Help on my first HTPC Build

[awelwood]

I've read alot of guides and such but want to make sure I'm not missing anything (or some great deal going on right now).

This is my first build and I don't have much yet as far as media but will be ripping all my dvd's and blurays as a start (as well as using it to stream netflix, hulu, etc.)

Budget is flexible I'm really looking for best bang for the buck and not needing to upgrade anything for quite awhile beyond adding additional storage. Everything is priced from newegg based on todays deals, any critique is appreciated!

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Intel Core i3-3220 Ivy Bridge $129.99

ASRock H77M $69.99

G.Skill Ripjaws 2x4GB DDR 1600 $42.99 (I realize 8GB is overkill but its only $13 more than 2x2GB)
Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D $44.99

OCZ Vertex 4 VTX4-25SAT3 128G 2.5" SSD $89.99 (there is also a sandisk 128G for $79.99 any reason not to get it since it is cheaper?)

WD Caviar Green WD20EARX 2TB Drive $109.99 (current cheapest of the 2TB drives recommended in assassin's guide)

Rosewill FBM-01 MicroATX Tower $29.99 (there were a couple other Rosewll for $30 as well this one looked nice to me)

LITE-ON Black Internal 12x Blu-ray Combo SATA optical drive $54.99

Windows 7 Ultimate (already have)

Total $572.92
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It is a little more than I was hoping to spend but I don't want to give up the SSD, only thing I can think of to save any significant cash would be to drop to a cheaper processor/mb combo but I don't want to give up any significant performance (i.e. 3d bluray down the road). I will also eventually like to build some cheaper mini HTPC's and use this as my storage and main unit (and be able to play things back on multiple tv's at once).

*edit* I also have an old computer from 2006 I could possibly use some parts from. It was a Monarch build (now defunct) but has a working 450w PSU, case, and DVD/RW (doesn't help me since I want to rip blu-rays). I was concerned about using an old power supply and its a full size tower which I'm not thrilled about.

 

[el-Capitan]

I think you have done well with balancing performance/price. Personal brand preferences aside, i would not suggest different.

Something to consider may be size/heat/noise constraints, e.g. the stock i3 fan will definitely be audible from 10-12 feet away.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

Aside from the fact that I personally avoid Asrock-boards like the plague, that looks just fine...

 

[flocko]

I don't want or mean to be contradictory but I just finished a nice build using this board . It was / is one of many recommended in Assassins guides for htpc . http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157301

Man , what a nice board . Easy on the eyes , not that it matters and REAL simple to set up . The bios is very simplistic but still has a lot of nice features. Drivers loaded well with out issue and quite frankly I just felt like the board was setting itself up and I was along for the ride.

 

[lotus503]

That seems beefy for an HTPC.
What to you plan to do on it? What media types etc.