New image editing build

[Terpfen]

With much support and encouragement, a friend of mine is finally ready to upgrade from a five year old laptop. I have a build in mind for him, but thought it best to get a second opinion from the fine folks of the General Hardware forum.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Primary use: image editing via applications such as Photoshop. Secondary use: gaming.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1000 USD, tax and shipping included

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Florida, USA (no Microcenters available)

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Case, CPU, RAM, motherboard, GPU, SSD, HDD, PSU, additional cooling if necessary

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
No parts will be reused

6) Will you be overclocking?
No

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
1920x1080, 24''

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within 3 weeks

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
SATA 6Gb/s, USB 3.0, Gigabit ethernet

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
No

 

[Dangman]

So is the cost of the OS also part of that $1000 budget?

Have either you or your friend use Windows 8.1 before?

 

[Terpfen]

OS cost is separate, and yes, he's prepared to go to Windows 8.1.

 

[Dangman]

$195 - Intel Core i5-4590 CPU
$88 - Gigabyte GA-H97M-D3H Intel H97M mATX Motherboard
$143 - Crucial BLS2CP8G3D1609DS1S00 Ballistix Sport 2 x 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$191 - PowerColor TurboDuo AXR9 280 3GBD5-T2DHE/OC Radeon R9 280 3GB PCI-E Video Card
$113 - Crucial MX100 256GB SSD
$54 - Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$18 - LG GH24NSB0B DVD Burner
$80 - Seasonic G Series SSR-550RM 550W Modular PSU
----
Total: $882 shipped.

I highly highly recommend buying that video card today as that's the lowest price for a R9 280 card I've seen in awhile.

He should choose his own case. I recommend the following cases:
$65 - Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Case
$75 - Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black w/ Window ATX Case
$100 - Corsair Carbide Series 400R ATX Case
$100 - Corsair Carbide Series 500R ATX Case
$105 - Antec 1100 V2 ATX Case
$120 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$120 - Corsair Obsidian Series 450D ATX Case
$120 - Corsair Vengeance Series C70 Arctic White ATX Case
$110 - Corsair Vengeance Series C70 Gunmetal Black ATX Case
$120 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-002OR Black Finish w/Orange Trim Full Tower ATX Case

Case (Low Noise Oriented):
$112 - Fractal Design Define R4 Arctic White ATX Case
$112 - Fractal Design Define R4 Black Pearl ATX Case
$114 - Fractal Design Define R4 Titanium Grey ATX Case
$110 - Antec P280 ATX Case
$130 - Corsair Obsidian Series 550D ATX Case

 

[Terpfen]

That's a hell of a deal on the 280. Nice find! I was looking at the XFX 285, which isn't too much more expensive, but that money savings can be passed on to the case or an upgrade to an i7.

Thanks for the build list. Lots to think about here. Let's see if I can do some convincing.