Help with a cheapish HTPC

[Skyreaver]

I've been looking into building an HTPC for home use for a while but I wasn't quite sure where to start. I've done some basic googling and read up on some quick guides and think that for the most part I can figure it out. Some of the parts lists I've managed to find were pretty outdated though, and I've been lurking around these forums for a while so I figured this might be the best place to ask for some help.

My budget for it is pretty low, somewhere around 600$ but I can go a bit higher. I'd like for it to have no problems with 1080p videos.
I live in the US and I don't have any reusable parts. Also hoping to keep it quiet, not sure if that's a factor.

Hopefully I didn't forget anything.

[Deleted]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Integrated with Motherboard
Motherboard: ASRock E350M1/USB3 Mini ITX E-Series E-Series E-350 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: PNY 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($60.09 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.98 @ Outlet PC)
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 300W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS29 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($49.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $564.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-18 23:21 EDT-0400)

This is just my initial thoughts, depends what you need for storage, do you care about the USB 3.0 I included, needing an OS etc.

[Skyreaver]

Actually it looks pretty good I think. Mildly surprised I don't need any sort of GPU though. Can't say I'm crazy about windows 8 but I'll have to try it out eventually so I might as well.

[Deleted]

You can go with Windows 7 if you prefer, not really a big deal. If you miss the start menu in 8 you can get ClassicShell (Google it) to add start menu func. The "GPU" on CPU is perfectly fine for movies, browsing etc.

[vesseblah]

If you want slightly more HTPC:ish case this is what I'd use. Also being mATX size it gives you more motherboard options.

[lockblock]

If you want slightly more HTPC:ish case this is what I'd use. Also being mATX size it gives you more motherboard options.

Also one should point out that the node 304 has no bay for an optical drive and the above build includes one.

[vesseblah]

Also one should point out that the node 304 has no bay for an optical drive

Forgot that one... Makes it worthless for generic HTPC use if it's meant to replace DVD and BD players.

[Deleted]

Unless you have an external player but yes I did miss that part.

What about this:

Silverstone SST-LC10B-E-USB3.0

[vesseblah]

Unless you have an external player but yes I did miss that part.

What about this:

Silverstone SST-LC10B-E-USB3.0

It's huge because it's meant for full ATX boards. My personal favourite is this one, but it puts hard limits to CPU cooler.

[Deleted]

Ah yeah I didn't filter for form factor. I was also looking for something with USB 3.0 since the boards supports it but I guess it's not really a big deal.

Fractal Design Node 605 HTPC Case + Panasonic UJ240 6x Blu-ray

Supports miniITX, USB 3.0. I guess we can wait and see what OP says (about size and such)