I would rather have a computer than a PS3, much much more versatile and could have more than a couple uses.

Yah but I already own 2 computers and a laptop. Main purpose of this device seems to be to play video and movies on your TV. I would rather get the PS3 to do that, and be able to play PS3 games.

Im not saying its useless, just I don't need another computer.

There is just something about consoles not filling that "something" when you play games, I don't know what it might be.

I was just wondering, how well did the Media Center remote work? Is it set up straight out of the box, like a TV/Blu Ray player remote would be? Also, can it be used for anything other than windows Media Center. For example, can you program it to open a browser or other application?

i am from dubai, uae. i am interested to buy this product. please advice where i can avail one. thank you.

Nice review. It surprised me how badly it compared to other processors as it feels fairly nippy in windows 7. You do need to get a few extras though such as an operating system and bluray playback software which pushes the price up. overall i am very happy with mine as htpc with a dvb usb card.

I bought one of these for use with XBMC and it's been fantastic. Still a bit sluggish with Flash video over the web but with that gaining hardware acceleration that will improve. One comment to add to the review; why budget for Windows 7? Just install Ubuntu!

Obviously a bit late to the party, but here's a few thoughts...

RE Gaming: by all means try something like this for casual gaming, but it's first and foremost a HTPC rig.

RE vs PS3: Sure, you could get movie playback over a PS3, but picture this...

- You've got all your movies stored on a central hard drive
- You've got a server running, say, My Movies
- That server might be a Windows Home Server, also running DVB link, and have a pile of TV tuner cards in
- That server might also have all of your pictures and music on

Now. Ad some of these bad boys to the equation (the ASRock machines) at every TV in your house, and you've got...
- All of your movies available on all machines via a cool jukebox interface
- The same TV channels available throughout the house
- Potentially the same recorded TV available throughout the house
- All of your music available in each room. Same for pictures

I'm not saying don't get a PS3 - by all means do, but this HTPC route over networking opens up whole new avenues. Personally I'd get both, but stick to the PS3 for gaming.

I'm currently running some of the above configuration, but with HTPCs that I've built myself. Now, these ASRock boxes have started to come down in price a little (it's a year on, after all), and they still fit the purpose. They're now cheaper than building your own.

RE Windows 7 choice: See above. I'm sure you can do most of what I'm doing for free, but that's the route I've chosen.

Just a few thoughts, and thanks for the review - it's made my mind up.
Cheers, Simon

bought it and straight away after i turned it on i got it hitting 2.3 ghz with my custom heatsink which uses a small external attachment..(like 2cm by 2.5cm) so that really got it going. i then installed 8gb ram which i got for $56.95. next up was the hdd which was replaced by an 64gb ssd i got off ebay at a cheap $96. installed fresh copy of windows, drivers,codec pack and media portal, hooked up my external NAS and i have the ultimate htpc. it can play back bluray iso perfectly with bd-live working and no stuttering. next im going to do is build another heatsink for the gpu and oc it for better performance and if all goes well build a small box with fans for both external untis.
i will not post a guide for the heatsinks as they are my own design and require very complicated soldering and know-how, but let me tell you, with everything under $650, im truly happy