Reddit mentions of SilverStone Technology Milo Series Aluminum / Steel Micro-ATX Media Center / HTPC Case, Black (ML03B)

OK, so for remote I use this with a flirc. That way I have a truly universal remote with physical buttons (better for operating in the dark) for not a lot of cash. I do have a Logitech K400 for the rare times when I need a full keyboard.

For a case, I have the Silverstone ML03B. Small form factor and really blends with the other components. Depending on your CPU, you may not even need an aftermarket cooler. I have the i3 4130T with a stock cooler and it's dead silent. I built 2 years ago, and at the time, the only gaming I was doing was emulating old-school NES through some Gamecube. EDIT: So I only used the intel integrated graphics (HD 4400). /EDIT If you do want/need a GPU, you'd need a half-height to fit the case. Just last week I picked up a GTX 750 ti. It improved Dolphin emulation dramatically, and runs Skyrim at 1080p on Ultra settings at 60 fps.

Hopefully that answered some of your questions. If you have any more, feel free to ask.

I'm in the midst of building my first HTPC and wondering the same thing. I'll probably go with http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004GGUAUE/ref=ox_sc_act_title_6?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER but only if I can find my old power supply.

What price range are we talking about?

I really like the 650ti for an HTPC. It's small and reasonably priced with decent performance.

Processor doesn't need to be too much, I don't delve much into AMD but I like the Intel i3 3220.

Someone can probably recommend a better motherboard than me but this board has an integrated sound card. It should handle up to 7.1 surround sound.

I assume you're going with a micro ATX case? I prefer some of the more square shaped cases but I know some people like them flat. Here's a flatter micro ATX case. Be warned, reviews state some issues with fitting in certain hardware. I would roll with something like this though.

RAM, drives and power supply are pretty standard. Most RAM should fit but if you're worried about it Corsair sells some lovely low profile RAM. You won't need much power for this build. I imagine a 350-400W power supply would be more than enough.

Make sure to get a Blu-Ray player that INCLUDES software unless you intend to buy the software yourself.

It sounds like a cool project, a bit ambitious but totally feasible and thought out. I think with a projector in a unified wooden case you'll want about two 200mm case fan at the top of it. I'm sure you could find a way to do that without spoiling the appearance. If you went that way, you'd want to have it on small legs with enough porting on the bottom that it can suck in air to feed the fans on top (or maybe another 200mm fan on the bottom too). The reason you'd want big fans like 190mm, or 200mm, is that they spin at a much lower speed (bout 700RPMs vs ~1500-2500).

You'll have to figure a way to get the power button and a couple USB ports external to the case. You could always just get a USB front/back panel hub. Something like this seems a bit pricy for a cable but it could help things out. The power button can be made from any momentary switch but you could also just grab something like this for ease of installation.

It might be easier to mount your stuff if you build an existing case into the wooden box, rather than trying to mount things straight to it; it depends on how handy you are. Who knows, I'm just throwing out suggestions that may or may not be useful to you.

You're right that you won't want a nice, unique, possibly expensive setup to be hindered by a lower end computer. You may even want to step it up to the A10-5800k for $120 (currently the top AMD APU).

As far as small HTPC cases go, Silverstone cases (like this) always seem to be pretty popular. I wouldn't exactly describe them a budget cases but they are nice.

Anyway, like I said. these are all just ideas/suggestions to get you thinking.

I definitely do not want anything flashy. I like the case /u/goodbygalaxy recommended, but this one by Silverstone is interesting. It would definitely fit by setup well.

http://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-Aluminum-Steel-Center-ML03B/dp/B004GGUAUE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375671808&sr=8-1&keywords=Silverstone+case

My first question is, would it fit everything in either of my recommended builds. Also, if/when I decide to upgrade or add another video card (if I go with the 760), will there be room in this case to expand?

Thanks for the tip!

There's also the horizontal case option:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004GGUAUE/

https://www.amazon.com/Antec-Slim-Desktop-Micro-VSK2000-U3/dp/B015IYLSFS

https://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-Technology-Aluminum-Micro-ATX-ML03B/dp/B004GGUAUE

For cases for ATX I was looking at either http://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-Technology-Aluminum-Micro-ATX-ML03B/dp/B004GGUAUE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457424964&sr=8-1&keywords=htpc+micro+atx+case or http://www.amazon.com/Rosewill-MicroATX-Computer-ATX12V-R379-M/dp/B004EMSH9Q/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1457425078&sr=8-10&keywords=rosewill+micro+atx

What do you think about this?

Mini-fanless Case: $205.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA5FY1RR0833

4NIC fanless Mini-ITX ASUS board. $379.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132230&cm_re=c2550-_-13-132-230-_-Product

I'm not sure if the case comes with a power supply for the board.

Edit: Does not come with a power supply: Need one:http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=bl_sr_pc?ie=UTF8&field-brandtextbin=Mini-Box&node=541966

Edit: Cheaper Case? http://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-Aluminum-Steel-Center-ML03B/dp/B004GGUAUE/ref=sr_1_17/184-2952836-7654118?ie=UTF8&qid=1416805253&sr=8-17&keywords=streacom

A micro-ATX will definitely be compatible with your build. I recommend these for their shape and form factor: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004GGUAUE/ref=twister_B01GMW3YE8?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

As for the motherboard, i would recommend an ASRock B350(MSI or Gigabyte is fine too, but i prefer ASRock mobos).
A 550w PSU will be plenty of power. In fact, a 450w would suffice.

What's the budget like? I very recently (last week) built an HTPC with no experience, so I'm somewhat a noob myself, but it isn't that difficult. I was hearing that the new AMD Llano processors are highly recommended for HTPC builds with pretty decent onboard graphics, so I jumped on that. I got the cheaper A6 processor (~$120). The case is up to you but I got this Silverstone mostly to save space, although this one has more space and better reviews. The one I got is a tight fit, but it does work.

Your basic Hauppage TV tuner will probably do the job you want, almost all of them have DVR functions and a remote receiver built in, so that will be no issue. I've just barely explored XBMC, and it looks amazing. Super customizable. I'm sure you can DVR all you want with a very basic setup.

Get a Samsung Spinpoint F3 hard drive (7200 rpm), it's a BaPC favorite and gives you 1 TB of storage for a very reasonable price (~$55).

Linux will probably work fine, although I'm not sure about the compatibility with Netflix and Hulu+. If those are windows only, go with windows. XBMC runs on pretty much any OS, so it shouldn't matter what OS you use.

It's best if you propose a build yourself and see what the experts here have to say about it. It's probably easier than you think. Just get any basic TV tuner and any basic case, modest power supply from a decent brand (preferably 80+ certified), cheap RAM (it's almost always on sale somewhere). Give it a shot.