first suggestions is to dump the shuttle

they used to be gread (Ive had a few myself) but there reliability has plumited lately

(enough so that tekheads stoped stocking them)

theres plenty of other simmiler sytstems to go with... try one of those ?   I dont really have any experience with any of them to reccomend one tho !

Really? Ive got an old shuttle at the moment SN41 something or other and its been really good, nice and quiet too, so I was going to go for the same again as you dont have to bother with picking out a mobo heatsink etc.

Only other case I liked was the Antec NSK1380, any other suggestions...it needs to be under 30cm in height if possible

Prices are from TekHeads ::
608093 Apevia X-Qpack II Black Aluminum Case No Window - 500W Psu                       ::  £48.50     
608479 Gigabyte GA-73PVM-S2H nForce 630i (Socket 775) PCI-E mATX Motherboard      :: £34.00    
606317 Corsair Twin2X 2GB DDR2 (2x1024MB) XMS2 Dominator 8500C5                    :: £42.00    
609433 Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 IDE/100 500GB 16MB Cache OEM                           :: £46.00    
608990 Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 2.53GHz Wolfdale 3Mb Cache LGA775 (1066 Mhz)         :: £68.04    
609549 Pioneer DVR-116DBK 20x IDE Black DVDRW OEM                                            :: £14.46    
609562 Sapphire ATI Radeon HD4670 512MB DDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI/TV Out - Retail    :: £53.49

total cost is £360.13 including the VAT

Graphics card has a fan on it, but Im told they are fairly quiet, Thats a general desktop build

If you are after a HTPC more than a desktop rig (Which your desire for a small case, and quiet would suggest) then you are better off with an AMD and 780G or GX chipset, and forget an extra graphics card.  Though we could probably shoehorn a Blu-Ray drive in there for about £60 instead.  


Edit : Typos

the pc would be for general use and occassional gaming.

BTW- the spec you quoted comes to £423 inc vat...bit too much for me.

RE: the RAM, crucial 2GB is £25, is there much difference between that and other branded ram?
And is there a notable performace difference between the E5200 & E7200 as its £25 more and every little helps

Where are you buying from?  Ive looked in the basket, and prices including VAT are £360 plus P&P.  Are you brand sensitive?

If you arent want some decent grunt, and arent too bothered about branded RAM, and a smaller HDD ::



Case is a desktop type, but its really a mini-tower chassis turned on its side.  

Edit :: Im taking an assumption you have a decent working DVD Writer already.  

If your not overclocking you can go the AMD route

I was going to suggest that, but unless its a HTPC people some people around here try and ram the 21xx series down your throat for cheap rigs.

2GB Corsair TwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 - £26.60 (im just a corsair fan)

A single 500GB HDD £38-43, he stated he wants cheap, so £38 = £30 saving nearly!  for a Maxtor (it has warranty, same as all others)