with each other and the operating system. Ensure your motherboard can handle whatever your processor is doing and has lots of space for RAM. Otherwise, for you? Not that important.
  • Graphics Card: You don't need something top of the line for games like The Sims, and for programs like photoshop, it doesn't need to be super hardcore and intensive, it just needs to be "enough." So if anything in your budget requires you to slash something, slash your graphics card down first. Still get a graphics card mind you (because most on-board video devices are notoriously trash), but sacrifice the quality of your graphics card first. Plus, if you have to or want to upgrade or replace any part in your machine, the graphics card is probably one of the easiest to do so.
  • Hard Drive: Eh'. Get something with a terrabyte or so of space, and then if you ever want more space, go get more space. People preach the superiority of SSD, but most of those people fall into the "PC Master Race durr hurr" crowd that like to blow well over 2500 on a single machine as their masturbate to reflections of themselves. SSD's are good, no denying it, but all it really does is shave you a few seconds off of loading most things. Really, that's all it does. If you have the extra dosh to dump on one (or you find one at a steal of a price) go for it, but for what you're looking for? (Which is primarily arts and modeling?) You really don't need one. An HDD will do you fine. Prioritize space over speed so long as you have at least 5200 RPM or more out of your HDD, you'll never be that slow. Plus, in the future, if you make another machine, you can cannbalize your old hard drives and put them into the new machine with a new, shinier hard drive, thus increasing your total amount of space over time. This is another one of those "it can wait to be upgraded later" parts, so long as the initial amount of space is more than 500 gigs, you'll want for little to start with. (Though a terrabyte is still preferable.)
  • Power Supply: Ensure it has enough wattage and plugs for all the stuff you want. Otherwise? Not that important, and they're really rather on the cheap end for that reason.
  • Cooling: "But muh liquid cooling" is expensive and overrated. Get 140mm fans. If you can, go even bigger, and you will never hear it, so long as you blow the machine out of dust once in a while. Like you should be doing anyway. I recommend at least two fans: One in the front of the case, and one in the back. If you can, nab a third for the top of the case, and unless you buy the graphics card from hell, you will never overheat. Ever.
  • Case: Make sure it's big enough to house everything you want and ensure it's nice on the eyes I guess? I never spend more than 150 on the case, it's just not that important, so long as it has ample space for your fans of awesomeness.
  • Peripherals: Monitor, keyboard, mouse, headset (or speakers if you want to let everyone in your house know what you're listening to at all hours of the day), doritos, mountain dew, dank memes...
If you're going to wait months before you put your machine together, I can't offer anything specific, because anything I offer now will be outdated by the time you start looking to purchase parts. So, keep in mind, when you buy your parts, buy them all at the same time! If, however, you'd like to get an idea of how much something might cost, I whole heartedly recommend this. It tells you every single component you need to put together and alerts you if there are compatibility problems in 90% of cases. Use this as a shopping list and go into local computer stores and ask them if they have said parts in stock. If they don't, ask them if they have something similar +/- 50 dollar range. Do not let them sucker you into buying something 100+ dollars more expensive than what you were looking for, it's their job to upsell you. Not that it's evil, but it's what they have to do.

Since this is your first machine you're putting together, I recommend finding someone you know in the real world who can help you assemble it the first time. It can be a bit overwhelming if you've never done it before, plus attaching a CPU to a Motherboard is a hassle and a delicate process. Everything else is basically...
  • Screw motherboard into box.
  • Put CPU into motherboard. (Very carefully. Make sure you apply anti-heating material first.)
  • Stick power supply in next. Make sure your power supply has enough power and plugs to supply all the things you want to power.
  • Now put in your hard drives.
  • Next, your RAM.
  • Graphics card.
  • Any other internal peripherals you may have purchased. (Ex: Wireless network card, if you're just not cool with having one of your USB ports perma-used by a wireless adapter.)
  • Plug in all the power supply needs (motherboard, hard drives, et cetera.) Stick your cables neatly somewhere out of the way of the motherboard, likely at the bottom or top of the case. You'll thank me later when you have to open the box up to dust it out or change out parts, not to have to unplug it all and deal with that shit all over again.
  • Take your Windows OS disk (because what fucking pleb even uses Linux?). Boot up computer, go to BIOS (screen will flash showing you how to go to bios, usually the F4 key while booting up), set it to boot from disk first, hard drive second. Put Windows OS Disk into tray, reboot computer through BIOS after saving your settings.
  • If it's Windows 10 (which at this point it should be), ensure it has a connection to the Internet. It will use it to update your machine as it installs so you can skip the hours long process of installing updates, rebooting, and repeating 5-10 times.
  • Done all that? Congrats. Install your photoshop, draw some dank memes in HD.
Also, if you're buying a computer, I don't recommend a budget under 800 bucks. Anything less than 800 and you're seriously struggling to keep your computer on par to the market. This does include peripherals though, if you don't already have them. You can easily build a machine at 600 bucks that can challenge and even surpass the modern console generation, and that's the standard most things will be made at for a good 2 more years at least.

As for everything else...

... Prepare to do a lot of reading.

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Brovo beat me to the punch, here, insofar as describing what things are and a TLDR howto. Though, I'd personally put the CPU and Memory on the board before mounting it in the case, but that's just my preference. :D

If all you're aiming to do is play Sims, you won't need a powerhouse of a system. When you're close to ready to throw something together, let me know and I can write out a parts list for you. :D
 
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Thank you @Brovo, @Alan ! I appreciate the advice and I'll hold you to it Alan 8D
 
I'd put emphasis on getting someone IRL to help you build it.

I'm not sure as to the specifics, but whenever my friends help me with my PC they're extra cautious about handling parts.
Something about touching it the wrong way can cause a charge to go through that breaks/damages the parts.

Not something you want to take a chance on when you invest so much cash.
 
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