Okay...

1. I already mentioned that I had a budget of 23K~24K.

2. I don't think that the games I will be playing are just casual. I am more into games like Burnout Paradise, NFS, Wolverine, Ghostbusters and I would like to play these games at the highest settings. But, I am not gonna play games like Fallout 3 or Crysis.

3. The reason I am gonna use an HTPC for downloading is because, in our new home, we are just gonna keep a laptop for our general use, and if I keep a laptop on for the day, won't it get overheated?

And, can you please explain in a little more detail why the life of an HTPC would be shortened?

4. I live in Nagpur and have no qualms about ordering stuff online. Infact, i was planning to assemble this from the TE dealers.

5. I am currently using Windows 7 RC x64 and will be using it in the future too...

6. I DO NOT NEED -
# Monitor
# Hard Disk
# DVD Writer

The rest (such as CPU, MoBo, RAM, Cabinet etc.) I will need.

7. My brother told me that DirectX 11 cards would make their wair way around soon, and so instead of splurging on a card now, I should just make do with the onboard graphics for some time.

If what he said makes sense, then I WILL NOT NEED a graphics card either. If what he said is wrong, then you need to include a graphics card in the specs too.

That is all I can remember now. Does that help? A few more replies would be highly appreciated people!