Building a new comp for HTPC use

[onebxr]

This is my parts list, I am open to suggestions.

Parts I have:

Foxxcon AM2 board
1 GB Corsair memory
6800 GS
Samsung DVD dl Burner
Tenor Case

Parts in shopping cart at the egg:

AM2 Brisbane 4000 (free R6:vegas game)
Samsung Spinpoint 320 gb
Bluegears sound card
BTC RF wireless keyboard (integrated mouse)

Parts undecided but leaning heavily towards:

PSU - Hiper 580w (in this I want something modular)
OS - Windows MCE 2005 (vista still buggy, kinda scared to use it at this time, anyone have a different opinion?)

I am up for changes with any of these parts if you can give me a good reason to switch, except for those parts that are already owned. If this thing is faster when done than my current computer I will be using my old computer for HTPC duties, and this will be my gaming machine.
Thanks for the help,
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[onebxr]

noone wanna help a brother out?
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[One4yu2c]

You've got a decent selection going, and it starts to come down to personal preference at this point. For example, I'm partial to Seasonic's and Corsair's modular solutions myself, and I'd be looking at the 65W 3800+ X2. There's just something intensely satisfying about taking a sub-$100 processor and putting it through its overclocking paces.

Really though, you could keep the above config as-is and not be worse off for it...

[onebxr]

Anyone here ever heard of the htomega sound card? I am looking for a sound card that has DTS and an optical out to connect to a receiver. From the specs. it seems that this is made from the same processor and has the same specs as the auzentech xplosion and is 20.00 cheaper. Anyone have any experience with HTOmega?
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p.s. thanks one

[Yellowhello]

For the graphics card, maybe a 7-series nvidia card?

[PrOLifIC_onE]

Um well... How about a capture card? You gonna use basic cable or a digital signal from satellite or cable?

I would typically recommend a Hauppauge 250 or 350 PCI card for capture but that is for standard cable reception, but I can't find them on newegg. A 150 or even the dual-tuner 500 would be good depending on your signal... When I have more time I can recommend digital tuners as well...

There is really no need to spend over $100 on a vid card. I was running my HTPC on an old fx5200 until about a few months ago. Now I am running a 7100GS and it is working great. There is no need to spend much more than that for the HTPC vid card unless you also plan on doing some high-end gaming on.

[onebxr]

I already have the 6800gs, so I am not going to upgrade the card, and this machine will not be used for gaming.
Prolific, I am not going to use this for capture. I am mainly gonna use this as a jukebox for my dvd and music and some internet connectivity. I have a Tivo for my recording duties.
Maybe later I will explore connecting this as a dvr and tv tuner. Baby steps man.
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[polobunny]

For a HTPC, one would probably like to keep the heat to a minimum (therefore keeping the fan to the strict minimum and furthermore the noise to almost nothing). Nothing is more annoying in my mind than a fan noise while you're watching a movie and cuddling. Oh well you know what I mean. :P
While I understand you already own a 6800 GS, those cards heat alot. If you really don't plan on playing ANY game, I think it would be best to pickup a cheaper, less heating card.

Besides, what are you going to connect this to? A standard monitor, a HDTV?

[onebxr]

HDTV(plasma), and I have an aftermarket cooler(zalman) on the 6800gs and beleive me I know about the heat that sucker generates.
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[polobunny]

Originally Posted by onebxr

HDTV(plasma), and I have an aftermarket cooler(zalman) on the 6800gs and beleive me I know about the heat that sucker generates.
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Fair enough, as long as you realize how much heat this thing dissipates it's all good. :)