[WhiteLighter]

the all-in-one a8-3850 will be better than the all-in-one i3 for htpc

+1

and i did offer the alternative idea

and that's what I have been pointing out. Just leave your suggestions and let what others have suggested be :p

Anyways, just keep the ideas flowing

[phool]

Thanks all for the suggestions thus far. A healthy debate is always welcome, gives me more options to consider.

I believe the CPU is a 3000+ (dont have PC in front of me). I do have the same sentiments as others mentioned that such old hardware in a great case just doesnt feel right. However at this stage cost is an issue.

The a8-3850 is a little out of my price range, so I guess I could just wait it out a bit and save up and get the new hardware.

Would buying an atom-based board and using it together with my current GPU be non-sensical at this stage?

[g3k0]

well if the a8, you can always look at the plucky A6 - 3500, i have one and it is a dream , i am using it on win-7 x64 and runs xbmc with no issues

[bluray]

The a8-3850 is a little out of my price range, so I guess I could just wait it out a bit and save up and get the new hardware.

if you can wait longer, you'll get a better version of A8- AMD Trinity New APU for 2012.