Well using AMD 760 Chipset at moment, Epox 8k7a.
I found the Game Theater Xp for around $30 more and I think the external console would be very nice, gets old switching headphones in and out and turning volume up and down for it, plus the usb front ports would be nice for gaming devicies.
Just worry about compatibility and driver support. Xp seems inevitable and every time I have went towards nt I have had some sort of sound issue. Main reason I never kept win2k on.