Case:
Fractal Design's Nodes look nice, and the 304 is definitely cheaper than the GD08B, and the built-in fan controller should be welcome. How do these cases compare with the GD08B? What about the 605? It wouldn't save me money, but it looks nice enough to be considered as an alternative to the GD08B, especially if the 304 turns out to have some flaws.
The Lian-Li PC-Q08 is too tall. I only have 10 inches of shelf space, and this case is just above that.
My shelf is this:
http://www.paulstv.com/TV-Stands-and-Fu ... ack-52.aspI don't actually have it or the TV yet - the shelf was 50% off if you bought it with the TV, which I ordered recently. The shelf looks like it's open in the back and front, but the back will be up against a wall. The front will remain open.
PSU:
The one I'm considering looks like it's 160mm if I understand the specs correctly. Would this be a problem in any of the cases I'm considering?
HDD:
Leaning towards a WD Green 1TB. I'm thinking that typical PC use will only use the SSD, and the HDD will spend most of its time in sleep mode. Should the WD Green be good for that? Also, why consider a 2.5" if you have the space and the power for a 3.5"? Are they quieter, even at the same RPM?
CPU:
What current games would make best use of a CPU better than the slowest i3?
GPU:
Why do you consider a 550 Ti but not a 650 Ti? The latter seems to offer significantly better performance while still being in my budget. And I've read that 660's run considerably hotter than 650 Ti's (and cost a lot more too).
Going by those charts, I could live with the performance of a 650 Ti for all of those games except for Metro 2033 and Crysis. Personally, I find AA overrated too - it's the first thing I turn off when my frame rate is below 60.
RAM:
Removed the G.SKILL's from my list, added Corsair Vengeance 8gb (2) low. Again, not too much thought - it's just the highest rated low profile 8GB RAM on Newegg.
Mobo:
Crappy CPU fan controls, crappy case fan controls, or both? I've never actually used a motherboard's case fan controls before. My current system, a traditional gaming PC mid-tower, uses Antec Tricool 120mm's, which are daisy-chained to the PSU and set to low.
Thanks for the advice so far. Hope all these questions aren't annoying.