building a low/med end HTPC, please help critique

[z0mb13]

Hi all please critique my HTPC build:

Asus P5KPL-AM G31-1600-775
Intel Dual Core E5200 (2.5 Ghz, 2M cache
Kingston 4GB DDR2 800 RAM
Segate 500GB SATA2 HD
Lite on 22 DVD RW
Nvidia Gefore 9500GT 1GB
onboard sound
10/100 LAN
HDTV card
case with 350W power supply

I am building this in HK, and the total is around 3000 HKD which is about $390 USD

I will be hooking this up to my 37 inch lcd tv with HDMI, and use it as a HTPC for recording tvs and such.

Is the proc ok? I can upgrade to E7300 for a bit more (around $50 bucks)

Also I prefer to have a semi compact case, but I was told that the Power supply would be smaller (260W vs 350W) and my PC will overheat if I keep it on for too long. Is this true?
But I like the 260W since its cheaper to operate and less noisy.

Thanks for any input!

 

[s44]

Why a Nvidia card? You can get a low-profile HD4550 that will give you full HDMI audio.

 

[somethingsketchy]

Originally posted by: z0mb13
Also I prefer to have a semi compact case, but I was told that the Power supply would be smaller (260W vs 350W) and my PC will overheat if I keep it on for too long. Is this true?
But I like the 260W since its cheaper to operate and less noisy.

Thanks for any input!

Unless you have crap for case ventilation, the overheating issue is a moot point. Now if you select a case that has decent ventilation, unless you plan on playing video games and fold with this HTPC, overheating should not be an issue.

For your power supply, you might as well go for the 350w PSU, since you'll be running a separate video card for video source. At that wattage, you will have to be more worried about your TV and stereo equipment pulling more electricity than the HTPC.

Just a thought.

 

[z0mb13]

Originally posted by: s44
Why a Nvidia card? You can get a low-profile HD4550 that will give you full HDMI audio.

sorry I am a total noob

what is a HDMI audio? is there a separate connection for this?

Thanks

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

No, it means delivering audio and video through a single HDMI cable.

 

[z0mb13]

Crap so the nvidia cart that I bought doesnt have HDMI audio??

 

[batuchka]

My $365 free shipping suggestion ^^
http://i137.photobucket.com/al...5/batuchka/365HTPC.jpg

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

If this is going to be an HTPC connected to a HDTV, why get a DVD drive, go BluRay.