CPU

In other system building guides, this would be the point where we talk about the Intel versus AMD debate. As we always say, choosing the right CPU depends on the right task. A HTPC is unique because it is possible to have "too much CPU power." When it came to building workstations it was important to have a fast CPU for rendering images, or running numerical computations, and for file servers, it was important to have a powerful enough CPU to meet the unpredictable demands of the clients – the proverbial "100 toilets flushing at once." For an HTPC it's different – the tasks are fixed. Your DVD-Video is always going to be 720x480 at 24-30fps. HDTV will never exceed 1920x1080 resolution. Analog cable TV will never require more than 2 channels of audio. So here's our simple formula:

Upsampled DVD-Video: 1 GHz is plenty

High-Quality Digital Video Recording: P4 2.0 GHz or Athlon XP 2400+

Windows Media HD 1080p: Athlon64 3000+ or P4 3.0+GHz

The Pentium 4 has the advantage over the Athlon XP when it comes to multimedia encoding thanks to SSE2 (as evidenced by our recommendation to go with an Athlon 2400+ for maximum quality MPEG-2 recording). Nonetheless, keep in mind that from 2.0 to 2.8GHz, the P4 won't buy you better digital video recording, and you won't be able to do 1080p Windows Media HD reliably until you hit 3 GHz. By then, the Athlon64 offers an equally tempting product. A 2.4GHz P4 would give you 720p Windows Media HD support and by then, we'd want to move onto the Athlon64.

Memory

Upsampled DVD-Video or DVR: 256MB

Windows Media HD 1080p support: 512MB

Our memory recommendation may seem incredibly aggressive given our 1GB and 2GB in our workstations, however it's important to remember that you won't be multitasking or dealing with anything more complex than a 2-megapixel image. As always, we recommend going with high-quality RAM such as that from Corsair or OCZ. Generic RAM is OK too, as long as you stay vigilant and recognize the gamble – when your hardware is unstable and you've got a quality power supply, check the RAM next.