Originally posted by: kalrith
Originally posted by: s44
ABSOLUTELY WRONG
The only onboard solution to consider for Blu-Ray is Nvidia. AMD integrated limits you to DD/DTS sound over HDMI, not the full (lossless) surround PCM that Nvidia's 8200/8300/9300/9400 allows.
Recommending 780G is a reflex reaction that is at least a year outdated.
This point is moot if he doesn't have an HDMI receiver. Also, note that the 780G does not deinterlace well without an AM2+ or AM3 processor. If you watch 1080i OTA content, for example, then the only onboard solution you should be looking to is the 9300/9400 with an E5200.
I recommend going to
this thread on avsforum. It's a massive (i.e. > 6k posts) thread with tons of information and HTPC system recommendations. For the HTPC I built a month ago, I spent $109 (after rebates and cash back) on the motherboard, processor, RAM, and video card. Here's what I bought:
Abit AN-M2 motherboard: $32
AMD retail BE-2300 (1.9 GHz dual-core): $37.99 - $5 CC - $1.04 CB = $31.95
9500GT video card: $64.99 - $6.50 CC - $1.61 CB - $20 MIR = $36.88
4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 RAM: $51.98 - $4.50 CB - $40 MIR = $7.48
I overclocked that processor to 2.66 GHz, which will be plenty of juice since the 9500GT has HA (hardware acceleration), which takes the video load off of the cpu. If you don't want to try to hunt down deals like that or if you have an HDMI receiver, then I'd recommend the following Intel/Nvidia low-end recommendation from renethx on avsforum:
microATX:
* CPU: Pentium Dual-Core E5200 2.50GHz LGA775, $64.
* CPU Cooler: Stock cooler, $0.
* Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H LGA775 GeForce 9400 mGPU microATX, $130. A cheaper alternative is MSI P7NGM-Digital LGA775 GeForce 9300 mGPU microATX, $110, which is of better value if you don't need an S/PDIF port and an eSATA port.
* Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1A16K DDR2-800 2 x 1GB Kit, $27.
* Graphics Card: GeForce 9400 (integrated in the chipset), $0.
* HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $70.
* PSU: 80 PLUS 350W ATX PSU (included in the case), $0
* Case: Antec NSK1480 microATX, $94.
* Total Cost: $385
ATX:
* CPU: Pentium Dual-Core E5200 2.50GHz LGA775, $64.
* CPU Cooler: Stock cooler, $0.
* Motherboard: EVGA 113-YW-E115-TR LGA775 GeForce 9300 mGPU ATX, $110.
* Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1A16K DDR2-800 2 x 1GB Kit, $27.
* Graphics Card: GeForce 9300 (integrated in the chipset), $0.
* HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $70.
* PSU: Corsair VX450W CMPSU-450VX 450W, $57.
* Case: SilverStone Lascala LC17 SST-LC17B ATX, $119.
* Total Cost: $447.
Those should do everything you want them to. The only reason to spend more on a system is if you want to do a lot of intensive post-processing quickly (I plan to let my system run its post-processing jobs overnight, so that's a non-issue) or if you want to play current games. The system I built would play games well and have HDMI audio by using a 4670 video card, so that's another option for you.
Edit: I copied the wrong ATX recommendation.
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