Huge processor confusion. PLEASE HELP :(

[abigsmurf]

I've an E6750 and it copes no problem with 1080p .h264. That's with an old-ish graphics card that doesn't accelerate decoding too.

[sj33]

Any Core2-based CPU will be enough for Blu-Ray. As for more general 1080p H.264 playback, CoreAVC is the way to go.

[smouty]

Faster CPU or a £30 GPU? GPU wins.
My HTPC has an E6400 but CPU usage is <10&#37; when playing BR/HD-DVD from disk as the ATI 3450 GPU handles the video. The 10% is probably decryption which is irrelevant if you rip to HDD anyway.
You have to be careful with other x264 encodes (eg .MKVs) as if they are not done correctly are unable to benefit from GPU assistance.