I have recently began building my own case and happily found the Arduino. However I haven't a clue which to buy. I will be using it to:
control up to 10 meters of LED RGB addressable strip lighting
Provides smooth dimming transitions on all LED (Many will have a water flow effect while a select few will have harsh flickering)
If possible be used with the Grove Touch sensor http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/Grove-Touch-Sensor-p-747.html optional Provide simple computer data and text via LCD
Run off a ATX single rail Power Supply SeaSonic X-1250 1250 W Power Supply - Newegg.com
Shooting for the moon IMO but I'll take what I can get =]
If you don't have a UNO, buy one.
The price is reasonable and it is a good board to learn on.
If you need more capability, you can upgrade without having to learn new skills.
Thanks for the replies! I'll grab the starter kit since I have an amazon gift card and learn how to play with it via the tutorials. If I do break it I'll be sure to pick up the DIP version. Thanks again!!!
Third that for the UNO. There are by far more tutorials and projects written specifically for the UNO than any other arduino and almost all the shields are designed to plug into it.