APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: 2 weeks to a month BUDGET RANGE: <700

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Watch/Record live TV, Watch video from HDD, watch Blu-Ray, Light multiasking (tv,web)

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: monitor, keyboard, mouse

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com

PARTS PREFERENCES:AMD processor/chipset, Western Digital HDD

OVERCLOCKING: Actually, Underclocking SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1080P

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: None

I was thinking that you guys think about this HTPC build, i plan on underclocking/undervolting the CPU to about 2.4GHz and the voltage as low ias it can go

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=15723247
 
The build looks good. You could save a little money with this CPU and motherboard without really losing any performance:

AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor 3.0GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103681&Tpk=athlon%20ii%20x2 $87

GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-US2H AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128379 $74.99

You could use the money saved to step up to a 1TB HD. The WD Green series are a great choice for a HTPC.

Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136317 $89.99

The Black drive is on sale for a great price right now, but it will be slightly louder.

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drives - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284 $94.99
 
thanks for the input

i think i will go for the Athlon II (i forgot those even came out, im still going to be underclocking to reduce heat as much as possible)
EDIT: i just changed it to the Athlon II

i think i will stay with the ASUS board, i don't mind paying a little extra for that (all of my computer's are ASUS's even the laptop)

about the HDD, i currently have 4x640 in raid 5 in my server and im buying 4 of the 1TB blacks as well with a 4 port raid card for the server (so im expading by 3TB) for a total of around 5TB so i think 640GB will be plenty
 
with my phenom II 810 i can keep it at stock speed and put the volts down to 1.2 (on auto its 1.325)

so im thinking im going for 1v here and underclocking it a bit since i don't need tons of speed right now and this way when i need it i have it, and it should last longer, even 2GHz would suffice for now

what do you guys think for OS ram down to 2GB and 32bit or keep the 4GB and get 64bit (i already have windows, i have like 4 keys that are legit from school)
 
You can never have too much HD space when dealing with HD content on a HTPC. My HTPC currently has 5 HD's for a total of about 2.2TB. I'm constantly trying to think up creative ways to replace some of the drives with higher capacity ones, but it's getting harder and harder to get them past the wife. :)

I have 2 dual-tuner TV tuner cards, so I can record 4 things at the same time. That chews up the HD space in a hurry!
 
well, my server is going to have ~5TB after i update it (4x640 raid-5 and 4x1TB raid 5, all western digital 640's are AAKS models, got them early on in the 320GB/platter and the 1TB's are going to be Black editions)

with 2 tuners i could imagine

and i am getting a raid card for the 1TB's

btw, good luck getting drives past the wife