I hope this isn't inappropriate...

[m3dicat3d]

OK, after going through a bit more searching and refining over the past month, here is the build I'm ready to order a week from now

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/p/JGXp

 

I wanted to post this here to see if anyone can see if there would be any compatability issues that I can't right now. Every thing seems like it will play nice, but since I received so much excellent input here by an informed community already, I wanted to check one last time and ask for your expertise. This build will obviously go beyond 1k and pretty much top me out at the upper end of my price range, but luckily I've been putting in extra hours and saving up for the difference and I feel that this configuration will get me off the ground with plenty of room to grow.

 

The help here at STEP, the user base, and the guides/wikis that are posted have proved nothing short of priceless to me and I just really want to say thank you one more time for all of it. This IS the best place I have received info from hands down... I don't know what I'd do for my goals with my PC/Skyrim without STEP... really :)

[Farlo]

Just want to mention that https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/ can provide a ton of helpful, albeit more general, advice as far as PC building. 

 

Personally I wouldn't spend $150 on a case, you can get very good ones for 30-50% of that, just make sure it's roomy enough with good airflow.  Also I doubt you'll need a 750W PSU unless you plan on using SLI, but it's good future-proofing.

[m3dicat3d]

Thank you SOOOO much for the link... amazingly helpful info, and yeah, think I'll be swapping out the case for the Corsair Vengeance Mid

 

As far as the PSU, yeah, a bit of overkill for the current config, but just wanting it for future SLI/CF options should I want that down the road w/o having to worry about a new PSU on top of a new GPU.

 

Thanks again :)

[Farlo]

Thank you SOOOO much for the link... amazingly helpful info' date=' and yeah, think I'll be swapping out the case for the Corsair Vengeance Mid

 

As far as the PSU, yeah, a bit of overkill for the current config, but just wanting it for future SLI/CF options should I want that down the road w/o having to worry about a new PSU on top of a new GPU.

 

Thanks again :)

I think with that case you're paying for design more than functionality.  I've used the Rosewill Challenger for a few builds, including my current one, and it's a fantastic case IMO.  It fits my 6870 DirectCU with room to spare and has enough airflow to keep it under 70C even while benchmarking.  With a Hyper 212 Evo my 2500k (3.8Ghz) is always <60C as well.  Mind you this with the case sitting on a carpeted floor in Southern California.

[m3dicat3d]

I'm actually looking at the Rosewill R5 and it seems to be an excellent case. I love the dust filters (not sure about the top filter on the upper exhaust though) and may take some of the savings to get a couple extra fans for the side with some filters. Curious about what you think of that one (it was listed several times on reddit's Logical Increments-thanks again for that link btw)

 

Also looking at the Rosewill BlackHawk too. Seems there's a bit of an issue concerning cable management space and something about the fan connectors not being the right type? (not sure what the poster meant exactly). Looks like an overall good case too with the prioce only being $15 more.

[Farlo]

I've always liked Rosewill products, I've used a few of their PSUs as well. Just judging from the video it looks at least as big as the Corsair you were looking at and has a ton of fan mounting points, I don't see how you could go wrong with it.

 

Whatever your decision, make sure to read the ALL of the return/RMA stuff for the case, both Newegg's and the manufacturer's, just in case it's not the right size or whatever. Cases are one of those things you can never be 100% sure of until everything's put together.