So I started with my "good enough" HTPC build with the following components
1 - ASUS P5G41 mATX motherboard - $65.00
1 - PDC E5400- $80.00
1 - 300W PS (free, old stuff)
1 - DVD Reader (free, old stuff)
1 - 500 GB (free, old stuff)
1 - Silverstone LC17B - $120.00
1 - Kingston 2GB DDR2 RAM - $50
Total cost: $315.00 + tax
Got everything setup, good to go, running nice and fine. Until I felt I needed a new remote and wireless keyboard + mouse.
So I added:
1 - Remote - $30.00
1 - EX100 keyboard + mouse = $40
Total cost: $385 + tax
Everything was going well. Until I felt the processing power was a bit lacking. The CPU sample I had didn't do very well overclocked so I said, "why not get a better overclocker and stick with that?". So I then added:
1 - E6500 - +$10.00
1 - OCZ StealthXstream 500W - $60.00
1 - ASUS P5G43T PRO - +$25.00
Total cost: $470.0 + tax
Running nice and fine at 3.8Ghz stock cooler until, I loaded the CPU and it ran too hot for my taste. Also I though it wasn't very nice to have the "separate" remote and dongle so I then added:
1 - Silverstone LC20B-M - +$100.0 (VFD + remote)
2 - 90mm Yate Loon - $14.00
2 - 80mm Arctic F8 - $16.00
1 - PCI exhaust fan - $12.00
1 - Coolermaster N520 - $34.00 (Didn't fit outright, missed ceiling by 3mm, so I had to bend the heatpipes a tad)
Total cost: $646.00 + tax
Then I thought, wouldn't it be nice if I could play some games on this too? So then I added:
1 - ASUS GT240 - $115.00
Total cost: $761 + tax
I thought the GT240 was then too slow so I replace it with:
1- ASUS EAH5770 - +$75.00
Total cost: $836 + tax
The EAH5770 ran too hot @90C "normal" gaming and squealed at full fan speed which irritated everyone living at my house so I added:
1 - Arctic Accelero L2 - $20.00
Again, everything was running fine, until I felt I was being CPU limited. An irrational perception I knew, but it's probably "ok" I thought. So I then added:
1 - Q9550 - +$160.00
Total cost: $1016.00
Then I though I needed bluray so I added:
1 - Liteon bluray - $60.00
Total cost: $1076.00
I needed drive space to consolidate my junk I said so I then added:
3 - 2TB WD green - $360.00
Total cost: $1436.00 + tax
Wouldn't it be nice to just have a single remote I said so I bought:
1 - Harmony one - $229.00
This boots too slow I said:
1 - OCZ vertex 60GB + bracket = $165.00
Final Total: $1830+ tax = ~$2050.00
Holy mother. I should have just sticked with my original build. Now I have a medium build that's only used occasionally as a movie player and serves my files from time to time. -__-' Slap my head and call me monkey!
