SFF as a HTPC

Having just put together a SN45Gv3 for my father's birthday its made me realise how much I still like SFF PCs.

I was thinking of moving to SFF for my HTPC which is currently in a Silver Thermaltake Tenor.

Current Components I would llike to transfer:
3000+ Venice CPU
2x512MB Patriot RAM
HDA Digital X-Mystique 7.1 Gold PCI Dolby Soundcard
Gigabyte Silent Heatpipe 6600GT PCI Express VGA
Technotrend 2100 Premium DVB-C Card
NEC 3540 DVDR/RW
200GB Samsung Spinpoint SATA2

Idealy I would like to keep the above components but move them into a smaller case, oh & preferably silver too :)

I would welcome any suggestions or comments

I would take a look at the Shuttle ST20G5 as it fits all your requirements nicely, except for the fact that it has 1 PCI slot. You would probably have to sacrifice the Sound Card and use the 7.1 onboard sound that comes with it.

Another thing to note is that you may have a tight squeeze when fitting the DVB-C Card next to the Gigabyte 6600GT Silent Pipe, as the cooler apparently overlaps onto the PCI Slot.

Hmm, might have to consider going back to AGP that would openup a few more options? Would the onboard sound on the shuttle you mentioned do DTS like soundstorm does on the SN45Gv3?

Hmm, none of the latest Shuttle's (afaik) support DTS. Another option would be to look for a Micro ATX mobo like one of the following:

MSI RX480M2
MSI RS480M2 (Has onboard graphics)
Foxconn NF4K8MC-RS (Hard to get a hold of)
Asus A8NE-FM (Which is apparently quite crap)

These have more expansion slots for your add in cards. You would also need a Micro ATX case like the Antec Aria, Aspire X-Qpack or the SilverStone 'SUGO' SG01B which looks soo ***ual.

Have just bought a MSI RS480M2-IL Motherboard ,Silverstone SG01SCase & Silverstone Nitrogon NTO3 Heatsink. Hope my NEC 3540 & Tagan PSU Fit :)

Thanks for your help -now to sell my thermaltake tenor & asus a8n sli premium

That was quick!

No problem dude. Good luck and have fun with it! :)

I think you would have a problem putting a heatpiped gpu into a sff. I can imagine overheating to be a problem. Let us know how it goes.