Onus :
I'd love to see some mini-ITX builds. New graphics cards sip juice and run cool, and there are some decent 400W PSUs available in reduced sizes. You could even use a Lian Li case that takes a full-sized PSU, but that could be tough on a $500 budget; maybe at the $1K level.
I don't mind cheap cases, in fact I rather like the particular Rosewill m-ATX you used (I've also used it). For overclocking, it might need a front fan added, which is another $6. What I don't like though, are junk cases. No more Logisys please (or Apevia, or Raidmax).
I'd also like to see a pair of HD7770s in a build. The benchmarks I've seen put them around the GTX570 level, for around $280-$300. They also OC well. The killer will be those games that still don't scale with multiple cards, but the pleasant surprise will be the power consumption.
I don't mind cheap cases, in fact I rather like the particular Rosewill m-ATX you used (I've also used it). For overclocking, it might need a front fan added, which is another $6. What I don't like though, are junk cases. No more Logisys please (or Apevia, or Raidmax).
I'd also like to see a pair of HD7770s in a build. The benchmarks I've seen put them around the GTX570 level, for around $280-$300. They also OC well. The killer will be those games that still don't scale with multiple cards, but the pleasant surprise will be the power consumption.
1) If/when we do mini-ITX, it will be a team-wide trio representing that niche at each price point. I bounced the idea off the team 6 months ago, and none were opposed. If readers got vocal sharing the desire, it would likely happen sooner rather than later.
2) It's hard not to find some fault with sub-$40 cases, but I've been reasonably satisfied with almost every single Rosewill I've ever touched. When funds are limited between case and PSU, you and I both know which deserves attention first.
3) I doubt you'd see me go multi-GPU in an SBM unless given a far higher budget. I can't explain why here and now, but hopefully in the next few weeks. I've been on a long term project that will expose another "killer" besides microstutter or games that do not scale. Data freaks (like myself) should like this monster once live.
Thanks, as always, for your constructive comments.