[helpermonkey]

Hey guys,
I popped in here about a month back and got some great help. Originally I was going to go with a big box with everything inside ... I've decided against that and am now going after a setup with mostly external parts. I was just going to copy eskro's setup but most of that stuff seems hard to come by / out of stock. I've only selected a few items and was hoping someone could help me narrow down the endless number of choices in the other area.

NAS: Netgear Ultra 2
SSD: Crucial 64gb M4 (http://amzn.com/B004W2JKWG)
Case: - This was suggested: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6811204037
MoBo:
PCU: Leaning towards Ivy Bridge, but i'm wide open here - any suggestions would be appreciated. AMD Llano was another thought. Any comments as to one vs the other?
RAM: TBD DDR3
Fans:
PSU: - I've read about pico units but it appears that my case selection will determine whether or not i can use this.
Tuner: Hauppauge 2250 ***Questions about this*****
Antennae: Mohu MHANT 1000 (http://amzn.com/B004QK7HI8)
Remote: Logitech Harmony One
TV: Panasonic TC-P58S2
Receiver: Onkyo TX-SR608 (I have a 5.1 audio setup currently)
Router: Buffalo WZR-HP-G300NH running DD-WRT build 18024 (probably going to move to an apple here soon cuz this router sucks)
Gaming Machine: Xbox 360

Here's what I'm looking to do with this box/what's important:
1) SILENCE
2) Tuner: Record OTA programing with the ability to watch one thing and record something else at the same time. Will I need separate antennae with that or is one antennae with a splitter sufficient? Also, the case/fan/cpu is more important to me, I am happy to buy one of the external boxes - so please don't let the need for a PCI slot affect anything else at this point.
3) Record streams from netflix, hbogo, and so forth (which I currently do with things like VLC)
4) What else do I need to make it user friendly for a Harmony 1? I would like to be able to pause videos that I'm watching through a browser.

I read a few other posts on the fans and such; however, I noticed that people were talking about clearances and whatnot and that making sure the fan would fit in a case was not as simple as one might think, hence my hesitation to select any of the main components. Since I had previously selected a full sized MoBo, I'm basically having to start over again with the components.

[Dougie Fresh]

A picoPSU can fit into any case, big or small. For bigger cases there is mounting hardware. For smaller cases, usually there is already a place to mount a picoPSU.

The nMediaPC cases are good. I have the nMediaPC 1000b next to my Onkyo TX-SR605 and it's a dead-on match for color, height and width.

The Hauppage 22250 has an internal splitter. You can tune one digital source and watch another at the same time. Only one of the jacks on the card is for OTA/cable antenna.

If you want a small case there are cases with a half-height slot and internal DC-DC power board / external AC laptop power brick such as: http://www.ecosmartpc.com/ei7.html or everyone's favorite here the Antec ISK300 and ISK310. The 2250 comes with a half-height bracket.

[helpermonkey]

A picoPSU can fit into any case, big or small. For bigger cases there is mounting hardware. For smaller cases, usually there is already a place to mount a picoPSU.

The nMediaPC cases are good. I have the nMediaPC 1000b next to my Onkyo TX-SR605 and it's a dead-on match for color, height and width.

The Hauppage 22250 has an internal splitter. You can tune one digital source and watch another at the same time. Only one of the jacks on the card is for OTA/cable antenna.

If you want a small case there are cases with a half-height slot and internal DC-DC power board / external AC laptop power brick such as: http://www.ecosmartpc.com/ei7.html or everyone's favorite here the Antec ISK300 and ISK310. The 2250 comes with a half-height bracket.

Thanks Dougie! I'm planning on ditching cable so maybe i'll use the other input to plug in my old NES or something. Then again, I might also just go ahead and ditch the internal pci board and place my tuner external. I'm not a power expert by any means; is there an upside to having all the power inside the case?

[Dougie Fresh]

The upside of an internal power supply is the price and number of connectors you get. It's also built to fit the case. There are lots of different brands and they are readily available, usually on sale somewhere, etc.

The downside is the AC-DC conversion process produces heat inside the case, the PSU often has a fan (re: could be noisy) and it's hard to find a internal PSU with 80+ rating under 300W (re: inefficient).

The upside of a pico-PSU is the AC-DC conversion process is moved to an external "brick" (like a laptop adapter) so the heat is taken outside the case, it's fanless so no fan noise and it can be found at 160W and under so it's very efficient for low power builds like HTPCs.

The downside is that in a desktop/HTPC case it requires special mounting hardware to fill the gap left where an internal PSU would go unless you're ok with wires just hanging out the back (not me!). It also comes with the a very limited number of short connectors (re: you need to buy adapters, splitters & extenders). A picoPSU when all is said and done can be more expensive than a internal PSU. Fewer retailers sell it and it's limited to one brand. Avoid cheap Chinese knock-offs of the picoPSU (which likely infringe their patent and likely cannot be legally imported anyway but are available on ebay anyway).

[helpermonkey]

Thanks for the help Dougie!

Anyone have any thoughts on the other stuff?