Zeno I think you fail to realise with a $1500 PC you should be getting a decent sized SSD, I recommend the Samsung 840 Series Pro as they are pretty much the fastest, and great value for money. Couple this with a 1TB-2TB hard drive and you are sorted regarding storage.

For memory you will want around 8GB, perhaps 16GB if you plan on some intensive video editing. Corsair and G-Skill are the brands a recommend.

Regarding a power supply you will want to go for modular to allow for the most flexibility and the tidiest look, having a 80 plus certified one will save you heck of a lot on the electric bills. Corsair are very good and very reliable.

Intel, as you said, is they way to go. I have not really used Haswell CPU's and so can't give you much of an opinion but as with all new things come problems, instability etc. You will want to go for Ivy Bridge, an i5 is all you need for day to day tasks and gaming but if you want to you can up it to an i7 which will make a difference if you plan on doing video editing and rendering.

As for your motherboard, this should be picked last, so that you can make sure it has all that you need. And that it is compatible with everything else. I have used Gigabyte and ASUS and have never had a problem. Depending on the CPU you choose you may need a certain socket so I can not mention any specifics.

For your video card I prefer AMD as they offer the best value for your money. And their cards beat Nvidia at every price range. The idea is you spend roughly the same amount on your CPU as you do your GPU (video card).

For your case you will want something well ventilated, with space for many fans and fairly big. Preferably with cable management options and space for larger video cards in-case you want to upgrade in the future. If you spend $1500 on a PC you want it to look good as well. Just remember don't skimp on a case. Something like the Cooler Master HAF X is a great case. Plenty of cooling, lots of room, great cable management, ability to fit very big video cards and MBs bigger than even ATX. I am also a fan of NZXT cases.

If you plan on overclocking a good aftermarket fan and heatsink can do the job, but if you really want to squeeze every ounce of performance out of it, you want to invest in water cooling. Closed loop kits are the easiest and safest option. No mess, no need to maintain it, no worries. Corsair H100i is a good option and very reliable.

You should probably go for a Blu-ray player if you have the money otherwise a good optical drive that can do everything is what to go for.


If I have time I will come up with a build, but just wanted to give you my thoughts and opinions. :)

 

rockboy2000 I don't fail to realize I understand the limits of certain budgets and what is important. The Samsung 840 Pro series SSD's are killer but you are going to pay an are and a leg for them when you can get an A-Data 240gb for $180.
You can get an SSD in this build but you are going to get a cheaper case, 4670K processor, Lower Tier Motherboard, 8GB of memory, Lower power supply, 212 EVO air cooler all so you can have a $180 SSD.. To me that too much compromise.

Samsung 840 Pro series.. 512gb - $469
Samsung 840 Pro series.. 256gb - $239
Samsung 840 Pro series.. 128gb - $139

so at $1500 and SSD is not a must because then you have to cut your video card or cpu.. If you want one you have to settle for SSD Caching and get a 60gb max and go that route.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-recommendation-benchmark,3269.html

I have 2 120gb SSD in my machine at RAID-0. I am out of space. I really need at single 500+gb SSD to use and that would be perfect. It is such a pain in the ass to setup programs to run off of SSD or HDD or where ever instead of just using your SSD for programs and HDD for storage.

There is a great article here about setting up SDD and HDD with fresh Windows installs

http://www.overclock.net/t/1156654/seans-windows-7-install-optimization-guide-for-ssds-hdds

80 Plus Certified is nothing.. every power supply is 80 Plus.. the difference in efficiency between and 80 Plus and an 80 Plus Platinum is a max of 12% so at 500 watts that's the power of a light bulb. Power supplies are most Efficient at 50% of their rated load so using the calculators that I have posted here previously that gets you a good round idea.

I disagree with AMD beats out Nvidia at every price range.. It's close but Nvidia right now has the upper hand with the new 700 series.. take a look at this: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html

I currently have the HAF X and it is a beast. The midsize cases from Corsair, Thermaltake, Coolermaster, Bitfenix, etc. are all good options.. They all come with proper cable routing measures.

liamfrench you cannot CANNOT use an Haswell processor, which is Socket 1150, with an Z77 based motherboard. Z77 is 1155 socket.. You have to use Haswell with Z87, H87, H81, Q87, Q85, or B85 based motherboards. Z87 is what you are looking for thou.

