What do you think is the most underrated computer component? The most overrated?

Oh I almost forgot, the most overrated, probably RAM. Memory is important, don't get me wrong. But I see countless people adding 8GB of RAM to their system that they're NEVER going to use. They'd be better off getting an SSD or a processor with more cores at that point. Unless you're truelly using the memory, it's not helping you that much. I have 8 in my system and rarely use over 4. Some people seem to think that adding 8GB of RAM to their system will make is FAST. Unless you're using it it won't help you that much... It's just going to sit their. Get a 10,000 RPM drive or an SSD if you can afford it. Something that will help your real bottleneck, not just add a larger number to brag about. I see even more people add 6 and 8GB of RAM before they even have a dedicated graphics card... to me that's just like "WHAT...?". Anyway, I make my point. For geeks this probably isn't new news, but still.

I definitely agree that the PSU is WAY underrated. It's terribly important, for obvious reasons. But out of full honesty, I think that GPU or the Graphics card is the most underrated component for the average consumer. Sure, gamers know what it is and make sure to get a good GPU, but I have found that most people have absolutely no idea how a good graphics card can improve their computing experience. I have found that upgrading from a 2.66 to 3.0 GHZ dual core does almost nothing, where as adding a good dedicated graphics card makes all the difference in the world. It might sound stupid, but for most people shopping around for computers, all they care about is how big the numbers are. How many GHz is the CPU, how much RAM does it have... half the computers in Best Buy (which are targeted at the less knowledgable consumer) don't even have a dedicated card! Most of them have some crappy Intel GMA or perhaps an onboard ATI controller which is a little bit better, but still. When I found a system with a 1.66GHz Core 2 Duo running programs as fast as one using a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo, I knew something was wrong. The system with the slower processor had a good GPU where as the system with the faster CPU had the Intel GMA X3100 (And you know what that means...). For some this is a no brainer, but many people still don't realize how much a good graphics card can just make everything run so much better. In the end, a dual core is a dual core and a quad core is a quad core, 200MHz is not going to make that much of a difference. Add a good GPU, and you'll see all the difference in the world.

I agree; the case is one of the most underrated components. As you've stated, many users don't give a hoot about their case... Proper airflow is an extremely important aspect, especially with the 70+ degree video card's we're starting to see.

Take my case for example: http://digitwo.com/content/reviews/thermaltake-v3-black-edition-vl8000-review-3/

Great airflow, low price, and it looks pretty sweet. :D

PSU- if other components are added later (doubling RAM, multiple hard drives, video cards, etc), RAM- more attention is paid to CPU speed when RAM is the bridge, in which most apps (including OS are run), dedicated graphics- faster, onboard memory & no "borrowing" or stealing the "cream-of-the-crop" from system memory to run everything...

I agree cooling must be upgraded when adding components. If the case doesn't support extra fans (ie, spots to add fans to), things may get too warm & unstable.

Underrated: North bridge, for without it, you cannot access memory in modern computers. Overrated: Video cards... i dont play that many high end games...

It does appear that RAM is the most overrated in that people are installing so much. People that have 16GB of ram yet only use 4GB, I had 6GB and moved 2GB to a different computer because I am running Windows 7 32Bit that can only read 3.25GB of what is installed so until I run a 64Bit system it is not required.

Underrated, seems that a few parts are not talked about being as important.

I think the PSU and the GPU Are highly underrated as i have a good system eg. 4GB Ram 500GB HDD (Not that this makes a difference to gaming) and Call of duty runs really slow on an ATI Radeon 3200 so i upgraded my GPU and PSU To a NVIDIA 9500GT 1GB GPU and 750w Power Supply and all games run brilliantly.