[Admiral LSD]

I love my AOpen HQ-08 but I suspect you'd be after something a little less big and unwieldy...

[redsniper]

you suspect correctly. besides, I'm looking for a black case.

[Ashrak]

Abit NF7-S and DFI Nfinity 2 are best you can get

[redsniper]

it's a little too late for mobo suggestions, but case suggestions are welcome

[GT-Keravnos]

Glad you chose Asus. I swear by mine.

When building a PC, get an asus mobo. Anything else can be a matter of choice.

[Grey Wolf]

Asus is nice, but I prefer MSI. Of course, I'm stuck with a faulty Soltek, but anyway......

Two nice cases (they're really the same, actually) are the Antec SLK3700AMB and Sonata. Main difference? Sonata costs more, but is a bit quieter and has a better power supply (380w TruePower vs. the 350w SmartPower that comes with the SLK3700). Just don't get the SLK3700BQE. It's basically a SLK3700AMB with one fan removed from the power supply and an extra $15 added to the sticker.

[redsniper]

Enlighten me. What's "TruePower"?

[Grey Wolf]

Antec's better line of PSUs. They have slightly better voltages than the Smartpower line (which is Antec's lower line), and tend to run as well as most other PSUs rated about 20w higher.

[redsniper]

so what's cheaper, a 400w regular power supply or a 380w TruePower supply?

[Grey Wolf]

A good 400w is about the same as a 380w TruePower. A cheap one is cheaper, but I would suggest getting a name brand PSU. Non-name brand PSUs tend to have less stringent quality control departments, and a PSU has a bad tendency to take out rest of the computer when they die.

[redsniper]

soooo, what are the big names in power supplies?

[Grey Wolf]

Let's see.... Antec and Enermax are probably the two biggest.  And I've heard some good things about Fortron and Seasonic, especially for their quiet lines.

[redsniper]

hmm, well, I'm getting a case tomorrow. Thanks for the advice.