I am in the planning stages of building an HTPC, but I am unsure of the specs that are needed.
I have two computers that I can use for this build. One is an older AMD Athalon 2000+ or a slightly better AMD X2 2400+ Dual.
My problem is that I also want to build a game server. So, my plan is to use the X2 Dual Core for the game server if the 2000+ Athalon is enough of a machine to run the HTPC.
Another concern is that the mobo for the Athalon is a Soyo Dragon Ultra (AGP), so if PCIe is a must for a good HTPC, then the whole question is moot. Tho, from what I have gathered is that the specs don't seem to be that high end for HTPC.
So... the question at hand. Does the HTPC really need the dual core processor or does it need the PCIe video card?
Thanks for helping a newb out.