Building HTPC around Happauge HVR 2250

[night_2004]

I've got a tough choice between dropping an Ethernet drop in order to connect my gaming rig (double duty as a DVR) to the 360 (media center extender) ... or just building a small HTPC to replace the 360.

So I'd like to figure out how low I can go but still have an HTPC capable of handling the 2250. As I understand it the 2250 has a hardware MPEG encoding chip so I'm hoping I don't need much CPU power.

A while back I tried an AMD E350 Mini ITX build but it couldn't keep up with Netflix or Hulu, so it was returned. I'd also like to be able to handle Blu Ray rips and other 1080p content.

Case: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004GGUAUE
Motherboard: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007R9CRGW
CPU: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B4BJY7E
PSU: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002UOR17Y
RAM: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001NA25VS

Total runs about $235. I already have a 2TB 3.5" HDD and the TV Tuner card. If I need some extra GPU power I have some spare low-end nVidia GPUs but then I need a case that can handle full height GPUs and is less than 15.75" deep.

Any thoughts about this build? For another $25 I could get a Haswell G3220 and the GA-B85M-HD3. Maybe that would be a little more capable?

 

[Carlitos714]

I think the build is solid. If you have the extra $$ i would get the G3220. motherboard are basically the same and cost about the same at newegg.