help me out with an HTPC build

DreadNiK

DreadNiK

DreadNiK

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Joined
20 Mar 2006
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692
So I've decided to build an HTPC to go in my AV setup, but I've been out of touch with the latest kit for a while now.

I already have the soundcard I'll use, the Auzentech Hometheater HD. Other than that, I'm going for silent, so as much passive cooling as possible while still being able to play 1080p movies flawlessly, and an SSD for quick boot (and it only needs to hold the OS - cheapest/basic win7 probably)

Case wise would quite like to have something that is no bigger than an AV amp so it will fit under my TV, and needs to be black and/or silver really.

not sure if I need a dedicated gpu or what these new integrated cpu/gpus are like for this sort of thing (or if I can get away with a pretty standard processor and no gfx card)

Don't need/want a TV card or wireless capability, or any storage as that'll be taken care of by the NAS

Very much appreciate any advice and suggestions

Also are there any cheap options for pointing/wand Wii type controllers instead of a mouse these days? thinking I might save a bit for these though (if they get made) as they'd match my furnishings pretty nicely:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1116966310/multi-touch-keyboard-and-mouse
 
thanks for the suggestions

the thing is with the media streamers, I have a early popcorn hour, but I find with streaming boxes the interface tends to be clunky, they rarely have good support for music playback (for example I want to be able to knock together playlists quickly and nothing beats using a mouse for this imo) and I'd rather access iptv service via their websites than apps, I just much prefer having a proper windows interface...

but maybe there are some streamers that have solved these problems? (plus I find I end up with stuff I dont need such as wireless, tv tuner, storage, etc)
 
would that case fit my soundcard in? (hometheater hd) - I need to be able to get HD audio out (either bitstream to amp or straight through) so I presume I'd either need a video card or my soundcard to do that? (and since my pc's 5850 has audio, i don't really need my soundcard in it)
 
thanks for the suggestions - I've gone for the e45 matx pro, antec fusion remote case (matx but takes normal profile cards I believe), corsair 40gb ssd, corsair 430w psu, and 2x4gb corsair ddr3 1333mhz ram, win7 premium. gna stick my soundcard in there anyway since it is more likely to be needed there than my current pc, and going to stick my blu-ray drive in too and use an old dvd drive for my main pc.

also went for a qnap ts412 NAS with 4x2tb seagate green 5900rpm drives :D
 
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