+1 for all things coolermaser

That said, larger tower=larger/more fans=more air movement with less noise. I also like my full tower (HAF 932) because it allows more room for Hard drives (I can spread mine out with a bay in-between, less heat generation), and I can afford to put in any vid card or CPU cooler I want without worrying about space. In addition, it gives me more room to work. The price of the CM gear is also warranted by nice features like rolls on the edges of the frame, so you don't have to worry about getting cut when digging around inside.

I'll also point out in support of "splurging" on a case; a great case can out-live several hardware upgrades. I'd rather pay $150 for a case today, that lasts me 3 upgrades, than buy three cases over the next 6 years

I've had my Thrustmaster full-tower Kandalf case since 2005. I don't forsee getting rid of it any time soon. A high quality case can last a looooong while!

Of course it's your money, but if you consider the Carbide series of cases, that'll save you about $150 and you're only losing a little bit of space. So unless you REALLY need a big case... Note that my Carbide 500R does great cable management as well.

As for the PSU, modular is fine, but you don't really need 1000W+ unless you are Crossfire/SLI some top-of-the-line cards.

The money you "save" could go to some more hardware purchases, like a 3rd-party CPU cooler that'll drop your temps really good... or 8-16GB RAM instead of the "default" 4GB... or some extra fans... or an SSD!

Like folks say, saving money on things that don't effect FPS is good -- then spend the savings on things that do effect FPS.

Very few items effect FPS. In my opinion here's the list in order of importance.

First and Foremost: Graphics card -- save money elsewhere to get the best graphics card you can afford. On the other hand, with today's top cards, $400 to $500 is the most you have to spend (you can always spend more -- but not get much more practical performance ).

Second: Central Processor. Get a good CPU running at 3.3GHz or more. But, by far, you do not need the best or most expensive. $225 or less should do the job (AMD or Intel). Most games the CPU makes no practical difference in FPS. In a few games, the CPU is a prime determinant of FPS (given a good GPU).

Third: Memory. Get 16GB -- its cheap and runs everything. The memory speed is not too important -- just get what goes with your CPU at normal speeds. At most means one extra FPS (nothing you'll ever see). 16GB of 1600 speed should be about $95.

Fourth: There is no fourth!! Nothing else matters for FPS. Just make sure you have a quality motherboard (around $135 to $190 depending on features), PSU (650W to 850W for under $100), and good cooling (a very good cooler is under $30) so things don't overheat (don't need fantastic or expensive cooling).

More of my "free" opinions For What They Are Worth

I’d get a 1200 watt PSU but the jump from $200 for a 1050W to $300 for a 1200W is way too much.



I guess the point of my post is that after 20 years of building PC’s focused only on the almighty “frames per second”, I’m tired of having my money saving chassis and PSU decisions come back to haunt me.

I’d rather spend an extra couple hundred dollars to save some of my blood, sweat, tears and hair in the long run.

Like I said, you don't need that much unless you are doing Crossfire/SLI. Are you? IIRC the common trend nowadays is just get the best single-card GPU you can afford as most games don't work well with dual-GPUs yet, or if they do, the gain in FPS doesn't really warrant the additional cost or trouble of setting it up. So get the most powerful GPU you can afford, and a 700-800W PSU will more-than-suffice.

Still, if that cash is burning a hole in you pocket/bank, why not? As Allen says, it may be a fun "experiment!"

Most sims don't support Dual GPU cards (FSX, XPX, DCS, RoF), but many contemporary titles in general are starting to show some degree of support.

My advice to anyone in that situation is to take stock of the titles you play, and see which of them could use dual GPU's. As a flight simmer for example, I'd sooner buy a liquid cooling setup for my CPU to squeeze more power out of it.