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I've been using my Workstation since last year, after getting help from many of you to raise funds for it. It's currently being used as my Workstation to work on Hardware Revolution, edit pictures on a regular basis (Photography is a big hobby of mine), play video games here and there and it also serves as an HTPC, by hooking it up to the HDTV in the living room. Only con is that it's not convenient to bring from the office to the living, it's pretty heavy and large after all.

It has seen some changes over the months, it's now in its most powerful and most well equipped state. I'm considering an upgrade to an AM3+ Micro-ATX motherboard + Bulldozer + 8GB of RAM + a smaller Micro-ATX down the road, but I rather wait to see how well (or not) Bulldozer performs. Besides, I'm trying to save up money, not trying to spend more haha.

See my signature for the components.

Looks nice. How is that new sound card treating you?

Great, I can definitely tell the difference in sound quality from onboard. Then again, I'd hope so, with a $130 pair of headphone. That's also why I bought the card in the first place.

Nice, but that's one big HTPC!

Yeah, hence why I plan to shrink it in size eventually. Maybe even go all the way with a Mini-ITX build.

I won't do it just for the size factor though, but I know that I'll be upgrading eventually, so when I upgrade, I might just do it all at the same time.

Then again, I might just get started with the RAM, considering how dirt cheap it is right now. I could also sell and upgrade my SSD, which wouldn't cost me much. I'll wait though, both for Bulldozer and for long-term reliability of the latest gen SSDs.

Just when I thought RAM couldn't get cheaper, it got cheaper.

You should use that mini-ITX Lian-Li case. I use it for my (cheap) fileserver. Other option is to get a Cooler Master HAF 932 since it has wheels (but it's HUGE). I'd really love to get an HTPC eventually, probably a small, low voltage one, not for gaming.

Currently my laptop (HP Envy 14) is my HTPC.

Yeah, RAM IS incredibly cheap right now. This just made think of an article that I should write

Yeah, that's the deal, I sold my laptop which I was using as my workstation (hooked up to the screen + keyboard + mouse when I was home) and my HDTV.

I'm tempted to get another laptop right now, but I want to be patient and see what happens with the "Ultrabook" class of laptop that Intel wants to introduce to the market. I've got to say, there are some very nice E-350 designs out there, but the E-350 is just too slow for my own tastes.

IF and that's a big IF Intel can introduce something even better, that is offering a dual-core CPU with very low power draw and still good performance (Think Core 2 Duo/Athlon II level), with an outstanding battery life, all within a thin and small laptop, I'm definitely in. I simply love small, thin and powerful laptops with long battery life and I hope that the trend keeps going that way.

I have a ThinkPad X220. It's weighs about 3.5lbs, has a 12.5" IPS(!) display, and an epic 15 hour battery life. It's got a Core i3 Sandy Bridge at 2.1GHz, so it's relatively speedy. It got it for around $780. Plus it's got that awesome ThinkPad keyboard. I have a mechanical keyboard, and I find that the ThinkPad keyboard is REALLY good. I hardly use my HP Envy 14 now (glossy display + bad keyboard (relatively speaking) + bad trackpad (relatively speaking) = headache). My HP has been relegated to HTPC status.