SFF multimedia PC for hooking up to a home theater

[customcomputer1]

Hey guys, I'm going to be building a PC for my home theater over this summer. Cost should be under $1200, give or take up to $200. I would like the case to be small, but so long as it looks nice it can be larger, just something a little smaller than my stacker 810 build! : P

I want to go with an intel CPU, going to toss in a blueray drive, the comp should be capable of some gaming, nothing extreme, but some medium performance gaming on the bigscreen is always good : )

I won't be overclocking this computer, but I am interested in water cooling due to the noise issue. A silent running computer is a must for my application. Also since a lot of good CPU coolers are very large and might not fit in the case, this could solve that problem as well.

My basic outline for component cost is such:

~$300 for processor
~$100 for PSU
~$100 for sound card
~$200-300 for graphics card
$80 hard drive
$80-150 for ram
nice keyboard and mouse
$150 blueray player
and then little things such as fans, cables, etc to round it out to about $1200.

Can you guys help me formulate a list of components? Also do you guys recommend going DDR3 with 2 gigs of ram (can't afford 4 gigs at DDR3) or 4 gigs at DDR2?

Thanks in advance!

 

[akhilles]

Consider the PS3 for $400 US. It does BD, games, pictures through USB, Internet, upgradable Bluray firmware (new features), keyboards, mice, HDMI, wireless... I could go on and on.

 

[customcomputer1]

you have a good point, but I really want the PC interface and also the vastly less expensive games. Good call, but I'm picky : )

 

[groo]

I think you can cut back on your CPU budget without loosing tooo much functionality.

you should probsbly go micro ATX. I just ordered an Antec mini P180.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129041
it should be quiet, and has WC gromets.

the nVidia 8200 chipset for AMD, just barely released, has Hybrid SLI.
basicly it shut off the graphics card (if suported, 9800gtx or gx2 for now), when not needed, like watching movies or surfing the web.
eventualy it'll be released for intel too, but AMD owns the HTPC market.

here is a wireless keyboard with a built in trackball.
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16823166079
probably not the greatest for gaming or heavy use, but should be good for the minor stuff.
I'm pretty sure you can run 2 keyboard. I know a pair of mice isn't a problem..

When I asked about a silent PSU, "everyone" said Enermax 82+

I'd say DDR2, but maybe DDR3 if your running a 32 bit OS

HDD,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148298
you'll want more memory than you can get for $80