[bnb]

Ok, so I've lost 2 HDD's in the last year, so I'm finally going to make that PC an Unraid Data Server, and build another PC for my web browsing, XBMC, and WMC usage.

I am currently using an AMD dual core 5000+ with a NVIDIA 9600 GT. It studders some on the HD stuff. So, I know the vid card doesn't matter, but I was planning on moving it to my new PC, and just getting a new board and proc. I also have a dual tuner cable card.

Can someone suggest a mb, proc, and case for me? I would like to keep it on the cheaper side. I have all my stuff in a closet and cables run, so sound and heat aren't that big of a deal. If it has a decent HDMI output vid chip, I guess I could sell my card.

I usually order from Newegg.

Thanks,
BNB

[prae5]

If you are looking to do it cheaply, that hardware will work fine under linux with full 1080p content - no need to upgrade.

[joshuass]

Any recently released dual core will handle 1080p with out hardware acceleration.

What is going to be interesting is ATI's new 5xxx series graphics cards. They supposedly are fully 1.3 HDMI compliant so that means they can bit-stream HD sound sources (something only the Xonar A/V cards could do previously).

If you're looking for a more compact system, take a look at ASUS and Gigabyte M-ATX boards, those are gonna be good systems for the money with onboard video. My Gigabyte board has a HD3200 ATI chip onboard, it has a slightly harder time handling XBMC skins laden with fan art but I was able to build my system for $500 including a copy of Vista Home Premium. Though that did not include a hard drive or cables, which I had previously.