Just did a very quick search, but seems like the proc is choosen because the best in range, rather than best overall?

Seems like the 925 would be a better performance/price challenger
The AMD Phenom II X6 1055T would be a better performer for the same thermal envelop, although more expensive.

Then there's the sandybridge alternative with the core i5-2500 but even with bundles I guess it's not possible to have a low cost
machine. But at least you gets lots of HP for a lower TDP (95W) which is very important in a tiny case.

I'll try to get more time and think about it.

I've spent a lot of time thinking of temperature/performance ratios as I do not tolerate noise, but still need power