Thanks kiwijunglist. I'll check on the TDP of the processor. I won't need a tv Tuner as I'm going with the Homerun HD external tuner. http://www.homerun.com.
I originally used the external Soundblaster for providing quality audio from a laptop to my amp. I probably won't use it for the HTPC which will replace the laptop for music in the lounge/TV room. My speakers are not good enough for HD Audio but I might plan for this in future if I want to become an audiophile. :-)
Would an XBOX 360 as a media extender work? I have tried it briefly with my windows 7 PC and appeared to work OK. You can get a Xbox 360 for $350 and is small and quiet.
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I thought long and hard about this as an option. I'll definitely use an Xbox360 elsewhere in the house but for my main media centre I wanted the extra flexibility a HTPC will give me.
I have the Antec Minuit case you mentioned... it's good. My first build was an old P4 3Ghz with an Intel G45 onboard graphics but that struggled with TV3, so I upgraded to the video card. It was not easy finding a half-height video card! I can't remember what one I used in the end but I think it's an ATI 5150 or something (not at home at the moment), and that did the job. I've since upgraded the CPU to a Core 2 Duo something and it handles the old games I play on it fine (Flight Sim X, Grid, Trackmania).
Hmm I should add my system specs to my sig.
Regarding my case, it's quite sexy. To me it still looks like a PC case but a lot of people ask me where my computer is when I show them Windows 7 on my TV, even though the case is staring them in the face.
If the TV is off and the lounge is quiet I can hear a slight fan noise when it's on and when it accesses the disk. But if you're watching TV at even a low volume then this noise isn't noticeable.
Me, if I were gonna build one again I'd probably get one of those Dell Zino tiny PCs.
-Matt
HTPC OS: Win 7 64bit running Media Center | CPU: Core 2 Duo E7500 | RAM: 4Gb | Motherboard: Asus P5Q-EM | Video: ATI Radeon 4650 slimline + onboard Intel G45 (disabled) | TV Card: Hauppauge 2200 | HDD: WD Green 1 Tb | Case: Antec Minuet 350 Laptop HP mini 311 (ION Chipset) running Win 7 32 bit
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