Rate my HTPC PC before I buy

[Death Dream]

Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM - $80.99 - Bought

GIGABYTE GA-MA78GPM-UD2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - $89.99

PC Power & Cooling Silencer PPCS370X 370W ATX12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail - $49.99

LITE-ON Black BD-COMBO SATA Model ihes108-29 - OEM - $109.99 - Bought

nMEDIAPC Black Aluminum / Acrylic / Steel HTPC 5000B Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case - Retail - $89.99 - Bought

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5050e Brisbane 2.6GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 45W Dual-Core Processor - Retail - 59.00 off of ZoomFly - Bought

OCZ Blade Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model OCZ2B800C44GK - Retail - 46.99

This PC will be running 1080p with 5.1 (or maybe 7.1 I don't know yet). Let me know what you guys think.

~Death Dream~

 

[Greg_77]

No graphics card? I am not sure how good the integrated graphics are on that board, but I thought for a HTPC it was recommended to get a cheap, low power consumption gpu for HD movies.

 

[Death Dream]

It has an ATI 3200 integrated which should be enough. If worse comes to worse I can upgrade to the ATI 4850 card I was looking at for $85 no prob.

~Death Dream~

 

[orangegator]

The 780G graphics is very good. That'll be fine. Only thing I'd change is get a lower power 45W cpu since this is a htpc. Also, assuming you won't be overclocking, the stock cooler will be fine. By the way, your links don't work.

 

[mlcloud]

Can't believe the first thing you picked apart was the graphics card Greg_77. LOOK AT THAT CPU! ITS AN ABOMINATION NOW THAT THE ATHLON II AND PHENOM II x2 CPUs ARE OUT xDxDxD

Higher clock speed, 45nm technology for less heat and energy consumption, LOWER PRICES... I wish. xD

AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor 3.0GHz 2 x 1MB L2 $87
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103681

AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition Callisto 3.1GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 80W $102.99 (price justified by L3 cache and slightly higher clock + greater overclock potential if the future demands it)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103680

But alas, with RAM, these two are out of the budget huh... well, if you can afford $13 somewhere, here's a combo deal:
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor 3.0GHz Socket AM3 65W $123
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103680

Better clock speed, lower heat exhaust... I don't know, that Athlon II x2 is delicious compared to the old athlon x2...

And that CPU cooler is questionable... I wonder if there are any passive coolers or a really silent alternative because the orb designs are pretty outdated...

And you could probably get a larger case with better (silent) airflow and room to support a passive cooler for your CPU, unless you've selected that case for style/placement issues?

 

[Death Dream]

@orangegator: Links are fixed. Thanks for pointing that out.

@mlcloud: Thanks for the recommendations. I don't know to much about AMD's line up as much as I do with Intel. Just went after it because of the price.

The reason I went with that cooler is because it was low profile and might fit into the case. I think I might just go with stock with one of those 45nm chips though.

Your link was kinda screwy but I imagine you meant this combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.203444


Edit:

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103255 I know its not what you wanted mlcloud, but I didn't see any of the newer chips at 45W
Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227420

Think these two look good, going with the 45W idea.

~Death Dream~

 

[Death Dream]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136317 Bought this harddrive instead for $80 with 10% discount. Only thing that I have bought for this PC so far.

Edit: Just bought this 45W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103298

Updated main list above to the changes.

~Death Dream~