have recently put together a few XBMC setups for customers, and wanted to share in case others were looking for a solid, works "out of the box" setup.

Micro-ATX HTPC case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811121068)
Gigabyte E7AUM-DS2H mobo (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128363)
Celeron E1500 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116075)
2GB DDR2-800 ram (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820161030)
Patriot Xporter 8GB USB flash (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220252)
Lite-On DVDROM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106276)
MCE-compatible remote (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360176386859)

I also swapped the case and CPU fans for some silent ones, and installed the remote IR sensor internally.

This setup, while not the cheapest you can get, will give you flawless 1080p playback from all sources, even those not currently accelerated by VDPAU. Works "out of the box" with XBMC Live perfectly*.

* may require a one-line tweak to xorg.conf for 1080p/60 on some setups, and an update to Alsa for HDMI audio

This setup, while not the cheapest you can get, will give you flawless 1080p playback from all sources, even those not currently accelerated by VDPAU. Works "out of the box" with XBMC Live perfectly*.

You chose the same mobo I'm recommending in my article (http://www.linuxtech.net/features/best_linux_htpc_motherboards.html) so I certainly agree with that :), but I'm concerned about the cpu: are you saying the Celeron E1500 is powerful enough for flash based HD streams displayed at 1080p?
I'd be very surprised about that!

You chose the same mobo I'm recommending in my article (http://www.linuxtech.net/features/best_linux_htpc_motherboards.html) so I certainly agree with that :), but I'm concerned about the cpu: are you saying the Celeron E1500 is powerful enough for flash based HD streams displayed at 1080p?
I'd be very surprised about that!

I've actually been using that mobo in my personal box for a year now :)

I haven't tried 1080p flash streams, since the box is setup as a dedicated XBMC machine and XBMC doesn't support flash. I know based on other testing it should be sufficient for 720p flash in most cases

have recently put together a few XBMC setups for customers, and wanted to share in case others were looking for a solid, works "out of the box" setup.

Micro-ATX HTPC case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811121068)
Gigabyte E7AUM-DS2H mobo (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128363)
Celeron E1500 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116075)
2GB DDR2-800 ram (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820161030)
Patriot Xporter 8GB USB flash (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220252)
Lite-On DVDROM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106276)
MCE-compatible remote (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360176386859)

I also swapped the case and CPU fans for some silent ones, and installed the remote IR sensor internally.

This setup, while not the cheapest you can get, will give you flawless 1080p playback from all sources, even those not currently accelerated by VDPAU. Works "out of the box" with XBMC Live perfectly*.

* may require a one-line tweak to xorg.conf for 1080p/60 on some setups, and an update to Alsa for HDMI audio

I assume you are using the 8GB flash drive for the OS? No hard disk?

An alternative low cost mATX case for only $40 shipped-

http://3btech.net/ch70misuslmi.html

While it doesn't include a PSU and is larger, it allows full size cards and a full size standard ATX PSU, if that's important to you.

I always use low cost <$20 PSU's and have never had a problem, just be sure to use a 120mm fan for silence. Plenty to choose from-

http://3btech.net/ch550wadufan.html

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=PS550E12&cat=PWR

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=ES-650BLACK-12&cat=PWR

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=ESTAR680XBK&cat=PWR

Never tried Blue Star, but Chiefmax and Logisys have been fine for me. Just step away from A-Power ;)

I just replaced my case in the bedroom with this one and I love it. It's actually 15.5" deep, but it fits perfect on my dresser. I got it off ebay with free shipping. And while the PSU worked fine and was pretty quiet, I did replace it with a larger one, so you might want to buy the one without the PSU for $29.95. If you need a short case, this is the one to get IMO.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811164127

those are some good alternatives for sure. My main criteria was that the case look like it belongs in an A/V rack, which limited my options somewhat. Also, the case I used actually looks a lot better in person than the pictures on Newegg would indicate.