Buying HTPC, need help please

So, I am looking into buying an HTPC. I am not looking to build my own for various reason (time, energy, etc). So ideal I would like to either have it built for me, or get an out of the box solution.

I have seen a lot of the small form factor PCs like Zino HD and the Zbox. With all the upgrades you can get in the them, they are pretty pricey. And generally there isn't a lot of room to upgrade them down the line.

I found this website (via Ebay) that sells pre-built HTPCs (www.lycomputers.com) and was wondering if anyone has bought anything from them before, and if this PC I am looking at would work for what I want it to do. I am doing mainly HTPC media, but also some gaming.

Here are the specs: It comes to ~$1000 for this build (the prices on there are additional to the base build).

Is this a reasonable/cost effective build for what I want to do? Most of the stuff I read about the components seems positive. Obviously not top of the line stuff, but able to handle HD media and some gaming (as long as I am not looking to max everything out).

Any help, suggestions, comments would be appreciated!

It is my main PC, but it is hooked up to my TV.

I am looking for from a media stand point:
HD movie playback (1080p hopefully)
mid to high end gaming
Blu-Ray watching

I will also be using it for internet, office application, etc.

I want something that will handle HD well, without bogging down. I don't do much HD recording, but would like to try out the TV tuner option, as I have never had one.

I also want something that I won't have to upgrade too often.

Well, I guess I should say, I don't do ANY HD recording right now other than DVR on DirecTV. Ideally, I would be able to do it through my HTPC. Never had a TV tuner so, not exactly sure how much I would use it.

Good suggestion on the optical drive, both come standard on the build. I can take one of them off, to decrease price.

The 8gbs of RAM is something I wanted to overkill on a little bit, just because I don't want to have to upgrade to often. How much do you think would be necessary?

I got 2 500gb hard drives in this one, and also have roughly 3TBs worth of external storage, so I am OK on that front.

I also have a copy of windows 7 that isn't being used right now, so I am OK there as well.

So with this build, taking this post into consideration, what would be a good price for someone else to build this for me?

I priced out the parts, and it came to ~$850, though I didn't check anywhere but at Newegg. I figure I don't have the time or desire to build it myself, I don't mind paying a little premium for it. I also figured this was a better option than buying an out of the option like the Zino HD because the components are better (at least from what I can tell).

Why will it be difficult?

So based on this thread, and other suggestions, I am now looking at:

LYHTPC20 Custom Media Center HTPC Computer

Processor [ CPU ]: Intel Core i5 750 Quad-Core [2.66GHz per Core] - $119.99
Memory [ RAM ] : 8GB DDR3 240-Pin SDRAM Desktop Memory - $179.99
Hard Drive [ HDD ]: 1000GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive - $39.99
Optical Drive [ DVD ]: Blu-ray Reader & DVD Burner Combo Drive - $79.99
Video Card [ Graphics ]: Radeon HD5770 [Dedicated Ram 1GB D-Sub,DVI,HDMI] - $129.99
Sound Card [ Audio ]: Onboard 6-Channel HD Audio
Network Card [LAN/WLAN]: Onboard 100Mbps
Media Drive: Card Reader
Power Supply: 650W High Efficiency 120mm Fan Power Supply - $24.99
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium
2nd Hard Drive: None
2nd Optical Drive: None
TV Tuner Card: None
Keyboard & Mouse: None

for just a little over $1000.

Went with the i5 750, instead of the Core 2 Quad Q9400. I decided to take out the TV tuner, and add a copy of Windows even though I have a copy. Took out the second optical drive, just went with one. Took out the second HDD and upgraded to a single 1 TB HDD. Went with 8 GBs of DDR3, instead of the DDR2, because of the CPU.

How does this look? I know the CPU and RAM might be a little overkill, but like I said, I am hopefully not going to have to upgrade for a few years.

Is this hugely over priced for ~$1000?

I could drop down to 4GB of DDR3, and it would bring it to about $960.00...

At that price, is this an alright build? I am getting pretty much everything I need out of it, and it has room to upgrade things as need be in the future.

I looked all over at the local shops, and for this type of build they are all $300-500 more than what this shop is quoting.

The motherboard is an ECS P55, not sure of actual model number.

The only reason they have the audio listed, is because I copied this from their drop down boxes, and they have other options. I elected not to get a dedicated sound card, for the reasons you mentioned.

Warranty on parts and labor is 3 years, one year of full tech support. I am rather computer savvy, and probably could build this myself, as I use to build PC for fun 8-9 years ago. Granted the landscape has changed a bit. This is my first foray into HTPCs, and I don't feel comfortable building, nor do I really have the time and energy to put into it. I don't mind paying a premium to have it built.

From just pricing out the parts, they would cost me between $800-900, the final cost on the above build is $960.00. I am not sure I could do it much cheaper myself, could I?