Welcome to the latest monthly home theater PC hardware selection guide.  In this guide, we’ll review some of the suggested components for your media center PC.

We break down each component by “least expensive” and “top of the line”.  If you’re looking to build your HTPC without too many extra frills, go for the “least expensive” options.  If you want something that has the finest components (which has the added benefit of being more future-proof), then go with “top of the line”.  Either choice will get you a solid, works-as-it-should media center PC.

This month, we focus on AMD processors.

Case

Most unique.

nMEDIAPC HTPC 8000.  This is a red wood & steel ATX case, which, as you can see, is in its own category.  Yes, it’s pretty big — 14″ high x 19″ tall — but it’s about as unique as they get, and looks a bit like an old-school radio or TV console.  It’s got plenty of room inside, and fits a full-size ATX as well as Micro ATX motherboard.

$89.99 | Form factor: ATX / Micro ATX | Power supply: none

Least expensive.

hec 7K09.  One of the best budget cases out there.  Space is tight, but you can’t beat the quality and features for this price.

$54.99 | Form factor: Micro ATX | Power supply: 270 W | Expansion cards: low profile

Top of the line.

LIAN LI Black Aluminum PC-C33B.  LIAN LI is well-known for making some of the best cases out there, and this is no exception.  The black brushed aluminum steel case will fit in with the even highest end home theater components.  This case supports a standard ATX motherboard and power supply, as well as two 5.25″ external drive bays and four 3.5″ internal bays.  You should have plenty of room to expand with this beauty.

$189.99 | Form factor: ATX, Micro ATX | Power supply: none (supports ATX) | Expansion cards: regular profile

Power Supply

Least expensive.

Since our selected case (hec 7K09) already includes a 270W power supply, a separate PS is not needed.

Top of the line.

CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX 620W. This power supply has plenty of juice, and is modular, so you can remove any cables you don’t need — which helps with airflow and cooling.

$149.99 | Form factor: ATX | 620 Watts | 80 PLUS Certified

Motherboard

Least expensive.

GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H. This board uses the latest in DDR3 memory, includes a powerful ATI Radeon HD 4200 video chip, and in general has everything you need to load up your HTPC.

$89.99 | Form factor: Micro ATX | Video chip: ATI Radeon HD 4200 | Video output: VGA / DVI / HDMI | Audio output: optical / analog | CPU: supports AMD Phenom II / Athlon II | CPU Socket: AM3 | Memory: DDR3 1666 / 1333 / 1066

Top of the line.

MSI NF980-G65 AM3 NVIDIA nForce 980a.  Tons of expansion slots and use of latest memory & CPU makes this pick fairly future proof.  Other touches such as fast boot and an excellent BIOS put it at the top of our list.  Note that this board lacks optical audio out, but you’ll want to get a separate audio card anyway.

$159.99 | Form factor: ATX | Video chip: NVIDIA GeForce 8 series | Video output: VGA / DVI / HDMI | Audio output: analog | CPU: Phenom II / Athlon II / Sempron 100 Series | CPU Socket: AM3 | Memory: DDR 3 800/1066/1333/1600/1800

Processor

Least expensive.

AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor.  This is a solid dual-core processor that is light on the wallet.  It’s only 65W so should be well within the limits we need for a cool and quiet PC.

$58.99 | Dual-core | 2.8 GHz | Socket AM3

Top of the line.

AMD Phenom II X4 905e Deneb 2.5GHz Socket AM3 65W Quad-Core Processor.  65W, quad-core, what more could you ask for?

$194.99 | Quad-core | 2.5 GHz | Socket AM3

Memory

Least expensive.

G.SKILL 2GB DDR3 1600 Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-2GBNQ. Fast, cheap, latest DDR3 memory.

$64.99 | 2 GB (2 x 1 GB) | DDR3 1600

Top of the line.

G.SKILL 4GB DDR3 1600 Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ. Same as above, just more of it.

$99.99 | 4 GB (2 x 2 GB) | DDR3 1600

Hard Drive

Typically our recommendations do not include power or data cables.  Your motherboard kit will usually have enough cables for at least 1 hard drive and 1 optical drive.  If you think you’ll need a few extras, they are cheap and readily available.  Check out Newegg for tons of options.

Least expensive.

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB.  Enough space to store all your music, movies, and downloads.

