HTPC build in first stages. A few questions.

[Adams551]

Hi, working on my second build. First was a great success thanks almost entirely to this forum. This time I'm wanting to build a Blu-ray HTPC for my Samsung 52" LCD.

Objectives:
1) Blu-ray movies
2) Gaming (Call of Duty, Crysis, Battlefield type games)
3) Back up to HDD of many of my DVDs
4) Wireless connection to internet from main router in other room.

Possible objectives in future:
1) DVR (have a set top box from cable company and don't see going to the wife-unfriendly PC way of doing DVR but you never know)


Compiled parts list so far:

ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - 129.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - 164.99

CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - 59.99 *($24 AR from zipzoomfly by the way)*

HIS Hightech H467P1GP Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready iSilence 4 Video Card - 122.99

CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX 520W ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS - 109.99

LG Black 6X Blu-ray DVD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-ROM SATA Internal Combo LG Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Model GGC-H20LK - OEM - 109.99

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - 129.99

ADESSO WKB-3000UB Black 86 Normal Keys 13 Function Keys USB 2.4 GHz RF Wireless Mini Keyboard w/Optical Trackball - 64.99

D-Link WDA-1320 IEEE 802.11b/g 32-bit PCI Wireless G Desktop Adapter - 17.99

The above I'm pretty sure about. Obviously if I've made any compatibility errors or money wasters please let me know. Also, if anything is just not a good idea considering this will be an HTPC.

Big questions about this build:

1) Case. This is confusing me. My wife wants it to fit in our media cabinet but I'm pretty much ruling that out (only 16-17 inches deep). This opens up a lot so now my concerns mainly are silence and look since I won't be able to hide it. Look I can figure out but any suggestions on a near silent case? I like this one but am open to all suggestions.
LIAN LI Lancool PC-K7B Aluminum/ SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - 79.99

2) Vista 32bit or 64 bit. I'm leaning towards 32bit just because I'm familiar with it. I'll only have a few programs installed on this machine since it will be primarily dedicated to media (DVD Shrink, DVD Decrypter, DVDFab, Firefox, Several games as mentioned above) Should I go 64bit? I just don't know about this one.

3) Blu-ray audio. This is probably my biggest concern. I can not seem to find a definitive answer to this. The new audio that is on Blu-ray seems controversial. I hear that without a $200 audio card you can't utilize it. I want the MB to process the audio. I don't like the idea of additional cards that really aren't needed. What kind of audio will I get? If it's still Dolby or DTS and can be used with a 5.1 surround sound system, I'm OK with that. But if the sound is bad, that's a dealbreaker. Anyone with firsthand experience with this issue. If it means waiting till the technology catches up I'm willing to wait.

4) Keyboard. The one above will sort of be my remote for the system. I will need something with a mouse for gaming. Anyone have one they really like with enough range to work properly (12ft or so).

Thank you all for your help.
Brent

[tomtoon]

You might want to take a look at wireless N adapters, as I've always found them to be alot faster:

BELKIN F5D8053 USB 2.0 N Wireless USB Adapter - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833314032 $59.99

I have this one and it is very good.

2) You should also go with Vista Home Premium 64-bit as this allows you to use 4GB or more RAM

I cannot answer the other questions for you but Im sure other people can.

Happy to help!

[Adams551]

I'll narrow it down to a couple questions. Anyone built a Blu-ray HTPC connected to a surround system? Any audio problems encountered?

Thanks