You avoided the mistake because you thought to ask and go from there. Wisdom FTW!
Besides, building PCs is fun...it's why I do it for free for acquaintances and non-profits; I get my 'fix' (and experience) without killing my wallet.
Besides, building PCs is fun...it's why I do it for free for acquaintances and non-profits; I get my 'fix' (and experience) without killing my wallet.
- Check the size of the cooler against your case--especially if you have a fan in the side panel; try to find people who use/tried to use your combo
- PSU: It's a good idea to go a smidge over since PSU performance/capacity will decline over time (albeit years but, hey, I only change PSUs when they change ATX standards). I emphasise smidge since a PSU underutilised drops severely in efficiency. Depending on power costs, you may want to consider higher efficiency if the increased cost of the PSU would be less than expected utility costs by being less efficient (I wouldn't worry about it..really splitting hairs there)