[MrForbes]

Why such stiff performance requirements for the media machine? We use an old old P4 and it works great...but then we also don't record stuff, since we don't have anything other than free broadcast TV and internet as an input. A cheap hdmi output video card works fine for us with a 46" sony TV.

The laptop is tough...but see what you can find in a core 2 or i3 machine.

You'll probably want to spend a fair bit of money on the cpu/mobo/video card for the desktop, although you might be able to get away with a cheap workstation type video card if you don't plan any gaming.

Keep in mind that I'm an old geezer and I'm sure some of the younger folks will have better advice...especially since they're spending your money, not theirs!