[New System Build] HTPC $1500 Budget

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: (SOON) BUDGET RANGE: ($1,500)

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: (Watching Cable/DVD's/BR's, Listening to music, Burning DVD's/CD's, Storage, Surfing/email, General living room use) Going to run audio directly to amp then out to 5.1 surround, and video directly to TV.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: (Need everything)

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: ( newegg.com)

MONITOR RESOLUTION: (Samsung 50" 1080p)

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: (I would like a quiet/reliable/HTPC that is completely capable of handling anything I throw at it)

Proposed Parts List:

Case--Antec Black Aluminum / Steel Fusion Remote Black Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case

OP--Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 32-bit for System Builders

Motherboard--DFI LP JR P45-T2RS LGA 775 Intel P45 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Memory--G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

CPU--Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor

Video--HIS Hightech H465PS512P Radeon HD 4650 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card

Drives--(2) HITACHI 0A38016 1TB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

Burner--LG Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-ROM SATA Internal Combo LG Blu-ray Reader & 16X LightScribe DVD±R DVD Burner

Power Supply--FSP Group ZEN 400 400W ATX 2.2V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Fanless Power Supply

Turner Card--Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 Media Center Kit Dual TV Tuner 1213 PCI-Express x1 Interface

Sound Card--HT | OMEGA CLARO Plus+ 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card

Keyboard/Mouse--Logitech LX 710 Laser Black USB Cordless Standard Desktop

Wireless--Rosewill RNX-EasyN1 IEEE 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wireless-N 4.0 Dongle (1T1R) Up to 150Mbps Data Rates WPA/WPA2 (AES, 64,128-WEP with shared-key authentication) WPS PIN, PBC (Hardware WPS Button) QoS-WMM

TOTAL--$1,468.82
Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Something like this---[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134][/url] --for the CPU

Do I gain anything going from 32 to 64???

I don't think the Freezer 7 will fit in the Antec fusion case. Maybe go with a lower profile cooler like the Scythe mini ninja or shuriken?

Also, consider the new E6300 over the E7400. Same clock speed, only 1MB less L2 cache, $40 less.

I used to use the Logitech 710 for my HTPC and didn't like it. I went to a keyboard with built in trackball and like it much better since it's a lot more 'couch friendly' than using a mouse. Plus the keyboard has shortcut keys on the side edges and every time you pick it up you'll open things like MS paint etc.

You could also save some money with a quiet actively cooled PSU (Seasonic, Corsair, Antec EW). They're completely inaudible from 10' away.

Depends on what you're doing... do you really need the quad? That's going to not only cost a bit more, but produce a good amount of excess heat and consume quiet a bit of power. However, if you're going to be ripping and encoding (you only state that you're going to burn and watch) things, the quad will be well worth it...

You should get a 64-bit OS! I can't emphasize this enough. It doesn't cost anything extra!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6832116488
http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/w [...] nload.aspx << 64-bit!!

As for the drives, might be a better (and cheaper, faster) idea to RAID a couple of 1TB drives. 2 1TB drives would only be $180 shipped, while 1 2TB drive is $230 shipped. I personally would get 3x 1TB drives and put them in a RAID-0 (or get 4x 1TB and put them in RAID-5 for fault tolerance) for the speed -- much better performance and space for the dollar as well.

A 4850 is really overkill for a HTPC unless you intend to do gaming. If you're not gaming or anything, just go back to the 4670 - that's plenty of muscle, and then some.

As for the power supply, if you aren't going to use the rebate, that unit is not worth $105.
IMO, this unit is a lot better (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703005)...
Instead of having to worry about how many amps each device is pulling from it's 12V rail, PC&C units have only 1 12V rail -- 49A of power.

Well after some more research and advice the build is looking more like this....



Case -- Antec Black Aluminum / Steel Fusion Remote Black Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case

Motherboard -- GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 9400 HDMI Micro ATX Intel

CPU -- Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model

Memory -- G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

Power Supply -- Bfg Tech 550W EPS12V

TV Turner -- Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 Media Center Kit Dual TV Tuner 1213 PCI-Express x1 Interface

CPU Cooler -- Scythe Ninja Mini

Sound Card -- HT | OMEGA CLARO Plus+ 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card

Burner -- LG Black Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16X DVD±R DVD Burner SATA Model GGC-H20L

Hard Drive -- Western Digital Caviar Green WD15EADS 1.5TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

OS -- Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders or #7

Wireless -- D-Link DIR-625 IEEE 802.3/3u, IEEE 802.11b/g, IEEE802.11n Draft 2 RangeBooster N Router and Rosewill RNX-EasyN1 IEEE 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wireless-N 4.0 Dongle (1T1R) Up to 150Mbps Data Rates WPA/WPA2 (AES, 64,128-WEP

Keyboard -- Logitech LX 710 Laser Black USB Cordless Standard Desktop

Any other comments or thoughts??? I'm happy with it, guess I was going a little overboard to start with, that's typical though. Now I've got enough $$$ to buy a great amp for my speakers.