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General Discussion

Reece Palmer
Reece Palmer
3,197 Points
Posted by Reece Palmer
Reece Palmer
3,197 Points

Building a custom pc help!

Hey guy, I am looking to build my own pc but I have no clue where to start. It will be primarily used for general front-end web development, however I would like to try video editing/animation and building apps. Could someone give me ideas of what parts would be good to preform such tasks efficiently. My budget is around £1000 , thanks :)

Simon Coates
Simon Coates
28,694 Points
Simon Coates
Simon Coates
28,694 Points

a lot of treehouse users are going to be beginners, and thus may not be able to comment on the science and alchemy of putting together a PC (personally I pay not to care about hardware). Front end development has pretty low requirements, but video editing and apps will chew a lot of resources (especially if you need to emulate devices inside android studio). Depending on software you want to use, they may publish recommended specs. You may want to clarify what you mean by 'apps' (which is terminology for different things inside android, iPhone, or even salesforce). If you mean apple, you need to confirm that you don't need a mac.

Reece Palmer
Reece Palmer
3,197 Points
Reece Palmer
Reece Palmer
3,197 Points

Hey guys, thanks for your advice! I have built a pc https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/W8ffnn and I was wondering what you guys think. I am hoping to use it for things such as 3d animation/video editing/android app developing and general web dev tasks.

James Kirkpatrick
James Kirkpatrick
25,001 Points

Not a bad selection. Personally, (if possible) I would drop the solid state drive, go with 32GB RAM, and consider two 1 TB HDD instead of a 2 TB HDD. Hard drives are cheaper than RAM. Remember RAM = speed. Since RAM should always be installed in matching pairs, the two 8 GB sticks will become useless when you upgrade. More HDDs can be added later on. While this might cost a little more now, it will save you money in the long run. And you'll get better performance right away.

4 Answers

Unsubscribed User
Unsubscribed User
8,838 Points
Unsubscribed User
Unsubscribed User
8,838 Points

Here is not really the best place to be posting this. Have a look at some other tech forums such as :

I wish you the best of luck.

Kevin Korte
Kevin Korte
28,149 Points
Kevin Korte
Kevin Korte
28,149 Points

Computer I am on now, I built. https://pcpartpicker.com/ is a good resource to see what prices are doing out there, although I've found that their power consumption numbers are a bit conservative, and I'd recommend looking up all of the peak power consumption numbers for all your hardware, adding those up, and making sure your power supply can do more than that.

Rob Allessi
Rob Allessi
8,600 Points
Rob Allessi
Rob Allessi
8,600 Points

For more opinions, alerts on sales/deals and general community engagement on the topic, I would also recommend checking out https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/

James Kirkpatrick
James Kirkpatrick
25,001 Points
James Kirkpatrick
James Kirkpatrick
25,001 Points

I've been building systems since '95. When it comes to system builds, I have some rules that you and others might find helpful.

  1. The best way to learn computers is to build one.
  2. Do your research. (When you think you've done your research, research some more.)
  3. Build to exceed your need. (If you need 8 GB RAM, Get at least 16 GB)
  4. Make it scalable. (If you need 16 GB RAM, get a MB that'll accept at least 32 GB. Try to get a MB with as many available slots as possible.)
  5. Get the most recent parts. But, don't worry about the "latest and greatest". (Leave that for the testers. Get something that's field tested.)
  6. Speed's just a matter of money. How fast do you want to go? (RAM = speed)
  7. More RAM with a "lesser" CPU over the "best" CPU with less RAM (Rendering and video editing require lots of RAM. If pressed for money, why buy an iCore7 when an iCore5 and more RAM will do the job quite well.)
  8. Some things just aren't worth skimping on. (Quality RAM - name-brand, CPU, MB, Power Supply.)
  9. Airflow, airflow, airflow. (Keep it cool. The cooler, the better. Your wallet will thank you in the long run. Remember Bernoulli's principle: As volume increases, pressure decreases.)
  10. Pretty lights don't do anything. (They might look cool. But they serve no function.)
  11. Some things are worth skimping on. (Tower case, disc drives, keyboard, mouse, etc.)
  12. Cannibalize system parts whenever possible. (Why buy a disc drive when you have one in a dead system already?)
  13. Make sure it all fits before you buy.
  14. Don't forget the UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply).
  15. If in doubt, read the manual (again).
  16. Have fun.

In addition to the previously mentioned sites, http://www.sharkyforums.com/ is another one worth checking out.