Lemley

Getting very comfortable with build ideas -- this is turning out to be no different than throwing together a typical PC (just in a smaller form factor). I think I would prefer something that looks like it belongs on my entertainment center, but I'm getting less and less concerned with small size. Silverstone appears to be the way to go (I love the looks of the Antec Fusion cases and have always had success with Antec products, but they're all out of stock on Newegg? Is a new model coming out or are these just discontinued??) Once it's time to start loading HTPC software, codecs and FE's, I'm in a whole new world... that's when I'll REALLY need help.

Stigzler, that's exactly what I'm referring to (future-proofing, as much as possible anyway) -- I want to be sure I can run anything well that's in the foreseeable future. I'm having difficulty finding a case I like: Newegg has several good options, but they all seem large (MicroATX with a nearly 7 inch height on the thinnest side? Surely there's better options out there). I'm not dead-set on a chipset size, (Micro/Mini/etc) but do want to pack as much punch as possible into as small of a package as possible. I guess that's a pretty universal statement Anyone have suggestions?

Thanks for the quick replies -- I have already subbed (lifetime) to GameEx despite not taking a single other step in this process, yet. I stumbled over some great reviews of GameEx that made me comfortable enough to jump off and take this on... but like I mentioned above, that's just as far as I've gotten. After looking at the price tags of the premade HTPC's I realize I'm probably much, much better off building my own. No problem here -- I've got plenty of experience building PCs. I have zero experience with HTPC's, though, and was not sure of the best software/interfaces/peripherals/accessories and such to build my setup around. GameEx is a no-brainer -- I also know, for sure, that I will be most comfortable with a Windows OS (7 pro or 10). Are there any must-haves to make my arcade and console rom emu experience better? In the long-term, I'd like to build a half-cab for joysticks and such and just plug it in to the HTPC and a wall-mounted TV. In the short-term, I'll be limited to the mouse/keyboard and something like a 360 controller. I see a lot of examples using XBMC and the like for a HTPC front-end. Is there any need for this (or a similar product) in addition to GameEx? I.E. using a boot front-end to easily navigate between things like Netflix/Media/etc. and GameEx? Is this even possible, or will I just be better off booting and running it in Windows 10? Sorry to have so many questions (and such little understanding on the media center side of things); looking forward to being a part of this great community!

I'd love to hear the community's input in regards to HTPC builds and what (if any) consideration is being made towards the future with Steam machines/SteamOS/Win10 on the immediate horizon. I'm ready to buy my machine, but I desperately need suggestions -- which OS/what type of build do you recommend for my project? This is primarily going to be used for arcade and classic console emulation from the couch. I have an extensive Steam library but almost exclusively play these from my desktop by choice. Is there even a need to be concerned with 'future-proofing' in that regard? If money were no object, what would be your dream HTPC GameEx setups? I don't even know what all is entirely possible. This is clearly an exciting time to be getting into emulation, but with all these new options out I certainly don't want to buy/build something I'll regret in just a few weeks.