[bluray]

HTPC-
Well, I decided not to go with Intel NUC after all. After I visited Best Buy, I'm in love with the little Alienware X51 mini gaming PC black case. The case will look very nice on my black LED TV stand. It'll matches up with my black XBOX 360, Sony PS3, Onkyo receiver and Directv receiver. It looks very similar to XBOX 360 case. With all the power house components in it, it is not that much bigger than XBOX 360 case either. I decided to go with the more powerful Alienware X51 because I want my new HTPC to be able to do gaming, blu-ray transcoding, blu-ray editing, etc faster. The Alienware X51 with Intel i7-3770 and gaming Nvidia graphic card should give me enough horse power to do all the above. I was going to build it myself, but I cannot find any reasonable price case that will match up well with my XBOX 360 and PS3.....

HTPC Spec-
-Alienware X51 mini gaming PC- "One-stop gaming and entertainment system".......
-Planning to add these- Asus SBW-06D2X-U external blu-ray writer, Crucial m4 64GB SSD and Logitech diNovo Mini Keyboard

Surround sound system-

-Onkyo HT-RC270 (own)
-LED HDTV 56" 3D (own)
-Subwoofer 12" 300W RMS (own)
-Energy Take Classic 5.1 5.1CH Premium Home Theater System (I like the sounds from these speakers, but it might not look good on the ceiling. I like the look of Orb Audio Mod1 speakers, but I'm not sure how good the sounds from the very small speakers. I want to install the Speakercraft AIM5 One Fully Pivoting High Fidelity In-Ceiling Loudspeaker, but I don't want to cut the ceiling. It is very expensive too.)
-Pinpoint Mounts AM20 Speaker Mount

Do you have a better idea?

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Adding these to home theater components-

- VideoSecu TV Wall Mount for most 32"- 65" LED HDTV Full Motion Dual Arm Articulating
- OmniMount Echo 63 63-Inch Video Table

This "Cambridge Audio Minx S315 5.1 Home Cinema System" might be the king of cube, but it's very expensive......

[Beer40oz]

The Minx are very nice... i heard the single and the double cubes.... Nice clean sound.. The double cube one's are way louder...
Amazing how more expensive Cambridge is in the states...

The energy take classics are king for cheap and sound high end from all the reviews I seen...
Since you already own a woofer why not the Energy Take 5 Pack ....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6882269004

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The Minx are very nice... i heard the single and the double cubes.... Nice clean sound.. The double cube one's are way louder...
Amazing how more expensive Cambridge is in the states...

It's probably the nicest and best sound of all cube speakers....but I think that it is over price though....

The energy take classics are king for cheap and sound high end from all the reviews I seen...
Since you already own a woofer why not the Energy Take 5 Pack ....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6882269004

I'm leaning toward Energy 5.1 system. I know it sound good, because I helped my friend installed it in his theater room. It looks nice on the stands. I hope that it look good on the ceiling. I don't mind adding another 8" subwoofer, and I'm planning to buy another subwoofer anyway. I enjoy rumbling sounds during explosion scene...

It's not going to sound as good as my 7.1 F-3 system, but I have to compromise with my Mrs.....she don't want any tall speaker standing on the floor anymore. The new house is pre-wired on the ceiling.....

[CpTHOOK]

Why so much RAM in your HTPC?

[bluray]

Why so much RAM in your HTPC?

It's so hard to upgrade it later....would as well go for big RAM now!

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Here is another small speaker system I have my eyes on- Focal Sib&Co Series 5.1 Jet Black Home Theater Speakers - SIBCUB51JB...

[bluray]

The energy take classics are king for cheap and sound high end from all the reviews I seen...
Since you already own a woofer why not the Energy Take 5 Pack ....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6882269004

Hey Beer.....

I did go with the Energy Take Classic 5.0 without the Energy 8" subwoofer, and I went with the combination below instead. I went with another 12" subwoofer, and it is still cheaper than the Energy Take Classic 5.1 with 8" subwoofer....

-Energy Take Classic 5.0 + Polk Audio PSW505 12-Inch

I already own another 12" Polk PSW505. If you are looking for a subwoofer for your home theater, I highly recommend it. You cannot find a better subwoofer than this Polk for under $200. I cannot wait to pair both subwoofers and Energy Classic Take 5.0 with my 7.2 AVR at the new house.....

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I decided to go with the LED HDTV stands below.

In the theater room- Sonax SN-4600 Sonoma 57-Inch Midnight Black Designer TV Stand with Two Shelves

In the den- Avista Nextor TV Stand

Both stands are open air design for better air flow..........

[Beer40oz]

Sweet bluray... enjoy your speakers and everything else... let me know how you like them take classics ... I read that pairing them with a BIC F12 subwoofer would be magic. Considering this set up one day. Break the speakers in baby!

[bluray]

Sweet bluray... enjoy your speakers and everything else... let me know how you like them take classics ... I read that pairing them with a BIC F12 subwoofer would be magic. Considering this set up one day. Break the speakers in baby!

The speakers and all the entertainment components will be delivered this week, but I cannot install it till the end of February.....

The BIC F12 is a very nice subwoofer, and I installed one F12 at my wife cousin house theater room. Since I have experiences with both subwoofers, it is very similar in AQ but I preferred the classic wood grain looks of Polk Audio PSW505 enclosure over BIC F12 slate black enclosure.

Here are some great reviews on PSW505, and I cannot word it any better than these guys- PSW505 has musical finesse and a beast in home theater, Amazing sub...with subdude, it becomes significantly better!, Best Subwoofer for the Price, etc

[vertices]

I just ordered almost this same build. Went with a 128GB Crucial M4 mSATA and 16GB of Corsair Vengeance. I would have went 64GB M4 but out of stock at Amazon and wanted it faster so...

I'll be on putting Win8 on it. Hoping it works out well for me! This is my 2nd HTPC build but first XBMC box.

[Geran]

Hi Bluray,

How come you picked to get the NUC over building a HTPC this time?

-Geran

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Hi Bluray,

How come you picked to get the NUC over building a HTPC this time?

-Geran

Since it will be sitting on the TV stand or behind the TV, I want something very small, low power and silent. It's hard to find all the component to build this type of box. If there is, it will be very expensive....

I haven't order the NUC. Who know....I might change my mind in a month....

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I just ordered almost this same build. Went with a 128GB Crucial M4 mSATA and 16GB of Corsair Vengeance. I would have went 64GB M4 but out of stock at Amazon and wanted it faster so...

I'll be on putting Win8 on it. Hoping it works out well for me! This is my 2nd HTPC build but first XBMC box.

Good luck....and let us know how it turn out!

[bluray]

I updated the first post, and I decided to go with the little Alienware X51 mini gaming PC below-

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