Nice little HTPC...

[Ninjahedge]

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1231395

But, knowing Shuttle, $1BILLION!!!!!

[shifty]

Intel Atom processor = teh suck

good luck playing 1080p video with that.

[Ninjahedge]

You think it would really be a problem?

Wouldn't it matter more on what codec/proggie you were running when it comes to todays processors? (I know I had problems with 1080, or even 1200x### pixel vids on my old machine ~5/6 years, but still...)

[Cor]

I just built a little HTPC and yeah from what I read the Atom is not a wise choice. It all depends on the setup . You can offload the processing to a cheap videocard that can do DXVA instead of crushing your cpu.

Here is what I got - pretty much identical.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18151023#post18151023

Tiny motherboard with wifi and built in geforce that crunches video well. Super easy build and no issues.

[shifty]

I went with the same board. It also supports 3D monitors natively using the Geforce 9300 chipset.

Here is the wishlist for the systems I'm building at work:
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=12097112

Handle 3D video easily. If you bump down to a dual core ($700 out the door), they don't handle 3D it as well, but ... that's the way I chose. Quad-core are for our work demos to show our 3D STB interfaces/GUIs.

Both dual and quad will play 1080p like cake.

I added a Silverstone TOB02 Blu ray drive for $139 from Fry's (comes with a black AND a silver faceplate which is easily swapped) and I have a wicked Blu-ray capable HTPC which cost around $750 total.

Best part? SILENT. I remove the cooling fan from the CPU heatsink entirely, and they still stay perfectly cool while chugging out all day long at demos. They often sit under counters, sometimes in relatively enclosed spaces.