Prebuilt PC recommendations for HD Video playback and "light" editing

skillettn

Honorable
Jun 12, 2012
1
0
10,510
For many years I've built my own PC's, but I've got so many other projects going on right now, that I just don't know where I'll find the time to do another one right now. I don't need a monitor or printer with it. I'm simply looking for the best PC I can get for around $1000 that can easily handle playback and some editing (home movies kind of stuff) of HD video. Other than that, I would primarily use it for internet surfing, word processing, and other less processor-intensive applications. I'm not a gamer, although I'm sure many of the characteristics of a gaming PC are similar to that of one meant for HD video. Any suggestions on brand/model would be appreciated.
 
Almost any form of modern graphics (including integrated) is fine for HD playback. If you have the budget I'd get an i5-3570K as it's a quad core with Intel HD 4000 graphics which is more than good enough for HD playback. Something cheaper like the A6-3500 is equally fine for HD though, you just get a much weaker CPU.

Here's a cheap system that would do the job:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100006736%20600184112&IsNodeId=1&name=A6-Series%20APU

If I was to buy that, I'd get a more reliable PSU like a 300W Seasonic or something and a SSD to boot from.