Thinking about a HTPC

What do you guys think of this setup? Where would you go differently for a compact htpc that is powerful enough for blu-ray playback?


Case:LIAN LI PC-Q7 Black Aluminum Mini-ITX Tower
Mobo:ZOTAC GF9300-D-E LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 9300 HDMI WiFi Mini ITX
PSU:CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified
CPU:Intel Pentium E6300 Wolfdale 2.8GHz
RAM:G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ
HD:Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EADS 2TB
Optical:LG Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-ROM SATA

Total:$755

Three Changes:
Changed the Blu Ray Drive
Combo Deal on Case and PSU:
Changed from 2TB Green to 1TB Black

New Total: $575

That changed out Bluray drive doesn't come with software so you'd need to spend a bit more to get it to actually work. Is space a big concern? Mini-ITX is cool for putting inside cars and that sort of thing but if you ever want to upgrade storage or mobo you will be very limited.

I just put together the stuff listed below and couldn't be happier. Very low power consumption and plays Blurays great.

edit: If you want to go a bit smaller, check out http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112186 for a few bucks more. Also if you don't care about power consumption and might add a video card for gaming later on, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103681 would be a better processor to use.

Somehow or another when I added the blu ray drive it came with cyber dvd for 19.99 and the blu ray was discounted by $20, so it's basically bundled with free software.

The reason I chose the mini itx is for it's small size and it seems to get great reviews minus it's one flaw of not being able to wake up by usb.

updawg said:

Somehow or another when I added the blu ray drive it came with cyber dvd for 19.99 and the blu ray was discounted by $20, so it's basically bundled with free software.

The reason I chose the mini itx is for it's small size and it seems to get great reviews minus it's one flaw of not being able to wake up by usb.

Click to expand...

It's also really pricey for what you get, and if you ever want to add a video card, you'll need a bigger case anyway