In the simplest scenario 10.6x10.4x3.5200W PSU, PCI-e Low profile case for $38.99 (QC is reported to be bad) plus Zotac GF 9300 Mini ITX board for $145 with x16 PCI-e and everything else (but S-Video) including 11b/g is all I need ($184) to build mini PC 3" wider and deeper then Mini. Add to that 2.5GHz E5200 for $70 to match up new Mini at $39+$145+$70=$184+$70=$255 or better yet load it up with Q9550 (2.8GHz 2x6MB vs. 2.4GHz 2x2MB for Q6600) at $280 to make it fastest pre i5 Quad for $464 with CPU cost to be 60%. Newegg has Q9300 (2.5GHz 2x3MB) for $240, so give or take $40 with Q9550 being better option.
AMD CPU should be cheaper. Phenom 2 starts at $170 at MicroCenter and uses AM3 socket and Phenom 9600 is $100 2.3GHz at newegg after $20 rebate. Since AM2+ processors do not work on AM3 motherboards, depending on what type of GF 9400 mobo Zotac come up with for AMD (AM2+ vs. AM3), I could either use Athlon from HP and buy Phenom 9600 later or would have to buy both mobo and Phenom 2 at the same time. So AMD system would run me either $184 upfront, plus $100 later or $284 for 2.3GHz Phenom ($30 extra vs. base C2D) or $184+$170=$355 or $100 cheaper then Q9550.
Well, I have to wait for Zotac GF 9300 Mini ITX for AMD before building Mini PC... and may be by the time they come out with one NVidia would have ION out and old TV could be driven by ION based thingy for less then $200.
P.S. None of the Mini-ITX mobos have S-video out, and none but GF 9400 based have x16 PCI-e. Apple TV in addition to HDMI has just component video out, so only HP+X1550 combo could drive my old TV since it could only take S-video. My TV is showing its age.
