Budget:
ION based system:
Look out for the Zotac MAG HD-ND01 all in one system.. it comes with an ION CPU soldered on with RAM.160GB HDD as well.
AMD based system:
Get any dual core Athlon (X2 series), couple it with 2GB RAM, and an Asus M3N78-VM nVidia motherboard. Add 2GB RAM, HDD of your choice, and you have a powerful system, able to handle all HD formats and 7.1LPCM over HDMI audio support for Blu-Ray uncompressed audio formats. The motherboard should run you about 6500 in Mumbai.
Intel based system
As above, but just couple a Pentium Dual-Core E5200/E5300 with a 9300 chipset based motherboard of your choice. Same functionality.
Mid-Range
AMD based system:
As above, get a dual core Athlon, with a 785G/880G based motherboard of your choice. However, add an AMD Radeon 5670 or 5570 based video card, as this will allow bitstreaming of all high-def audio formats. Of course, add 2GB RAM, case of your choice, HDD of your choice (common to all systems). Also, the addition of the 5570 or 5670 will help with deinterlacing and any PPing you might want to add to the video stream.
Intel based system:
A Core i3-530 + H55 motherboard is all you need.. this will allow bitstreaming to your receiver for HD audio formats. No discrete video card needed.
For all the systems above, I'd recommend Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit, as codec support for 64 bit systems can be a pain sometimes.
Feel free to critique and add comments, but remember: The main aim for an HTPC should be silent, frugal playback of media, either local or from the network. For that reason, I've not recommended C2Quad or i7 based systems..
Power Supplies
As far as power supplies go, I would recommend the Corsair VX450 or CX400 PSUs.. quiet, high quality and trouble-free. Word of advice - Cooler Master's lower end PSUs aren't very good. Stay away from them.
Cases
Very personal call.. depends on whether the user wants a tower or desktop cabinet etc. Lian-Li (XTREME GRAFIX | WHERE INDIAN GAMING IS RENDERED) have some good cabinets, but they're expensive, as are the Silverstone Sugo series (Prime has them in stock Silver Stone)
Software Configuration
I use MPC-HC, as I find it offers the best hardware compatibility and GPU acceleration for all files.
I use this guide:http://imouto.my/watching-h264-videos-using-dxva/
Cheers.
ION based system:
Look out for the Zotac MAG HD-ND01 all in one system.. it comes with an ION CPU soldered on with RAM.160GB HDD as well.
AMD based system:
Get any dual core Athlon (X2 series), couple it with 2GB RAM, and an Asus M3N78-VM nVidia motherboard. Add 2GB RAM, HDD of your choice, and you have a powerful system, able to handle all HD formats and 7.1LPCM over HDMI audio support for Blu-Ray uncompressed audio formats. The motherboard should run you about 6500 in Mumbai.
Intel based system
As above, but just couple a Pentium Dual-Core E5200/E5300 with a 9300 chipset based motherboard of your choice. Same functionality.
Mid-Range
AMD based system:
As above, get a dual core Athlon, with a 785G/880G based motherboard of your choice. However, add an AMD Radeon 5670 or 5570 based video card, as this will allow bitstreaming of all high-def audio formats. Of course, add 2GB RAM, case of your choice, HDD of your choice (common to all systems). Also, the addition of the 5570 or 5670 will help with deinterlacing and any PPing you might want to add to the video stream.
Intel based system:
A Core i3-530 + H55 motherboard is all you need.. this will allow bitstreaming to your receiver for HD audio formats. No discrete video card needed.
For all the systems above, I'd recommend Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit, as codec support for 64 bit systems can be a pain sometimes.
Feel free to critique and add comments, but remember: The main aim for an HTPC should be silent, frugal playback of media, either local or from the network. For that reason, I've not recommended C2Quad or i7 based systems..
Power Supplies
As far as power supplies go, I would recommend the Corsair VX450 or CX400 PSUs.. quiet, high quality and trouble-free. Word of advice - Cooler Master's lower end PSUs aren't very good. Stay away from them.
Cases
Very personal call.. depends on whether the user wants a tower or desktop cabinet etc. Lian-Li (XTREME GRAFIX | WHERE INDIAN GAMING IS RENDERED) have some good cabinets, but they're expensive, as are the Silverstone Sugo series (Prime has them in stock Silver Stone)
Software Configuration
I use MPC-HC, as I find it offers the best hardware compatibility and GPU acceleration for all files.
I use this guide:http://imouto.my/watching-h264-videos-using-dxva/
Cheers.
