So, wanting to build a desktop PC from scratch

[Samus Aran]

And it will be my first time doing so. I have NO experience doing this sort of thing and I have NO spare parts on hand from any previous desktop that I could use.

I kind of want to go mid-high end here, I want to be able to play some modern games on high settings HOWEVER that's about the most intensive thing I'd be doing, so I don't need to go completely all out balls-deep into thousands of dollars here. I'd probably be doing video work now and then (I really want to get into making game-related videos which is something I've been more or less unable to do with my dying Macbook), but ummm...nothing else overly intensive I don't think.

Basically what I'm just looking for from Boyah is some general suggestions for parts. From something as vague as brands to consider/avoid to something as specific as actual part suggestions for things on the market right now.

I'll be asking around with lots of people but I want Boyah's input too because there are quite a few people here who could help a lot, I think.

Oh, and my budget? I don't really have one, but I'm really good at blowing money so I'm not too concerned. Plus, I have a fully paid-off credit card just sitting around not being used ever, so...

[snoorkel]

Don't skimp on the power supply, but it's not necessary to get a really nice one either... I'd recommend something like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027

For a gaming PC, I'd say if you were to invest in a couple key parts and just get to par on the rest, a nicely sized SSD (big enough to fully install a few games on) and a good graphics card would go a long long way. CPU won't be *as* important, but you'll probably still want a good amount of RAM (16GB is nice).

http://pcpartpicker.com/ ; is a useful site that will show you which parts are compatible as you start narrowing down motherboards and CPUs and RAM .. I'm sure we can all tell you which stuff will work too 

[ME##]

Newegg has three part guide on Youtube you can watch about building a computer:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPIXAtNGGCw.

like snorkel said, don't skimp on some parts like the psu lol :'(

[bluaki]

I somewhat disagree with Snorkel about SSDs. If the price isn't a problem, go for it, but they're primarily useful for the OS and cache, and as far as I know SSDs offer very little improvement for gaming.

But I'm not very familiar with buying parts for PC gaming.

Some miscellaneous tips I can give:
Monitor: Definitely go for 1920x1080 (or higher). You might want to look for one with a headphone-out connector if you want to ever use HDMI input with anything that carries sound like game systems.
Keyboard: Do you at least have one of these already? If not, being familiar with the feel of a particular keyboard before buying would help if you can. Check the key layouts to make sure there aren't weird arrangements you don't like.
Motherboard connectors: It's probably worth looking for at least a couple USB3 ports for future drives/devices.
Optical drive isn't completely necessary anymore, but DVD ones are really cheap now. Blu-Ray probably wouldn't be very useful to you.
RAM: 8GB is probably plenty for typical tasks and running (32-bit) games. Filling a whole 16GB might be nice, but probably doesn't help much for your sort of use-case: I doubt you'll want virtual machines, ramdisk, 1000 browser tabs, etc.

[snoorkel]

I somewhat disagree with Snorkel about SSDs. If the price isn't a problem, go for it, but they're primarily useful for the OS and cache, and as far as I know SSDs offer very little improvement for gaming.

you're probably right about that, I was just thinking that huge games loading maps/stages from the install data on the disk would be accelerated... or just launching the applications to begin with, at the very least.

But, I'm not a seasoned PC gaming specialist either 

[silvertone]

16 gb to play some fucking games? holy shit.

[ME##]

16 gb to play some fucking games? holy shit.

more ram=more computer lebensraum

[Kalahari Inkantation]

16gb might be a tad excessive for now

i'd go with 8gb, just make sure you have enough extra slots on your motherboard to be able to at least double it in the future when it's actually necessary and likely to be cheaper

[Thyme]

16 gb to play some fucking games? holy shit.

to play civ v in windowed mode and do other stuff at the same time shadesdood;

[Daddy]

I just bought a bunch of parts for a PC. They should be here tomorrow.

This is essentially what is in it

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1lEb8

feel free to look at what i got.

for now i'm just using a huge heat sink and fan. i am afraid of a leak with liquid cooling to do that. I won't be overclocking enough where I'd need it. People have done some minor OC with the heat sink I got without issue.

Note that I already own the monitors, video card (will update at a later time), and keyboard/mouse from my current desktop.

I also already have the 2 drives on hand. I got the SSD last black friday and the seagate HDD last week.  I haven't opened them yet.

I got Windows 8 free from my school. I'm gonna try that instead of 7 lol. If Not I have a 7 ultimate license I can use.

I'll probably throw this 120SSD from my current desktop in there too

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00486UR2I/ref=oh_details_o07_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Boogus Epirus Aurelius]

Building from scratch is hard because you need to make your own plastic molds and probably own a forge or something.....

[silvertone]

Building from scratch is hard because you need to make your own plastic molds and probably own a forge or something.....

you can paint it any colour you like though

[Boogus Epirus Aurelius]

you can paint it any colour you like though

Yeah, but then you have to make paint out of natural dyes or something.

[silvertone]

Yeah, but then you have to make paint out of natural dyes or something.

  it be a heck of a lot better than anything the Joneses  could make. doing it all yourself would make you the Topman of the Town

[Boogus Epirus Aurelius]

  it be a heck of a lot better than anything the Joneses  could make. doing it all yourself would make you the Topman of the Town

Want red? Crush up some cherries with your feet.
Want blue? Find some blue flowers and put them in your mouth and crush 'em up with your teeth.
Want orange? You're fucked.