Going to build a new HTPC... looking for input

[Sporkk]

Any hd streams will most likely not work well over wireless if you have the files on another pc. You will need the files to be accessible locally unless you wire ethernet. Do you really need a htpc? If your not planning to game I would suggest a nmt instead.

windows media center will not play mkv out of the box. You could look into xbmc if your not planning to setup a dvr as well. Last time i tried xbmc the ff type buttons didn't seem to work well with mkv's. You also need to decide how your going to control it. A wireless keyboard and mouse is ok but your much better off getting a cheap mce remote from amazon.

I have a sagetv setup with the hd300 extenders. I have a shared folder on my main pc for the library and another box running sagetv to record ota. The hd 300's do all the display work and they also work in standalone mode if you dont need dvr software. All my pc's are configured for s3 sleep to save $$ and the planet. Its a great setup having access to the same content in whatever room we want.

If you want a htpc thats cool but you may not need one as a nmt works fine and is much less trouble ...

[mjmacky]

I am a popcorn hour person myself, was quite invested into it. However, after having some friends buy them, it's become a task to explain the more tech oriented handling and capability of the NMT. So I tend to shy away from it these days, the repetition has gotten to me. So I've exited the business of swaying towards one or the other.

However, if the OP has any questions (if there's interest in NMT), I'll check this thread again and help out if I can.

[Skiz]

Loving the discussion. Some is a bit over my head but I'm learning a bit as well.

I'd like to steer of ATI products, tbh. I've had terrible luck with them in the past and really don't want to give them another shot. I like that GT430 card too, btw.

I tend to like Intel far more than AMD but I started out AMD shopping here just to save money, no other reason. I'll buy whatever I think will give me the most reliable, versatile system for my buck.

Also, while creating my own wishlist on Newegg to keep track of what I was favoring, I figured out that I can peruse other peoples wishlists as well. A quick search for "HTPC" yields 21 pages of builds which gives me some insight and tips into what others are leaning towards. Maybe it will give you guys some ideas as well. http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Pu...rchItemNumber=

[Skiz]

Some good combo sets too.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...0%20-%20%24500
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...0%20-%20%24400