HTPC Makeover

[kish20]

Currently,

I have a ~4 year old tower PC connected to my LCD TV. It has a AMD 64 X2 5600+ @ 2.8ghz and a 9600gt.
Right now I'm using DVI->HDMI for video and Optical SPDIF for 2.0 channel PCM audio.
As you can probably tell, the system is fairly hot, loud and having only 2 channel is unfortunate.

I want to build a system that is cool, very quiet, and can output multi channel audio via HDMI (bitstream preferred).
*Will not be playing any 3D games*
Budget >$500

Possible choice:

CPU: Athlon II X2 245E 2.9GHz 45W: $75
Motherboard: MSI 740GM-P25 AM3 $50
Memory: GeIL Value PLUS DDR3 4GB $48
GPU:SAPPHIRE HD 5670 512MB $80
HDD: WD BLUE 500gb $50
PSU: RAIDMAX Modular 530W $50
Case:nMEDIAPC HTPC case $70
Total: $423

I'm not looking to spend too much, so I'm not looking for the latest and the greatest.

I've considered going the i3 route w/o a dedicated GPU, but in the end, the platform cost was about the same:
i3(115)+mobo(95)=210
amd(75)+mobo(50)+gpu(80)=205

Any thoughts appreciated!

 

[kish20]

Hey there kish 20,

The build you have there looks pretty good, and pretty similar to the one i have here: http://newbcomputerbuild.com/computer-builds/home-theatre-pc-builds/custom-htpc-starting-at-400/

Which is around $400 using the integrated ATI Radeon HD 4250. But I presume you want the graphics card for extra HDMI? The system above would run very cool and quiet using the Antec PSU

Interesting build.
Can you explain the difference between the MSI mobo I picked vs. yours? I think the extra $35 is for integrated graphics (newer chipset) on your mobo?

I will consider the Antec PSU. I trust you on the quietness, but the non-modular is holding me back. Especially for HTPC build, less cables = better!
Also, it says 400w minimum PSU requirement for the 5670, unless I downgrade to something like the 5550.

And I really like that case! It looks very sleek. Low profile card heights though, so again, I think i might need to switch to a lesser GPU.