any recommendations for a good gaming case, a plain Jane type - nothing fancy
and, does the case you use really make that much of a difference or is it just
eye-candy?
All cases do the same thing. Just make sure it has enough airflow, and anything after that is personal preference. A good basic case would be Cooler Master 335s or 590s. Cheap and functional.
I love my new Storm Scout. Its styling, to me, isn't as gaudy as many cases. It has plenty of airflow and the integrated handles make transporting it to and from LAN parties a snap.
Are you going to be Liquid cooling or Air cooling your rig? Some cases are extremely good for Air cooling your entire rig, while some are terrible. Something like my Cosmos 1000 case is probably one of the worst cases for air cooling because it has only one intake fan at the bottom and 3 exhausts. However, since I'm liquid cooling my rig, its perfect and looks nice and sleek. I get the same temperatures as other people who Overclock with different and better airflow cases. Here are some pics
HAF 922 is a good choice, I got mine last week and even without any side fans installed it does wonders. The fan on my graphics card barely moves up from its idle setting now, even under Gaming or F@H GPU client (or both).
While I don't own a HAF 922 I have seen one in person, it probably has more uniqueness to it than you'd like but it is a well built case. The only con is the price, they're well built and good looking, but you pay for both those features when you only want function.