Ok, so this is not exactly something for a newbie. You need the skills to open up the system and install the RAM and HDD. But if you are going for an HTPC I am sure you know someone who can do this for you.

Once set up correctly, I would recommend with 4 Gig ram and atleast a 1Tb HDD (for all the good stuff). This makes a very good HTPC. The DVD drive could be a bit noisy. Personally I would have liked to buy one with a blu ray player, but then on a shoe string budget this is not bad (maybe I will be able to upgrade this at some point).

IRDA port allows for a universal remote and a bit of linux hackery to get this running XBMC very well. And the HDMI port is quite suitable for the LED TV at home ;-)

The one _MOST_ important thing is that it's power usage is lower than standard desktop PC, so if you are running this 24x7 it won't cost you the earth.

With linux server running this will also let you make a multi-purpose file server and much much more than cute HTPC in your living room.

Overall a good choice, but hey when I have this for a few months I will let you know ;-)