New Htpc/light Gaming Build Options

[anon123]

I'm thinking of building an HTPC and debating two sort of philosophies - an old cheap CPU with a nice graphics card, vs a nice new CPU with integrated graphics. Specifically:

Option 1 (old cheap CPU): E5500, GTX460 1GB
Option 2 (new CPU): Core i5-2500K, iGPU

Surprisingly these 2 builds do come out roughly equal in price since sandy bridge requires a more expensive mobo and CPU (using the est. $120 mobo and $200 cpu) while the Wolfdale build requires a more expensive PSU and GPU, and everything else is about the same.

I plan on using the PC hooked up over HDMI to my TV to play 1080p x264 videos, doing some very light gaming (e.g. starcraft 2 is about it), and perhaps some light video editing. I believe both should serve my purposes, but not too sure which will serve them BETTER.

Any insights as to which is better for my purposes? I know the second option will be more upgradable, but honestly considering how often I upgrade I don't think that really will make any difference. What I buy now is probably going to be it until I redo everything.

[Aldanga]

It's not really half price, but it is cheaper than it's ever been--at least according to The Camelizer. Looks good.