A couple ideas
- Don't use seagate, they are not as reliable and are not as fast as western digital.
- Switched the r9 290 in the 1k build to a 970, much better bang for the buck and doesn't burn up like the sun.
- Use a different brand then Team Vulcan for memory, G.Skill works very well.
- Your power supplies are from companies that are not very good at making power supplies. Stick with XFX, Cooler Master, and SeaSonic.
- Just because someone is not overclocking doesn't mean they won't need a good or at least decent CPU cooler.
- If your gonna use r9 290s for some strange reason, at least use Sapphires watercooled version so it doesn't overheat and thermal throttle.
Just a couple ideas.
I am afraid you are misinformed on pretty much all your points, actually.
There is no reliable evidence to say that WD are more reliable than Seagate for HDDs. They are most certainly not faster, in fact the barracuda is faster in most applications then the equivalently priced WD blue drive, however it makes little to no real world difference so you should get whichever is cheaper.
The 970 is more expensive and is used if the budget allows for it. The 290s are perfectly well cooled with non-reference cards, the heat issues were with the reference design which was awful.
Memory is rated for particular specifications and is manufactured by the same couple of companies. It makes no difference which brand you buy because RAM is RAM.
If someone is not over clocking, there is no benefit in getting a better CPU cooler aside from if they live in a ridiculously hot country or they would rather buy a silence focused cooler to improve the noise level. I would definitely suggest never to bother and spend the money on other parts instead.
Edit: I also forgot to address your point on PSUs. All the units recommended on cmpc have been vetted by me by looking to professional reviews to evaluate their quality. There is no such thing as a bad brand, just bad individual PSUs. Dismissing all but a few brands means that you will end up losing out on savings you could have made on better value units.
Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback though.
Mark