I'm building a media player pc and i'm having trouble atm of which processor to choose from the cheapest available.

Should i go with amd athlon 64 x2 or dual core celeron?

For example with 35euros i can get a x2 3800+ 2.40or at 46 euros i could get a dual celeron @2.00 ghz.

Which one would you suggest?

All i want is to build a media player pc,but i want to be able to play hd content (AVC-mkv files and whatnot).

I wouldn't be as concerned with the processor as I would the video/motherboard. I just built a HTPC using the an AMD 4450e and Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-SH2 board and it plays blu-ray flawlessly. It also only uses about 3% of the processor while doing it!
As long as you have a graphics chip that can hardware decode, than you don't need much for processor unless you also use the pc for ripping movies to a media drive.

^ +1
Take the x2

lghtmup98

I was also advised to get that mobo and by it's specs i guess i will.Did you get a graphics card as well,or are you using the one integrated with the chip.Does it support hardware decode as you mentioned?

Now I'm having trouble deciding the box as i want a small and portable one,and the power supply.I cant seem to find a decent 300-400 watt power supply.What did you decide for these factors?

If it was me, I would choose the dual core celeron, as it is basically a conroe core CPU, the same as the E2, E4 and E6 series. The only difference is that it has less cache memory and the front side bus is set lower too.

As hopefully we are all learning, direct comparisons between clock speeds are not a reliable indication of performance.

If he takes the AMD he can use the 780g chipset with onboard hd3200, which should be enough for a media pc no?

I decided to go with amd but now i'm between 5400/5600/6000+ or the 2.1 tri core.

I'm just looking for the perfect combination of price/frequency/wattage consumption.

Full HD processing even with a weaker cpu, The X2 is a great option when combined with the 780g

check this out. even a single core worked
http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] ,1785.html

yeah, i totally agree with an AMD system due to the nice onboard GPUs. The money saved on discrete card could be spent on more ram.

therock003:

I am currently using the onboard video and sound in Vista Home Premium using WinDVD to play the movies. It has performed flawlessly so far! The system is also silent and runs cool.

As for power supply, I am using a Corsair CMPSU-520HX 520watt unit. I know it is serious overkill, but I like the modular design and am ready for future upgrades.

The case I am using is an old SilverStone HTPC case that I have had for years. It is a bit large so I wouldn't really recommend it for a discrete looking set-up.

The X2 5400+ at 2.8GHz (and your ram runs DDR2 800 spec)

Best deal price wise in the States is the X2 4600+ at 2.4GHz - 30% less in cost than the X2 5400+

Go AMD here, just because of the 780G chipset. Do whatever you have to to fit a 780G-equipped motherboard into your budget. With a 780G, even a single core Athlon64 is more than enough!