Converting to an HTPC...

[hype88]

right now i have a dell 8400 with the following specs...

P4 3.2Ghz
1.5 GB DDR2 RAM Kingston 200mhz
XP 32-bit
evga Nvidia 8600GTS
Creative SoundBlaster X-FI XtremeMusic
500w Antec EarthWatts Power Supply
Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive
42" Vivio 1080p (DVI>HDMI)

i've updated just about everything now and it's time to get a new computer.. i've been basically using this as an htpc so now i want to keep as many components from the 8400 as i can for my new htpc...

using all this mostly...

160gb SATA internal
500gb and 250gb My Book Externals
Nvidia 8600GTS
Creative SoundBlaster X-FI XtremeMusic
500w Antec EarthWatts Power Supply
Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive

currently i'm not worried about recording or anything.. my main concerns are to beable to watch hd-dvd's and all my other movie and music files smoothly...

i'd like to spend less then 400.. any help would be appreciated as i don't know which cases.. cpu's. motherboards.. etc... i should use....

[budz]

What processor would you like Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Dual Core AM2? Does the speed of the processor matter to you? I'd say for $400.00 you may not be able to get the fast processor, ram & mobo.

[budz]

I tried to stay within your $400.00 budget. Here's a system using a Intel Core 2 Duo system using the E6550 Conroe 2.33ghz processor.

Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 Conroe 2.33GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor, $175.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819115030

GIGABYTE GA-G31MX-S2 LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX, $78.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813128061

A-DATA 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Memory, $41.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820211064

SILVERSTONE LASCALA 10 CS-SST-LC10B Black Aluminum front panel, Media Center/HTPC, $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811163033

Subtotal was $396.96.


Here's a AMD AM2 Dual Core system:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor, $169.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819103773

GIGABYTE GA-MA69GM-S2H AM2 AMD 690G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard, $78.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813128056

The HTPC case and Ram is the same from up above.

Subtotal is $391.96.

The shipping cost would run your budget over to about $420.00 or so. That Silverstone HTPC case would be able to use a ATX or MICRO ATX motherboard. I'm sure other members will have other suggestions for you. IMHO with $400.00 you can get a good decent system up and runnning.

[hype88]

thanks for taking the time to do all that...

i don't know much about the difference between amd and intel.. my main concern is just making sure i get a dual processor.. i'd like to get the maximum speed i could possibly get but obviously with my budget i don't expect anything top of the line...

also i forgot to mention i already have 2gb of 6400 ddr2 ram so that doesnt need to be in my budget....

i found a good deal at fry's but it looks like i just missed the deall..
http://cdn.travidia.com/rop-sub/17533558

i like the case though.. thanks again for the help.. this was alot of help.. im actually going to buy everything in about 2 weeks from now.. so im going to do as much research as i can and this was a great starting point....