Am I going mad?

[gadget1974]

Hi, sorry for another one of those "I'm a newbie, please check my specs" posts... but here goes.

I'm trying to build an HTPC which will drive my 1080p TV, provide Media Center functionality and also give me the room to grow in future... my plan at the moment is to over invest in the case and go for "mid range" components so that I can upgrade in the future (e.g. not buy an HDMI card yet, until the whole HDCP mess is a bit clearer)..

Lastly, I'm trying to keep it as quiet as possible... the unit will replace a long-loved Tivo, and that's my benchmark on disk and fan noise...

So, here's my best go at the moment. I am new to home builds, so please be gentle! (Also, the whole world of mobos is blowing my mind, so I may have made some errors in the cards etc).

Any feedback incredibly gratefully received...

Case - Zalman HD160XT
PSU - QTechnology Ultra-Quiet ATX PSU 460W, 120mm fan
Intel E6300 (2x1.86Ghz 1066FSB 2mb)
ZEROtherm Butterfly Aluminium PWM CPU Cooler*
Mobo - Asus p5W DH Deluxe
Graphics - Sapphire RADEON X1650 PRO ATI 256 MB GDDR3 (HDCP)**
Memory - 2GB DDR2 PC2-4200
HDD - Samsung Spinpoint T-Series HD401LJ 400GB SATA-II 3 Gb/s 7200
DVD - LiteOn 18x DVD±RW/RAM Lightscribe
TV (UK) - Hauppauge WinTV Nova-T 500 Dual digital DVB-T PCI TV Tuner card

* not sure if this will fit in the case, need to check...
** I'm worried about this, because it might be too noisy, given all my other efforts on quietness. But there is only 1, quite underpowered, passively cooled card I can find

Thank you in advance for any advice... it's much appreciated!

 

[aBg_rOnGak]

Are these can be considered 'mid-range'?You didn't put any budget,so it's quite hard to suggest anything.Plus, looking at your list, I presume you're in UK, so I'll suggest something that might be possible for you to get...

Graphics Cards
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-003-GC

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-064-PC

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-065-HT


PSU
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-000-TG

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-005-SS



Just to remind you:

1.I haven't tried any of these
2.They were suggested because...well, there's a word 'silent',eventhough in real world, not as silent as the one using passive cooling solution

I might be wrong suggesting these thing, so read all the features, check the price carefully

Hope this helps

 

[gadget1974]

Thank you for the tips on the Graphics cards - very useful.....!

Am having a bit of crisis of confidence in my Mobo choice.... seems some don't boot with Core 2 Duo...

Am thinking about this, now...

Asus P5b Deluxe wifi ap Lga775 Core 2 Duo P965 Fsb1066 8gb DDR2 Sata Dual Gigabit Lan Wifi Audio Firewire ATX

 

[aBg_rOnGak]

are you going to use Wi-Fi?If not, you'd better choose sth else,or the P5B w/o Wi-Fi.If you want to overclock in the future, you might want to consider mainboards with 680i chipset (1333MHz FSB support, better OCer)

 

[gadget1974]

Good point, thanks

It's incredibly unlikely that I will be overclocking, hence the choice. However, if there's something better... (turns to google with a pained expression )

 

[aBg_rOnGak]

I read that several ppl says that Gigabyte DS3 is a good one also, you might want to check their website