HTPC on a budget...or just something that can stream my video files

[testudoAubreii]

Hello,

I am looking for some advice. I am trying to find an HTPC on a budget or a device that can stream 1080p videos to the TVs on my home network. I can build my own PC, or I can turn to a mini device, like an Amazon Fire, Roku, AppleTV or something along those lines. I want to be able to hook my external HDD (or have my files stored locally on device) and stream videos. I know that I can pretty much do this with a device with XBMC.

So, basically I want to stream 1080p (and possibly 3D, but not a priority) from a device/PC to me TVs.

Thank you in advance for any and all help, advice and suggestions.

Testudo

 

[deadfish]

You answered your own question.
if its a dedicated machine.. go with OPENELEC, for XBMC.
any modern video card will be able to produce 1080p, and XBMC can be ran on pretty slow CPUs, weak memory with decent results ( read: cheaply)
networking to shares is very easy within the XBMC program: lots of choices on how.