A Home Theater PC I Would Love To Build

My current HTPC has begun to stagnate a little. While it still runs great, I haven’t made any significant advances with it in the last year. Forever on my mind is a HTPC build that I would put together if I weren’t living off of student loans. In my current situation, I have only the one large tv that has access to the HTPC so I’m not worrying about server/client setups yet. So, below is something I’d like to give a go in the near future should I happen to fall into some parts.

– Case: OrigenAE X11 HTPC Case with VFD/IR Module and MCE Remote

– Power Supply: Seasonic M12 500W Modular Power Supply

– Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-965G-DS3 LGA 775 Intel G965 Express

– CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor

– Heatsink: Thermalright SI-128 CPU Cooling Heatsink

– RAM: Kingston 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) KVR800D2N5/1G (x2)

– Hard Disk: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000KS (x3)

– Blu-ray/HD DVD Drive: LG Super Multi Blue BD Drive/HD DVD reader – SATA GGW-H10NI

– Video Card: Gigabyte GV-NX85T512HP GeForce 8500GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 w/ HDCP

– Sound Card: Auzentech X-Meridian 7.1
– Accessories: National LM4562NA Operational Amplifiers

– HD/SD Tuner: HDHomeRun Networked Digital TV Tuner (x2)

– Keyboard/Mouse: Gyration Universal Remote Control and Compact Keyboard Suite for Media Center

– Case Fans: Nexus Real Silent Case Fan SP802512L-03 (x2)
– Accessories: Zalman Fan Mate 2 Fan Controller 

Reasoning: I’d consider going with a case with a touch screen in an instance where I put the HTPC in a server rack, or in a home theater with only a projector display device. Currently in my family room I don’t see the need for a touch screen LCD on the case. I currently have a Seasonic M12 500W and I love it. Modular cables are great and it’s quiet and efficient. The Auzentech X-Meridian is to use with analog out audio. In a situation where I’d use SPDIF, I’d look for something else. I receive all basic cable as unencrypted QAM, so I would use the HDHomeRun for both HD and SD recording, hence the need for 2 of them for a total of 4 tuners. Don’t forget a Gigabit Router either if you try to run multiple units simultaneously. The HDHomerun is something I’ll probably purchase soon and use with my existing setup since I know the QAM channels are there and viewable, I just can’t record them with my existing HTPC. Hope this gives some ideas to those of you looking to build your own HTPCs for the first time!