Minimum horsepower/memory/display for sage PC Client?

[jbuszkie]

I'm thinking that for my new TV that I will be getting shortly, I might be better off building a Sage Client than trying to get another HD300 off Ebay or even trying my HD200 again! (now if I could just remember where my client license is! )

So.. My question is: what is the minimum hardware I need?

Uses:
Dedicated HTPC running Sage Client only. (maybe occasional web-surfing)
Blu-ray image playback
HD tv show playback
Some MKV playback
Some sort of HD audio (5.1 etc)
HDMI out? (integrated Graphics or separate card?)
Low power
S3 sleep reliably...

So..
What do I need for CPU? i3? i5? i7?
What about a MB?
Should I get a standalone video card or get a MB with video on board?
I'd like to keep the system under $300 is possible.. (I already have a case and PS)

[panteragstk]

Go with an i3 SB model and don't look back. That's it.

[jbuszkie]

I assume the SB means sandy bridge?

That's what I was thinking but I wanted to make sure the onboard graphics stuff had enough muscle to drive the HD blu-ray playback effortlessly..

[Fuzzy]

yeah, my Clarkdale 530 has no problem playing back BluRay and beyond. The only time I've seen it start ot struggle, is I can occasionally get a frame drop or two when watching a 3D BluRay (which is about 1.5x the decoding horsepower requirement of standard BluRay). Sandy Bridge is a bit faster, and should be able to handle everyting. Personally, I'd recommend 8GB of RAM in it, so you can disable virtual memory, and run everything from a RAM Drive with local fanart caching. the UI simply flies in this situation. ( i had, at one point, intended on setting up a network boot scenario, so i wouldnt' ahve any drive in the client, just running from the local RAMDisk, and booting from an image on the server).