$54.99 | 500 GB | 7200 RPM | 16MB Cache | SATA

Top of the line.

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB. Runs cool and has plenty of space for storing everything from music to HD movies.  If you’re going to use your media center as a backup server this is definitely a must.

$89.99 | 1 TB (1000 GB) | 7200 RPM | 32MB Cache | SATA

DVD Drive

Typically our recommendations do not include power or data cables.  Your motherboard kit will usually have enough cables for at least 1 hard drive and 1 optical drive.  If you think you’ll need a few extras, they are cheap and readily available.  Check out Newegg for tons of options.

Least expensive.

LITE-ON Black 4X Blu-ray Reader SATA Model iHOS104-06.  Plays Blu-ray and DVDs.

$59.99 | SATA

Top of the line.

Pioneer Black Blu-ray Disc/DVD/CD Writer SATA Model BDR-205BKS. Plays Blu-ray and DVDs, and burns Blu-ray discs.  Clean black bezel.

$219.99 | SATA

Video Card

Least expensive.

Since our monthly motherboard recommendation includes solid on-board video and case recommendation includes a fairly low wattage power supply, we suggest not using a separate video card, which will save on cost, power consumption, and heat.  However, should you want something with more power, we recommend the SAPPHIRE 100252HDMI Radeon HD 4550 512MB. This card is low-profile and is passively cooled (read: quiet).

$44.99 | Chipset: Radeon HD 4550 | Memory size: 512MB | Memory interface: 128-bit | Ports: HDMI / DVI / VGA

Top of the line.

GIGABYTE GV-N98TOC-1GI.  This is a solid and fast card that is also relatively quiet.  We could go for something faster — but heat (and therefore loudness) always becomes an issue.

$129.99 | Chipset: NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT | Memory size: 1GB | Memory interface: 256-bit | Ports: HDMI / DVI / VGA

Sound Card

Least expensive.

Since our motherboard recommendation includes build-in 7.1 audio (with optical output), we suggest not using a separate audio card.

Top of the line.

ASUS Xonar HDAV1.3. This is the only audio card to support HDMI and full DTS-HD / Dolby TrueHD audio when used with a Blu-ray player.  You can also pass your video through this card first, so that you only need one HDMI connection back to your home theater receiver.

$149.99 | HDMI 1.3 | Dolby TrueHD / DTS-HD

Keyboard / Mouse

Least expensive.

ADESSO WKB-3000UB Black 2.4 GHz RF Wireless Mini Keyboard w/Optical Trackball.  Solid wireless keyboard, with a built-in optical trackball.  Nice layout of mouse buttons (includes shoulder buttons much like an Xbox / PS3 remote) make it easy to use.

$69.99 | 2.4 GHz RF

Top of the line.

Gyration GYR4101US Mini Air Music Remote w/ MotionSense & Compact Keyboard.  This unique set includes a compact wireless keyboard and an “air” remote, which is both a universal remote and an air mouse.  The air mouse takes a little getting used to, but it pretty intuitive once you learn how to use it.  The universal remote features can potentially replace your other remotes, although we still recommend the Logitech Harmony for ultimate control of your media center.

$122.99 | 2.4 GHz RF

Bluetooth.

We’re including this category for bluetooth fans out there.  This is also useful if you have a PS3, which require bluetooth.

SolidTek KB-3962B-BT Black Bluetooth Wireless Mini Keyboard with Touch-Pad Built-in

$99.99 | Bluetooth

Remote

Least expensive.

Logitech Harmony 550 Advanced Remote Control.  The Harmony 550 is easily the best universal remote in this price range.  It can control up to 12 devices.

$79.99 | IR

Top of the line.

Logitech Harmony One Advanced Remote.  Color touch screen, rechargeable with included stand.  Controls up to 15 devices.  The fan (and our) favorite Harmony.

$209.99 | IR

Video Capture Card (optional)

Unless you want to view and record OTA (over the air) television, you won’t need one of these.  However, we’re including it in the “top of the line” build for this month.

Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 Media Center Kit Dual TV Tuner. This kit includes a media center remote and a dual tuner card, capable of grabbing and recording up to two programs at the same time over analog or digital TV.

$149.99 | Dual analog / digital tuner | remote

Summary

That’s it for this month.  Some totals for you -

Least expensive: $533.92

Top of the line: $1,862.88