Wow, that's a really big question... I'll try and keep my answer to 250 words or less rofl@! First, if you really feel you're "The guy that doesn't know anything" then I suggest you stay as far away from water cooling as possible. Secondly, there's A LOT a person can do with decent air flow. You don't even need the most expensive case or the 5 star over 5k reviewed case either. What you do need is a logical plan + fans that fit your plan + a case that you can easily imagine the air flow in. The market is over saturated with fans so, personally, this is the only one that I would heavily rely on reviews (amazon and review websites/YouTube) to verify the manufacture's claim on performance and longevity. As far as selecting a good computer case for your plan, pictures help but if you have access to a computer store that displays open/empty computer cases (i.e. TigerDirect and NCIX) I really suggest you go and get a real hands on look at them stick your head in there and imagine your plan for moving air in and out. You don't have to settle on a case from the store, but use it to get a better idea of what direction you want to go. I'll give you an example of two computer cases: I have 1 BitFenix Prodigy with a stock Nvidia 980 ti and a Intel i7, this case only uses fans. 3- 2 on the CPU cooler and 1 for the rear of the case. Because it has a large vent in close proximity ti the 980ti, the graphics card has access to fresh cool air that way, sucks it in and blows it out the rear of the case. I also have a Corsair Obsidian 900D case, it runs 2 Nvidia GTX 780 and a Intel i7. I chose to water cool that one, mainly because of the graphic cards. Where does that leave performance? Is the water cooled pc faster than the one that uses fans only? Honestly, their almost equal in performance. The Nvidia 980 ti is a powerful card in it's own right, and two 780's are beefy as well when you remove heat from the equation.
In short, learn more about air cooling for now, invest in a style of pc fans that you like and decide on a air cooling strategy. Once you've mastered air cooling, down the line, when you're making so much money you're using it as napkins....then.... maybe....perhaps....go water cooling LOL. (water cooling can get crazy expensive). Good luck!
