2009-11-24, 21:41
If you're sticking with Windows, upgrade to whatever video card you like with hardware acceleration and let XBMC launch MPC-HC for hardware accelerated video playback.
If you decide to try Linux, go with an NVIDIA card with support for VDPAU. The new GT 210 is cheap and capable of Feature Set C, but HDMI audio output isn't quite working yet (awaiting NVIDIA driver update, possibly fixed in the 195 beta).
Otherwise, focus on your own personal storage and navigation/control needs. A couple of 1gb sticks of DDR2 800 might not hurt anything either.
If you decide to try Linux, go with an NVIDIA card with support for VDPAU. The new GT 210 is cheap and capable of Feature Set C, but HDMI audio output isn't quite working yet (awaiting NVIDIA driver update, possibly fixed in the 195 beta).
Otherwise, focus on your own personal storage and navigation/control needs. A couple of 1gb sticks of DDR2 800 might not hurt anything either.
