Cat, Here is the HTPC I just built. I forgot to grab my planned $600 dollar version at home last night but remembered this version was on my laptop when I tallied it up for fun, just to see what I saved with the free MB, CPU and RAM.
It's running very nicely and proving to be a solid platform for everything I do with it.
You could easily save and use the onboard GPU and HDMI port right on the motherboard if you didn't intend to play Blurays directly from the BR drive. I just couldn't find out for sure that the on-board GPU was HDCP compliant.
You could probably get away with the stock CPU cooler as well. I ordered the heftier one below as this was going to sit on a shelf near other AV gear already creating heat. For $23, it is cheap piece of mind. In hind sight, the Antec case runs very cool and it may not have been needed.
Thank You Mark for helping me get my hands on the URC MX450 remote. I actually purchased it a bit earlier but added it to this list because I love it so much and it does control all the other required AV Gear.
