Hello everyone,

This is my first post after purchasing a 5.1 Axiom setup back in mid February. Here is my setup M22v2 x2 on VTI VSP Stands , VP150v2, QS8v2 x2, Mirage S12 sub, Yamaha RX-V2600, Samsung 56" DLP and a tired old JVC 7 Disc DVD player. I can say without a doubt that I made the right choice and that I absolutely love them.

I previously had a 3.1 setup with a pair of floorstanding Polk LS70's, Polk center channel, Sony STR-D1011 receiver and a NHT SW2P sub. Wow what a difference.

Now I am trying to get the parts together for a HTPC that will be used primarily as a media center with some light gaming. I may have gone a bit overboard here, but I want to future proof. I have scoured the Internet for ideas for about a month now and think I am ready to begin.

I have yet to make a decision on a case so all suggestions are welcomed. I am thinking about one of the larger cases since I’ll have the room. I’m trying to think of what else to add… I am currently with Comcast/Time Warner, but will most likely be switching to Verizon Fios. If I have overlooked anything critical please ask/tell me. Here is a list of the parts I have / on order and those I am considering.

Currently have:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 Computer Brain on order)

Motherboard: ASUS P5W DH Deluxe Newegg (on order)

DDR2: Corsair XMS2 2GB (2X1GB) DDR2 800 (PC6400) Newegg

HDD: 5- Seagate 7200.10 SATA 320GB 7200RPM 3GB/S 16MB buffer Newegg
I got a little carried away thinking that I could fit all 5 drives in a HTPC case..... Realistic?

Sound Card: AuzenTech HDA Xplosion 7.1 DTS/Dolby Digital ZipZoomFly Is this sound card better than the motherboard's onboard sound?

Video Capture Cards: NVIDIA® DualTV MCE for analog PVR duty NVIDIA Store

Vbox Cat’s Eye DTA-150 for OTA HDTV includes firefly remote and BTV4 PcAlchemy I will be using XP PRO with BTV 4.0 for the front end.

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon X1600 PRO HDMI PCI Express 256MB DDR3 PcAlchemy This card has HDCP compatibility.


Considering:

Vvox Cat’s Eye 164e Dual Tuner for HDTV, Vbox, hard to pass up on a dual tuner option that fills an otherwise empty PCIe X1 slot, 2 on the Asus Mobo. I hadn't seen this card for sale, so I had to inquire about this one. After being referred by Yosi Brosh at Vbox, Greg from PC Alchemy said " The DTA-164e should be available late September. The price will be around $179. From our testing of the sample we were provided the card works great for HDTV but we would not recommend using it for analog because it requires a software MPEG encoder to do analog."

For a DVD burner I see that Ben Q seems to be a popular choice.
Any power supply suggestions?
I am thinking Channel Master for the OTA HDTV antenna, with an attic placement. I am 34 miles from door to tower and Antenna Web has my local stations coded yellow. Our ABC in Dallas is VHF and the rest are UHF so I'll need a VHF/UHF antenna.

Thank you for your time, because of the novelette this has turned into, and in advance for your responses.

Shaun

Make it idiot proof and someone will make a better idiot.