Update...

I've been buying this thing piece-meal. Here's where I'm at so far.

Purchased
motherboard: Intel 975XBX2KR
ram: 2GB Corsair 800Mhz DDR2
audio: Creative X-Fi Extreme Music
storage: Western Digital 500Gb
cooling: Zalman
ps: Corsair 620 watt Power Supply

Remaining to Buy
Video Card
Case
CPU
Optical Drive

I’ve found another video card that I think may be the best bet so far.

GIGABYTE GV-NX795T512H-RH GeForce 7950GT 512MB
It should have PLENTY of power for games, and already has the Zalman heatsink to keep it quiet and cool.




The case I wanted couldn’t accept optical drives with full width face plates, so I’m leaning towards this one now…
Silverstone Grandia GD01-MX



CPU…wanting to future proof myself as much as possible… Intel E6600 2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo It should run any game I throw at it for the next few years, while at the same time run nice and cool and quiet.



Lastly the optical drive. Unless someone talks me out of it, I’m planning on getting the Sony Blu-Ray drive.

With an HDCP compatible video card, hooked up directly to my tv, I shouldn't have any problems watching 1080p movies with this, yeah?

When they finally come out with an internal HD-DVD drive, I’ll have a free 5.25” bay ready and waiting in the Silverstone case.

I’m still hoping to sell my Rotel amp and processor, and replace it with a Denon AVR-3806. I’ll need the space in my audio cabinet for the HTPC, and I should come out ahead in the deal, so the extra money can go towards buying some of the gear.

Regarding my Denon 2900. If this HTPC works out to be as great as I’m hoping, the only reason for me to keep the 2900 would be to play SACD and DVD-A’s. I definitely do not want to lose that ability, but perhaps I could sell the 2900 and replace it with a smaller, less costly unit? Any suggestions?