[activoice]

I'm considering a new HTPC build and plan to run the it on Windows 7 Home Premium 64. Mostly because I don't know anything about Linux, and would prefer an OS that I know how to maintain.

Mostly I'll be playing 1080P X264 MKV's with DTS audio from my Windows Home Server, over gigabit lan. Maybe some web browsing, and Youtube video as well. Maybe adding a bluray drive in the future.

I've already ruled out an ION based PC, I want something that's a little more capable.

So I think my biggest concern is processor speed.... I want to be able to playback 1080P video smoothly, but don't want a system that's overkill.

The 2 processor choices that I've been looking at are below, prices are about the same. Is one preferable over the other... are they too much, can I go with a lower power CPU?

Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 2.93 GHz, OR Intel Core i3 530 2.93Ghz

The rest of the system would look something like this... Maybe I could scale back to a 32gb SSD, and save some money.

Gigabyte motherboard - GA-H55M-S2 for the I3 or GA-EP43-UD3L for the E7500

64gb OCZ SSD - (OCZSSD2-2SLD60G)

GT220 Video - Asus ENGT220/DI/1GD2(LP)/V2 1024 MB

Case + PSU - Antec Minuet 350

4gb RAM - OCZ (OCZ2G8004GK) DDR2 PC2-6400 800MHz

[thethirdnut]

Ditch the Windoze and an ION will do fine.

VDPAU acceleration and the low-cost of ION-based systems are worth the effort invested into learning a little about the other side of the OS fence.

Also, to make things easier in Linux-land: spend some time reading the forums and go with a *common* hardware platform. That way you'll have a lot of documentation, user-feedback if/when you do need help...

[activoice]

Thanks for the advice... but I really have my mind set on a windows build. One of the reasons being that it will be compatible with my existing windows home server which can perform regular backups of the HTPC automatically.

Also with XBMC supporting DXVA in Windows then I was hoping that along with the GT220 I might be able to go as low as an E5500 CPU (Dual Core E5500 - 2.8 GHz)...

Basically I just don't want to go and buy a CPU only to find out that it's not capable of playing back 1080P X264 video without stuttering.

[thethirdnut]

OK, fair enough.

As a reference playing back 1080p, x264 MKV with DTS or Dolby TrueHD on my Atom 330, 4 GB RAM, GT 240 rig, ubuntu 10.04 64-bit minimal, Dharma Beta 3:

my 4 x CPU's [dual core hyperthreaded] typically run < 10% peak...VDPAU does all the heavy lifting. Therefore, at least with VDPAU in play the Atom 330 is not a bottleneck...1080p audio-video playback is superb.

[poofyhairguy]

Also with XBMC supporting DXVA in Windows then I was hoping that along with the GT220 I might be able to go as low as an E5500 CPU (Dual Core E5500 - 2.8 GHz)...

Basically I just don't want to go and buy a CPU only to find out that it's not capable of playing back 1080P X264 video without stuttering.

Just so you know, that E5500 is more than enough for 1080p on its own. If you don't want to go faster than that, you will be fine. I recommend the i3 because of its vast power savings (uses WAY less power than 775 parts), but any cPU you mention will be more than enough.

Look like a good build honestly. Only thing I will say is now that the GT430s are out I think they are a step up from the GT220s for Windows use. That is what I have in my Windows HTPC.