This is the rig I built (except with more Audiophile stuff and two SilverStone HTPC cases) http://pcpartpicker.com/p/PY7cRB (It's spendy in the total there, but I just wanted to list some parts that are tried n true/stood out for me)
I have the Gen3 Sabertooth MB (for some reason I couldn't find that one) but I absolutely love it: It handles the heat of being in a HTPC case and it's even got some static protection. I'll admit the colors are a bit bland, but the board itself is probably the best I've worked with as far as the layout and stuff (I've been building rigs since the 90s heh)
The SilverStone CPU cooler I listed does not cease to amaze me with its ability to cool my 8350FX in a tiny HTPC case. I previously had a Cooler Master V6GT (which is HUGE) and it only ran about 3c cooler. I also tried the Arctic Cooling CPU cooler with less than pleasing results in my HTPC case (unimpressed honestly, which is a shame as Arctic Cooling usually has quiet high CFM fans.) That said though, Corsair's new line of fans take the cake imo. I have at least 15 of the SP120's and they're perfect for Radiators - so throw one of those puppies on the SilverStone CPU Radiator and it's silent plus easily cool enough for pretty much anything (I sit idle at 43c and the highest I've seen from it was 60c which is well and good for an HTPC case anyway)
So SSD, I personally think it's well worth getting an SSD, at least for your OS. I've actually got a couple in my rig - a 128g for my OS and a second 256g for games. Honestly I wouldn't buy anything but Crucial SSD's and memory because over all the years they seem to hold up the best (Crucial memory has been a favorite of mine for compatibility over the years and honestly I've NEVER had a stick from them go bad. So it was an easy choice for me to go with them for SSD's.) As far as standard drives go, I'm a Western Digital fanboy[girl?] every time I've bought something other than WD it's failed on me, but I'm STILL running a 1tb WD I've had for probably over 10 years now. (I have 3 WD standard drives in my rig and about 5 in storage that I can use a hotswapy like thingy to get into - they all still work heh) I'll not buy anything else.
mmk power supplies. Ya know I've had at least five Corsair PSU's and I absolutely hate them, which is a shame cause I like a LOT of their other products. Anyway I'd ended up getting a SilverStone PSU with one of my HTPC cases and I've never looked back. Upgraded from the 400w that came with it to my present 1200w modular and I'm so in love with it - especially as a modder cause it's so easy to work on the cableing. Even if you are not a modder though, it's solid quality construction and very quiet to boot.
Ah and GPU. Ya know I really love the new R9 series, I've got the 290x from Asus (beautiful) and my buddy has an Asus 280x. The leap in quality and speed, even from my old HIS Radeon 6950HD (which isn't a bad card either) is amazing. Ya know the entire reason I started modding was because I wanted a PowerColor Devil 13 in my HTPC case, but then they announced the "Volcanic Island" series so I waited, for almost a year, was torture! Still I'm very happy I waited, the 290x was well worth it. Now to be completely fair, some 6-7 years ago I had a Nvidia card and they put out an absolutely horrid driver (went from a fine card to absolute garbage over night and I wasn't able to game for at least two months when I finally bought a new card,) and I've not forgiven them. So I'll admit that I don't really give Nvidia a fair chance cause I can't trust them again. Their Titan 'is' cooler and supposedly only a hair slower (or faster depending on what fan boy you talk to heh) I will admit the new TitanX or whatever is a sexy beast (but ya know it's like what 2k or something lol)
Anyway, on the keyboard, if you can swing for one of Corsair's mechanicals it's well worth the money. I had the K90 (which isn't quite fully mechanical the F and G keys are standard, and I believe the number pad as well) then I upgraded to the K95 which is fully mechanical. Honestly I can't say enough about this keyboard, it's beautiful, well constructed, and it types like a dream; it's very sensitive and responsive. Yes it does clicky when you type, of course, but I put on O-rings before and it was nearly as quiet as a standard keyboard. They've got a whole line of these aluminum mechanicals if you don't like the gkey's, I highly recommend them.
Anyway, so if ya have any questions about any of the parts I listed I'm more than happy to answer them with my first hand experiences :) Also, if your curious ( cause I like showing my builds off :} ) This is my previous... uhm... incarnation and the one I'm building right now Consummation - I'll be liquid cooling her eventually, but I'll skip getting into that web of details unless you're planning to WC anyway heh
» Edited on: 2014-07-04 11:43:31