HTPC/Media PC

[WonderBread]

A coworker came to me the other day and asked me if I could build him a computer that could do all sorts of streaming for his home (really for his wife, lol)

I know how to build a computer, especially one for gaming but not really much for media streaming.

Can you, my fellow friends, point me in the right direction with the hardware I need to give this co-worker something that he will appreciate? He lives in a 2 story home with roughly 2,000 sq ft. It would be directly connected to an HDTV on the 2nd story and downstairs a Blue-Ray player and an XBOX 360 and would access media as well.

Budget is $800-$1100

[booman]

This should work pretty good. It may be larger than he is expecting, but there is room for another hard drive and a video card (if the onboard can't handle HD movies).
3.1GHz Dual Core CPU
8 Gigs of RAM
2 Terabyte Hard Drive
Blue Ray Drive

Intel Core i3-2105 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I32105
$134.99

SAMSUNG EcoGreen F4 ST2000DL004 2TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal
$119.99

CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model CMX8GX3M2A1333C9
$48.99

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit
$139.99

BIOSTAR Eco H6 (B3) Intel Core i7 / i5 / i3 (LGA1155)
Maximum CPU TDP 95Watts Intel Socket H2(LGA1155) Intel H67 1 x HDMI Remote Control Barebone
$179.99

LITE-ON Black Internal 12X Blu-ray Combo SATA Model ihes112-04 - OEM

Total: $663.00 (add $20 for shipping)

[WonderBread]

Here is what I've put together. I forgot to mention in my OP that he also wanted a computer that could play some of the mainstream games without too much difficulty. So this is what I came up. Let me know if there are any issues with hardware compatibility as this is the first Intel system I've put together.

Case:
Newegg.com - nMEDIAPC Black Aluminum / Acrylic / Steel HTPC 6000B ATX Media Center / HTPC Case

MotherBoard:
Newegg.com - ASUS P8H61-M LX PLUS (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel H61 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

VideoCard:
Newegg.com - EVGA 02G-P3-1559-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

PSU:
Newegg.com - OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W Modular High Performance Power Supply compatible with Intel Sandybridge Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD Phenom

CPU:
Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-2450P Sandy Bridge 3.2GHz (3.5GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623i52450P

Primary Drive:
Newegg.com - Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Memory:
Newegg.com - HGST Deskstar 7K3000 HDS723020BLA642 (0f12115) 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Secondary Drive:
Newegg.com - HGST Deskstar 7K3000 HDS723020BLA642 (0f12115) 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

BlueRay:
Newegg.com - ASUS Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM 8X BD-ROM 8MB Cache SATA Blu-ray Burner BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS

GPU Cooler:
Newegg.com - ZALMAN Z-MachineGV1000 2 Ball VGA Cooling Fan/Heatsink

CPU Cooler:
Newegg.com - XIGMATEK Durin D982 92mm Rifle Ultra Low profile CPU Cooler

Total: $1,071.88 + $25 shipping.

still need wireless keyboard and mouse.

[booman]

wow, I'll check it at my lunch break today

[booman]

My setup will be a bit smaller in size due to the case and micro ATX motherboard. And the cost is less with plenty of expansion opportunities.
I wasn't thinking about 4+ Terabytes of space... probably because I don't have that many movies, but there is space for two more hard drives and the Power Supply should handle it. I didn't know about the gaming, so there is room for a video card, but will probably need to get a more powerful Power Supply. Not to mention, microATX power supplies can go up to 550watts.

Your setup, however, it twice as powerful with quad-core, 4+ terabytes and the sweet GeForce 550 Ti card (thats the one I have). There is also plenty of room for expansion with 5 internal bays and you are only filling 3 of them.
That 700 watt Power Supply should handle anything you throw at it.
I reccomend getting a Motherboard with USB 3.0, eSATA and some SATA II ports. For some reason that ASUS only has SATA 3Gbps ports and that solid state drive may not get full performance.
Honestly, I'm staying away from SSD hard drive because of the price and the new technology. I have read mixed results about it because its so new and BIOS's aren't always prepared... I usually wait until it has a few years of development, but then again it has at least 3+ years in the works...
Let me know what you think, if he likes the smaller case, I'll update my list with a 550 power supply, another 2 terabyte hard drive and a video card.