Minimum specs needed to run 1080p HD movies?

Posted by Wesley on Super User See other posts from Super User or by Wesley
Published on 2010-03-05T05:07:57Z Indexed on 2010/04/11 22:43 UTC
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Filed under:

windows-xp

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ubuntu

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Hardware

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1080p

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minimum-requirements

Hi all,

I was wondering how low you could go with hardware that would still be able to smoothly run HD movies.

My current plan is around $215 CAD w/o a hard drive: Intel Pentium 4 @ 3.2 GHz - 1GB DDR/SDRAM - 512MB X1600 Pro AGP - 350W PSU - ECS P4VXASD2+ - Bluray/DVD-RW drive.

As for the hard drive, could I just get a 7200RPM IDE HDD? Also, I'm planning on installing XP Pro SP3, unless Ubuntu somehow has an advantage.

I'm not wanting this to be a media center only computer... just want it to be a normal computer with just enough oomph to play HD movies.

Thanks in advance.

EDIT1: Forgot to mention that the Bluray/DVD-RW drive is SATA, but I was planning on getting an SATA-IDE adapter or a PCI card with SATA.

EDIT2: Oh yes... if I get a PCI card with SATA, would you then recommend I use an SATA hard drive as well? That would leave all the IDE ports on the motherboard unused... is that a good idea?

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