This is a follow up to some questions I had about hardware and I finally pulled the trigger.
Here is what I ended up with. After saving money and credit points all year I ended up with some decent deals and a pretty overall low cost for what is essentially my primary source of digital entertainment.
[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/TbNJRB) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/TbNJRB/by_merchant/)
Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [intel Core i3-4330 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i34330) | Purchased For $24.98
**Memory** | [Kingston 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/kingston-memory-kvr16n11h8) | Purchased For $11.55
**Storage** | [Western Digital Red 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd30efrx) | Purchased For $115.00
**Storage** | [Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd3200aaks) | Purchased For $30.00
**Case** | [Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/fractal-design-case-fdcadefr4bl) | Purchased For $10.74
**Power Supply** | [Rosewill Capstone 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/rosewill-power-supply-capstone450m) | Purchased For $64.00
**Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit)](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-885370635003) | Purchased For $0.00
**Other**| Asrock H87WS-DL| Purchased For $109.00
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $365.27
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-15 23:58 EST-0500 |
The CPU/RAM/Case came to such ridiculous prices after applying credits to my purchase. The 320GB Blue 7200 was paired with my existing 320GB Blue to create a Raid 1 for Windows 8.1. I already had 2x 3TB WD Reds so I thought adding a third (for now, of course) would be sufficient. I had a 400w PSU but I wanted a modular gold, so I got one. Why the Fractal R4? Well, I got it for $10, it's by far the best case I have ever built in and it is completely silent. I might miss hot swap bays when I'm changing out HDDs, but I don't care, I like opening my case and fiddling around. So, overall, I spent about $50 out of pocket up front and I picked up an 18 month no interest credit card to pay off the remainer at $19 a month, sure beats a satellite bill.
I took my existing 640GB out of the pool and turned it in to a backup for my OS install and other critical data.
Coming from a Core 2 CPU with a crap sata controller on PCI-E 1x, this new system is so incredibly satisfying to remote in, manage media, transcode, it just does it all exactly how I envisioned it would. Oh and I like easy and Win 8.1 delivers that experience. Finally, here's some pictures:
http://imgur.com/a/PN1xZ