Time for a Makeover

So I've been planning to upgrade my HTPC (home theatre PC) for a while now but just haven't gotten around to doing it. Well I've taken the first steps and that is planning what exactly I want to upgrade and making a shopping list on Newegg.com

The List thus far:

ASUS P5E-VM HDMI LGA 775 Intel G35 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Allendale 2.2GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E4500
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model
Turtle Beach TBS-3300-01 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Montego DDL Sound Card

Cost: $361.00

Items to be reused:
Case, PSU, 2xHD, DVD-RW, Combo 3.5 FDD/Memory Card Reader, WinTV-PVR-500 Dual Tuner Card

Items still under consideration:

Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1250 MC - White Box 1187 PCI-Express x1 Interface so I can record ATSC digital TV OTA HD or Clear QAM digital cable TV from my HD cable feed.
-or-
Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1800 1129 NTSC/ATSC/QAM/FM Tuner Card PCI Express X1 which does the same thing but can record two programs plus has the on-board MPEG2 encoder for analog; however since analog broadcasts are going away in Feb 2009 I may just use my existing dual tuner non HD PVR card and pickup the 1250 later.

LITE-ON Black SATA Blu-ray DVD-ROM Drive Model DH-4O1S-11 - OEM

Now the HVR1250 is fairly inexpensive at $60.00 but the blu-ray drive is $130.00 and since I already have a PS3 I'm not sure I will opt for this right now since they are still pretty expensive and I don't have but a couple BRDs anyways. I'm still not sure about the HVR1250 either as most of the recordings I do are for my iPod to watch during my commute.

So I'll keep you all posted when I finally get the okay from my wife to spend the funds ;-)