I built a Core i3-530 / Windows 7 machine in 2010 that runs XBMC , blu-ray rips at full HD, plus anything else a streamer can do.

Craigslist has a bunch of cheap computers for sale (in San Diego) that would be great at this, tower or laptop. Figure $200 will get you something good enough.

This Dell on eBay would be a great media PC , and it went for $156 bucks: http://www.ebay.com/itm/DELL-OPTIPLEX-790-DESKTOP-CORE-i3-3-3GHz-2GB-DDR3-RAM-750-GB-HDD-WIN-7-PRO-COA-/371170826595?pt=Desktop_PCs&hash=item566b815963&nma=true&si=jkeDrL6DIjt2LkCmvyY5JeTHrW8%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Just add a wireless keyboard/trackpad like the Logitech K400 (can be found on sale for $19 at least a few times a month: http://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/wireless-touch-keyboard-k400r


The WD is cool too - and cheaper.