Current best practices for client HW?

[Grasshopper]

Hi folks,

I'm sick of the speed of my MediaMVP extender and am contemplating a new TV for that room, so am looking to replace the MVP with something that's HD capable. I have a spare client license from the days before extenders. Is that what folks are doing now, or is there an STB solution -- is Boxee running perfectly? If a PC client is the way to go, what's the sweet spot for CPU/GPU/APU?

Many thanks from a Sage veteran now anticipating flashbacks from the old client days of codecs and video driver updates and rollbacks.

[Fuzzy]

I, personally, think the lowest end i3 is great for a client (and has the horsepower for some other tasks as well). There are those who are using AMD e350 based clients, and I'm pretty sure they work fine as well (a little cheaper, and a little nicer on the power use). As for the codecs, it's a LOT easier than it used to be, and you can probably get great playback with just windows 7, sagetvclient, and ffdshow installed.

[Grasshopper]

So folks are using the integrated graphics in the new(ish) APU's from Intel and AMD without issue? Would you recommend the Core i3, or the AMD A4 or A6?

[Fuzzy]

The integrated graphics are without a doubt good enough for media playback. there is no need for discreet graphics in modern HTPC's. the i3 has been out longer, and as such, is in quite a few more sage client builds than the A-series APU's. This is mostly because about the time the a-series hit the streets, sage's future was already written. I've little doubt the A4 and A6 would work, but I can't confirm it personally.