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12 Great Components for the Ultimate HD PC

Zack Stern, PC World

Tuesday, May 13, 2008 10:00 PM PDT

CPU: AMD Athlon X2 BE 2400

You could build a good system with an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 or similar chip, but I decided to go with something less powerful and a lot cooler. The AMD Athlon X2 BE 2400 works well for home theaters because its peak draw of 45 watts helps minimize the cooling burden on the fans. This CPU's 2.3-GHz speed and dual-core architecture provide enough muscle for general media tasks; a dedicated HD video decoder on the graphics card will add more power.

CPU price: $110

System subtotal: $1180

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