1080p CPU/GPU OS choices
#1
I'm currently in the planning stages of a XBMC box.

I'd like to play H.264 / x264 content and output at 1080p via HDMI.

I have some older hardware laying around and I'm trying to decide what, if any of it I can use.
I have an older P4 motherboard, currently sporting a Pentium M via an adapter. I have a P4 CPU that I could use in this board.
I also have a Core2Duo based system that could be re-purposed if necessary.

Questions:

1) On the XBMC wiki, it says "Fast modern dual-core processor is required to decode H.264 videos in FullHD (1080p)."
If you have a modern video card, doesn't the GPU do H.264 decoding? And if so, is the statement above no longer true? i.e. Can you get away with a slower CPU if you have a powerful modern GPU?

2) Assuming that the GPU does H.264 decoding at 1080p, what is the minimum required card from Nvidia/ATI/Intel?

3) Does the OS choice Linux/Windows affect the situation above?
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#2
I run XBMC on an E-350, that's a pretty slow CPU and GPU combination. It's a bit slow to browse, but plays 1080p fine under windows 7/8.
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#3
I am coming fresh from the old XBOX, so please consider my statements with care

1) The GPU only accelerates the decoding proccess, some portions of the decoding are offloaded to the GPU, the CPU still handles Audio, OS, XBMC and stuff. So you need both :-)

2 & 3 )
It seems that the most reliable choice across Operation Systems for that is Nvidia Hardware (8400 GS and upwards)
Check here & here !
Especially on older Hardware XBMCUbuntu/OpenElec can get you the biggest bang for your buck.
On Windows GPU decoding is only supported on Vista and higher, but those OS's in turn take a lot of the system ressources.
XBMCUbuntu/OpenElec use much less ressources, so I would recommend a setup that employs one of those options.

=> Nvidia GPU (good driver support for Linux & Co) and XBMCUbuntu/Openelec as OS

As HTPC I have an old Dell Inspiron 1520 with an Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 @2.20 Ghz with a GeForce 8600 GT running OpenElec,
and so far I had no problems decoding 1080p.

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