8. Closing Thoughts

As any PC builder knows, every build is a learning experience. HTPC builds provide the usual opportunities to see how cases and components go together. But they also let you experience the performance of your creation in ways that are much more entertaining than using it for boring old "productivity" applications. What I learned was:

Old leftover hardware is often sufficient to run a low-end HTPC; An HTPC should be as quiet as possible or it will be a distraction in your home theater; Water cooling is a great way to keep an HTPC quiet, but it's expensive and takes up a lot of space; Flashy cases with windows or lights look completely out of place in most home theaters; ATI All in Wonder cards are great, but software-based TV tuners are not compatible with all media center programs; Small hard drives fill up very fast since multimedia content takes up a lot of space.

Since this was one of my first HTPC builds, some of these "lessons learned" may look obvious to those of you with many systems under your belt. But they serve as a good comparison for the next builds that I subsequently will describe in upcoming articles in this series.

I was clearly unsatisfied with the look of both of the large and brightly colored cases outlined in my first build, so I decided to jump to the opposite extreme and build a micro ATX HTPC that I hoped would fit in better in a home theater environment. This second system, which I'll review next time, includes upgraded hardware and a different media center program. I'll also describe the performance benefits these components and software offer.

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