Rule #1 - Be Patient - Rule #2 - Don't ask when, if you don't contribute - Rule #3 - You have coding skills - LinuxMCE's small brother is available: http://www.agocontrol.com
Sorry:I didn't realize you were in a different market. I know SiliconDust is working to get a version for Europe but Australia isn't on the immediate future. In which case the bigger MB makes sense. However you shouldn't need much more than a 3800 or 4200 processor unless you will be using TVTime software HD Decoding. (Does work better but doesn't work with the overlay/blending.)