Opinion for new SOHO Machine - Processor and Windows compatibility

[IronForge]

Greetings to all:

Hope all is well.

My Old SOHO Box expired; and is on its way to Recycling Afterlife.

I'm in the process of selecting a new box; but have found the latest processor and memory leaps quite impressive.

Since my work related Apps involve Robust Servers, I think I can live with a modestly priced Laptop as an option. Besides, they're outperforming All in Ones(which I contemplated for pre-sales "dog and ponies" purposes) right now.

Things are tight - so I'm on a budget (under $700). Monitor for the Desktop still works.


The questions involve the following:

Q1 - Processors:
Has anyone tried out the 2nd and 3rd Gen Intel i3/i5 Processor based Desktop/Laptops for OBSD?

I've looked into AMD Chips; but found out their A10s haven't measured up to the 3rd Gen Intel Chips.

Are the Pricepoints worth looking for 3rd Gen Deals, or should one settle for a 2nd Gen i5s?

Q2 - Windows 7 or 8 (for Qemu Virtualization)
Has anyone here tried Win8 VM'd over OBSD? I saw a Youtube Video on a Beta Release:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYgUDD6_5JQ

Win 7 or 8 - which one a) VM'd Better; and which one worked better for you?

Q3 - Fingerprint Readers: Do we have any means of utilizing them on OBSD?

Thanks.