For the most part any of the mid-range motherboards are going to suit your purpose just fine. Read reviews but all the boards listed below I would have no problem using myself. These are all Z87 Haswell Socket 1150 Boards:

MSI Z87-G45 Gaming - $154 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130693
ASRock Z87 Extreme6 - $169 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157371
Asus Sabertooth Z87 - $249 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131976
MSI Z87-GD65 Gaming - $189 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130692
ASRock Z87 Extreme4 - $139 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157369
Asus Z87-PRO - $199 -http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131979

Really the Asus Sabertooth is overpriced but I really like the look and the armor that covers the entire board.

I tend to ignore the speical branded items such as Fatal1ty, Sniper, MPower, ROG Maximus and X Power, as these are usually higher tier and have features that you will never need.

 

DO NOT GO HASWELL! Go Ivy Bridge http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/06/06/might-haswell-upgrade-your-cpu-not-for-your-desktop-rig/

 

In premise I agree but over all I'd still go with Haswell for the future socket compatibility hopefully. There will be a Haswell Refresh in 2014. Also if you currently have a Socket 1155 board then yes DO NOT UPGRADE but if you are rocking at Socket 775 or older then I would not hesitate to get the socket 1150 Haswell based stuff.

Here is a quote from the article, "On the desktop things haven’t really moved on since Sandy Bridge arrived on the scene many moons ago. And to be honest if you’re sat on an i5 or i7 Sandy Bridge chip then you’re arguably better off sticking with your current CPU/mobo configuration and spending the cash on something like the Nvidia GTX 770 if you’re after a gaming boost."

I betting thou that liam is rocking either a Penryn, Kentsfield, or Wolfdale processor. with a Socket 775. or possibly and AM2 based AMD.

Ok here is another updated build. Upgraded to the i7-4770K. I've added an 120gb Boot SSD, Samsung 840 (NON PRO VERSION) Weaker Power Supply but well reviewed and quite a bit cheaper, and Downgraded the memory on the GTX 770 to 2GB. Changed to the 600T case any everything else stays the same.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-GD65 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($399.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 600T White Graphite ATX Mid Tower Case ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($71.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Professional (OEM) (64-bit) ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1781.88
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-25 16:49 EDT-0400)

 

The fact is that 3TB for a HDD is way more than anyone, even gamers and enthusiasts would ever use. I suggest you go for the Sandisk Ultra Plus at that price range, a much better SSD. Looking on PCPartPicker I see that it is the same price;
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/sandisk-internal-hard-drive-sdssdhp128gg25

Apart from that this looks like a pretty solid build, I assume you have checked compatibility?

 

It's PcPartPicker It does all compatiblity checks for you but yes it is all compatible. I currently have 3TB in my main PC full.. I have over 5 TB full on my server full so... You can never have too much space.. Ever.. I'm am currently purchasing 4 - 4TB drives to upgrade my server to a RAID - 5 12TB setup.

Really any SSD drive will give you killer performance. We are talking about 400+ MB read/write speeds. They all boot in under 15 seconds..

 

You won't even see the liquid with a closed loop cooler, just read the intructions and follow them carefully and you cany go wrong.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

Why did you say $1500 when it says you live in Canada? :3

 

I meant why did you say $1500 usd

 

Here is a nice Micro ATX setup that was just in MaximumPC Magazine.

If you maybe are looking for a smaller footprint build then this MB/Case/Power Supply combo would be great. Change out the GPU for a GTX 770, The smaller SSD and you would be close to my most recent build.

I do believe that this would be my current build If i didn't already have an 3770K... Might have to look for an Micro ATX MB and shrink my footprint.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X60 98.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Gigabyte G1.Sniper M5 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($207.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Redline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vector Series 512GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($549.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($162.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($673.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($673.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 350D Window MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($119.94 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 800W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($71.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Professional (OEM) (64-bit) ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $3150.67
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-26 17:45 EDT-0400)

 

It's really not all that hard.. You will be excited and want to rush through it but take your time. Do a nice job hiding the cables.. You don't want to break things. Also the CPU will have a certain orientation but it is a easy as aligning up two arrows. Some things like the CPU bracket on the Motherboard will feel like alot of pressure but that's how it supposed to be.. Just remember to take your time and not rush anything. Double check everything and keep on the product documentation. The Motherboard will have a quick install guide and an more detailed book. But here are some websites that will help.

http://lifehacker.com/5828747/how-to-build-a-computer-from-scratch-the-complete-guide

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/how-to-tech/build-a-computer.htm

http://www.pcworld.com/article/110665/article.html

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/features/379330/how-to-build-a-pc-a-step-by-step-guide

http://lifehacker.com/5980744/build-a-computer-this-weekend