Some years ago I bought a CM Storm Trooper case (SGC-5000-KKN1), for an XP Pro build I never got around to, and it has been collecting dust ever since. I got derailed into buying used OptiPlex PCs off eBay, with XP Pro pre-installed and pre-activated. Long story shortened, I have noticed a slow slide into 'hoarders syndrome', and am now getting rid of all crapola I don't use. As the Storm Trooper is taking up a lot of space, I need to either use it, or loose it. As I am preparing to retire my OptiPlex 970, I'm looking into using this case for a Win 7 build, since that is the last M$ rendition I will be using, before my transition to MX Linux. Once again, this build is focused on Win 7...neither Win 8, Win 10, nor any other OS will be considered. It has been so long since I researched doing custom builds, I don't recall where to start or what to do. If anyone is open to helping me decide on a parts-list, I would appreciate any recommendations on best components. That said, best likely means the best legacy parts, as I require native support of Win 7 on at least the motherboard and CPU, or any other part where it is essential. I have no interest in doing workarounds to force the 'latest & greatest' parts to play nice with Win 7. Preliminary research indicates that 3rd to 5th gen i7 CPU (or its AMD equivalent) is what I need, but there are way too many models to filter, so I could use suggestions on the top three. Hopefully once a CPU is chosen, that will make motherboard selection easier. Currently I have only vague requirements...16GB minimum RAM capacity, VGA port, and the more expansion slots and SATA connectors the better.
What are you planning to use it for? This together with a budget will give an indication of whether high end or low end components (albeit dated) will be required.
