Help me choose an HTPC

[HARRINGT0N]

I've been using my primary desktop as my WMC for the past 3 years with 3 Xbox's as extenders. Up to this point it has worked great, but it has recently started blue screening on me all the time, like 5 times a day. So it's time to upgrade the 6 year old desktop. I'm thinking of getting rid of my primary desktop and replacing it with a laptop and a dedicated htpc. My thoughts are using an HTPC with a small SSD and connecting This [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002UU ... TUX2A6RQ1A] to my Asus router to store and stream all my media from. I have all gigabit switches and router and think this should work with no problem. I think..
My problem is I can't seem to decide what I need for my actual HTPC. I will be doing NO gaming on it or browsing. I only want to run Windows Media Center, Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. and stream to my extenders. I have it narrowed down to 3 choices and wondered if anyone had input on any of them.
1) the cheapest way to go ($237): refurbished Gateway SX2110G-UW308 (DT.GDYAA.001) AMD Dual-Core Processor E1-1200(1.40GHz) 4GB DDR3 500GB HDD Capacity AMD Radeon HD 7310 Windows 8
I would replace the 500gb hdd with a 64 or 128gb ssd and I should be able to fit my old tv tuner in this unit.
2) the flashiest way to go ($663): refurbished DELL Alienware X51 AWX5061990501SA Intel Core i3 3220(3.30GHz) 6GB DDR3 1TB HDD Capacity NVIDIA GeForce GT 640 / 1GB Windows 8 64-bit
Again, I would replace the 1tb hdd with a 64 or 128gb ssd but in this instance I would have to buy another HDHomerun.
3) the techiest way to go ($510): Intel NUC with Dual HDMI, Gigabit LAN, Core i3-3217U DC3217IYE, Lite On Plextor M5M 2.5-Inch 128GB mSATA Solid State Drive (M5M 128GB), Komputerbay 8GB (2x 4GB) DDR3 SODIMM (204 pin) 1333Mhz PC3 10600 8 GB (9-9-9-25)
This price doesn't include O/S, I'm assuming the version of windows 7 I have will work with it. It should. I will need another HDHomerun with this build too.

please help...

[leroys1000]

The AMD is slow and may struggle with HD video at times.
The NUC is of course,small and not really that upgradable.
If you want something that doesn't take a lot of room and don't
mind running usb hardware,go for that.
The alienware is the only on I see that would be easier to work with
and can take upgrades as needed.
Media center load balances across CPU cores,so more is better in this case.

[HARRINGT0N]

Thanks for the reply. Not too worried about upgradeability and that was what I was afraid of with the Gateway too being that the processor wasn't good enough.

[milli260876]

I built a socket 1155 mini itx system in an old kiss dvd player case, pentium cpu,ssd,pico psu. It is beautiful...
i cut the cpu cooler fan off. Cut an hole in the case put a 120mm fan in with a grid/dust cover. Quiet as a mouse. And upgradeable.