Is This Build Outdated?

I am looking to build my first HTPC but must confess to being rather useless to it all. My requirements is a machine that can seamlessly play 1080p media files, is HDMI ready, blu-ray/dvd/3d playback, blu-ray/dvd ripping, gaming (most importantly emulation of NES/SNES/N64 and maybe low-demand modern games such as SCII/WoW etc), hdtv watching/recording.

I have been looking into various builds and found this Whirlpool page to be recommended however it is now a few months old.

In particular I was looking into the Performance HTPC build (option 2).
I am also considering Options 1 and Silent Front End if the first build seems like overkill.

I guess what I'm getting at here is - are some of the components listed there now outdated? If so what are good alternatives? Also would option 2 be overkill for my needs? How noisy is it likely to be?

Looking for some guidance on this matter and all help is appreciated. At this point all I know is I want to use MediaPortal and build around either the Silverstone GD04 or the Antec Fusion Remote.

Thanks in advance.

I used an old $100 PC for 1080p (1.8ghz core 2 clocked up to 2.4ghz) so anything available over the last few months will be fine. Personally I'd go with an intel i3 rather than AMD as I think intel are more stable.