Home Streaming Media Server

[BrianG]

Yeah, 4-core and 8GB is a bit overkill for a HTPC, but since I plan to also use it as an intranet/data/SMB server and possibly for some lower-end games, the extra oomph might come in handy. Besides, the price difference between dual and quad cores isn't really that big, and has room for me to scale up its usage as things progress.

HDD prices are higher to be sure. But when you get those DIY packages at newegg, you get a discount which helps offset that. This is also why I won't get the 2x2TB drives for a while until the prices drop back down.