[kittonian]

I have been researching non-stop for a week now and think I have nailed down the components for my new HTPC build. The goal is to have no-compromise audio/video over HDMI to a Denon 5308-CI receiver, viewed on a 60" Pioneer Elite plasma TV. No files will be stored locally, instead they will be streamed across a 1GB ethernet network from either a NAS or shares from a Mac Pro.

Here's the list of hardware:

Silverstone ML03B Chassis
Silverstone SST-ST40F-ES 400W Power Supply
Asus P8Z77-M Pro Motherboard
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (latency 7)
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000
SANDisk 64GB SSD (SATA 6GB)
HP Media Center IR Receiver

I am only planning on doing one thing at a time with this system. The goal is to replace my ATV3 and have all of the functionality that it has, YouTube, Netflix, Vimeo, etc. (minus the iTunes store of course) plus web browsing when needed. I would like to set it up so that it boots directly into XBMC, like an appliance type of system would do.

While some may argue that this is overkill, I want to ensure longevity in this build without a desire/need to upgrade in the short term.

Here are my concerns:

Will this provide full Blu-Ray quality playback without frame drops with full quality HD audio?
Which OS with XBMC is the right one (I was initially thinking XBMCBuntu but from what I understand I cannot have Netflix unless I'm on Windows)?
Regarding the hardware, is there anything I'm missing or should reconsider?
Is XBMC the right choice or should I consider other software solutions?

[RaggSokk3n]

go i3, instead unless 8640p becomes a standard within the next few years you'll be fine :p
i have more or less the same build - take a look and understand that that's already truly overkill...

[kittonian]

Thanks! Anyone else who can directly answer the questions/concerns I posted?

[bluray]

I have to agree with Ragg. For what you need it for, it is overkill....you can either go with "Intel Core i3-3220" build or this little pre-built "Intel DC3217IYE Intel QS77 2 x 204Pin Intel HD Graphics 4000"...it should playback blu-ray in 1080P video and bitstreaming HD audio with ease......

[thereddog]

Get a midrange Core i3 and H77 motherboard, take that saved money and spend on a fanless GPU. You will be able to play whatever you want for the next decade.

[Dougie Fresh]

For what you want to do, you'll get the same result with an i3-3225 + P8H77-M motherboard.

A 400W power supply is much more than you need. It won't even max out at 100W. You can get this SFX power supply instead and be a little closer:
http://www.amazon.com/FSP-Certified-300-...B004VF4R4U (it too comes with the mounting bracket)

Or consider a picoPSU.

XBMC/Windows runs great and you'll have Netflix.

Since this is an XBMC forum, suggesting other things like WMC is forbidden.