HTPC Build @ MaximumPC

I've built my fair share of HPTC's over time. My current is a Sandybridge based system as I wait for the intel Ivybridge platform next year. I've found my usages have drifted away from really high rez gaming (especially b/c my projector is only 720p now. . . i know) so gaming w/ the Sandybridge integrated graphics is just fine. I push it the most with Dragon Age, but even then i do most of that on my regular PC.

So i've found having another moving part creating heat and additional drviers to create more problmes just wasn't worth the tradeoff. To each his own. But this is a great how-to build and he makes a solid machine.

http://www.maximumpc.com/tags/htpc

Picture from MaxiummPC Article

"We’ve built our fair share of home theater PCs in the past, with all sorts of different use cases in mind. Our August 2010 HTPC was a stunner built for 3D, with passively cooled GPU, CPU, and PSU, as well as a four-channel CableCard tuner and Blu-ray 3D support. In June 2011, Gordon tried to make a small-form-factor HTPC that could cut out the previous build’s bulk (and CableCard) while still supporting Blu-ray 3D. Both of those rigs handled their respective tasks well, but what if I don’t care about cable but do care about gaming? This month’s task is to create a kick-ass gaming rig in an HTPC form factor—one that can handle modern games, as well as 3D Blu-ray and Dolby TrueHD audio, without sounding like a jet engine."