Looking at something like this:

Case: NZXT Phantom 820

CPU: I7-4790K

Mobo: ASUS Z97-A

PSU: 740W 80PLUS Gold Power Supply

GPU: GeForce GTX 780 Ti

RAM: 16GB DDR3 RAM (already own)

SSD (for my windows install and source code stuff): 250GB SSD (already own)

HDD (everything else): 2TB HDD

How is this so far? At ~$1300 It's a tad bit above what I was aiming for given that there's no monitor in that, but that was a soft cap anyway, and that's about the power level I'm looking for. That said, I'm extremely vulnerable to nickel-and-dime creep, so if anything seems stupid, please let me know.

There's one more issue I've run into while doing this: Windows. My only previous custom-built PC was in college where I could get Win7 for free. Do you typically just buy a shrinkwrap copy? I guess that means I need to get a stupid optical disk drive.

$219 case? I would personally go for something cheaper. I get that some people like to have nice elaborate cases with windows or encrusted diamonds or whatever but I'm sure you can find just as good a case for around $100. Many cheapo cases have awful airflow but at $200+ I fear you're paying more for the brand and/or the finish than for the functionality, which is not a problem in and of itself but since you're trying to save money... Though maybe that is a normal price for a full-tower case. I only have a mid-tower one I bought for about $60 (Antec 300) and while it is a bit spartan, it's never caused me any troubles.

I'd cut the spending on the case and put it towards a closed loop water cooler (Corsair H100 or similar), myself. The case on my latest build is a Phanteks Enthoo Luxe; they're a newbie on the scene but rated very highly and not horribly expensive. Another really great option, if you are okay with mid towers, is the Corsair C70, or the 550D if you want silent design. At the same time I wouldn't go to a sub-$100 case. Once you've worked with and used actually nice cases, it's very obvious why cheap cases are cheap.

$219 case? I would personally go for something cheaper. I get that some people like to have nice elaborate cases with windows or encrusted diamonds or whatever but I'm sure you can find just as good a case for around $100. Many cheapo cases have awful airflow but at $200+ I fear you're paying more for the brand and/or the finish than for the functionality, which is not a problem in and of itself but since you're trying to save money... Though maybe that is a normal price for a full-tower case. I only have a mid-tower one I bought for about $60 (Antec 300) and while it is a bit spartan, it's never caused me any troubles.

Yeah, I mentioned this in my OP. I've been running with something like a $40~60 mid-tower case for well over a decade, and I'm sick and tired of it. I want something where it's easy to install drive bays, and where I don't have to take all of them out just to add another. I want something where I can hide my cables, et. al.

I'd cut the spending on the case and put it towards a closed loop water cooler (Corsair H100 or similar), myself. The case on my latest build is a Phanteks Enthoo Luxe; they're a newbie on the scene but rated very highly and not horribly expensive. Another really great option, if you are okay with mid towers, is the Corsair C70, or the 550D if you want silent design. At the same time I wouldn't go to a sub-$100 case. Once you've worked with and used actually nice cases, it's very obvious why cheap cases are cheap.

Why's that? I always thought water coolers were wholly unnecessary unless you were overclocking or running dual GPUs -- neither of which I intend to do. Is this information wrong? Or is it for noise reduction?

Why's that? I always thought water coolers were wholly unnecessary unless you were overclocking or running dual GPUs -- neither of which I intend to do. Is this information wrong? Or is it for noise reduction?

Looking at something like this:

Case: NZXT Phantom 820

CPU: I7-4790K

Mobo: ASUS Z97-A

PSU: 740W 80PLUS Gold Power Supply

GPU: GeForce GTX 780 Ti

RAM: 16GB DDR3 RAM (already own)

SSD (for my windows install and source code stuff): 250GB SSD (already own)

HDD (everything else): 2TB HDD

How is this so far? At ~$1300 It's a tad bit above what I was aiming for given that there's no monitor in that, but that was a soft cap anyway, and that's about the power level I'm looking for. That said, I'm extremely vulnerable to nickel-and-dime creep, so if anything seems stupid, please let me know.

There's one more issue I've run into while doing this: Windows. My only previous custom-built PC was in college where I could get Win7 for free. Do you typically just buy a shrinkwrap copy? I guess that means I need to get a stupid optical disk drive.

I've just built a new pc with similar specs, but I went for an NZXT 440 for the case. Half the price, but still a great case as long as you can live without an optical drive.

With the money I saved, I put in a Corsair H80i, and oc'd the 4790k to 4.7Ghz.

Comfortably quiet and runs at 45C.

As for windows, if you already have a licence you could just put the install media on a usb key and install from there. As long as you've got a licence, you can "acquire" the install media without any legal ramifications.

The nVidia 970GTX is the biggest bang for the buck these days. I bought a 780GTX when they went on sale for about $330, thinking that it would be faster. Turns out the 970 is still faster than the 780, despite having fewer compute units, less bandwidth, and nearly 100W less TDP.

I'm kicking myself now.

I think you'll have a hard time not compromising something on a Haswell-E / X99 build with a hard budget of 1500. The CPUs are more expensive, and on the lower-end you get more cores than non-E series, but they're slower. If you don't need more cores/memory bandwidth/PCIe and can't spend a grand on the top-end Haswell E to get similar clock speeds, the 4790k is far more cost-effective. X99 Motherboards and DDR4 are also more expensive, so it really ups the platform price.

I would do a 4790k, 16GB DDR3 (splurge a bit and get faster clocks and lower latencies, but not extreme overclocking memory), get a solid motherboard and don't be afraid to pay for it, get a largish (~256GB) SSD drive (I like Samsung 840 or 850 Pro right now) for a boot drive, and get something like a GTX980 or Radeon 290x.

You should be able to run such a configuration on a 500-600W PSU, depending on the strength of the 12v rail (most PSUs should be fine), but you might not have headroom to add power-hungry components like a second GPU -- additional hard drives and such should be fine.

If you want a closed-loop cooler, take a look at Swiftech -- AFAIK, they're the only closed-loop cooler vendor that uses copper radiators, everyone else is aluminum. Their closed loop coolers can also be opened up to be expanded, and the pump is strong enough to push liquid through additional radiators or heatsink blocks. The H220-X or H240-X (if you can fit it) are nice.

If you want a closed-loop cooler, take a look at Swiftech -- AFAIK, they're the only closed-loop cooler vendor that uses copper radiators, everyone else is aluminum. Their closed loop coolers can also be opened up to be expanded, and the pump is strong enough to push liquid through additional radiators or heatsink blocks. The H220-X or H240-X (if you can fit it) are nice.

Swiftechs can't be sold in the US due to patent/legal issues. They are, however, sold under the Cooler Master brand as Glacers.