HeavyG

It wasn't until I posted in Kraker Jak's power supply thread that I realized how important brand names mean to some PC enthusiasts. I am not referring to life long wars between nVidia vs ATI or Intel vs AMD, but more around the components that are not as crucial. I would hate to be new to PC building and having to select components for the first time. Deciding on things like cases and power supplies, you can literally get fatigued by the time you are finished researching all available options. I wouldn't even know where to begin!

When shopping for a new case, what should a PC building "newb" really look for? Functionality? Cooling? Space? Flashy looks? If you think about it, even the more expensive cases are just hunks of metal and plastic with cheaply made input jacks to add some convenience and a few $5 fans for cooling. It is a fact that there are plenty of generic, affordable solutions that would make a perfect case for a gaming system. If this is true, then why the fascination around more expensive cases such as Antec, Cooler Master, and Lian Li (just to mention a few)?

Are these cases going to make your gaming machine perform better? Probably not. Sure, some cases have room for water cooling, extra fans, etc, but these "conveniences" are really only good for someone looking for some extreme cooling for overclocking. But we still buy them. I say "we" because I am one of those people with a Cooler Master Cosmos S Black full tower. With the money I spent on my case, I could have upgraded my graphics card, upgraded my CPU, or bought a couple hard drives for additional storage. Instead, I dropped the cash on something that gave me very little, if no increase in performance, simply by better cooling.

Why did I go with the Cooler Master case? Well, probably because my two previous cases were the Cooler Master Cavalier and the Cooler Master Wave Master. They were good cases and lasted through many moves and LAN parties. Once it was time to upgrade, I decided on a full tower, and with my personal experience with Cooler Master cases, I decided it was a "no-brainer". Looking back, I probably would have been just as happy with an Antec or Lian Li, but something inside me made me not even consider any other brand besides Cooler Master. Ridiculous, I know.

So here we are a year later, and I am recommending Cooler Master PSUs to someone looking to replace a dead PSU. There are hundreds of options available, and I find myself recommending what I know to be high quality products based on my own personal experiences. I know there are other good PSU manufacturers, some probably receiving better reviews with Cooler Master, but if someone asks for my opinion, I tell them what has worked for me. Unfortunately, not everyone is me. Not everyone has the same needs as me or can afford to spend $100+ on a PSU.

My preferences are... well... my preferences. I prefer Cooler Master cases and PSUs, OCZ memory, ASUS motherboards, Sapphire video cards, and Western Digital hard drives. I will pay more to get products from these companies, even if their competitors are offering similar products at lower prices. Personal experience creates brand name loyalty. Everyone will have different preferences based on different experiences, and I can live with that.

HeavyG