Good point. Big thing for me right now is energy consumption. My Quad Core system pulls around 120 watts just piddling around on the internet, my laptop does the same thing at 10-12 watts. It runs $30-$40 per month just to leave my gaming system idling, if I could bring that down to $3-$4 that's a pretty significant savings in my book.
What do you think about this kit:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...t=Combo.752616
Should do HTPC, data, etc. for a handsome price point. Slap in some WD Caviar Green drives (unless you really need the speed of a 7200 RPM drive) and you're good to go. Home server for under $300 before OS isn't bad.