Upgrading my current media streaming offering

Hi there,

For a while now I have been using my PS3 as the heart of my Media streaming needs for both movies and films.  I have an old desktop PC with plenty of films and music on it.  My wireless modem has 4 Ethernet outputs, all connected to my Onkyo, Blu-ray player, PS3 and Desktop PC.

I use a software package called PS3 Media Server v1.50 in order to find my media on my PC.  My laptop connected wirelessly accesses my desktop via RDC to control everything as a server and I use the PS3 to connect to my desktop media with the software and thus far has served me very well.

My old desktop is a loud machine (bought gaming machine in 2004) and dont use it anymore as i have a laptop and is only used as a media server to stream music and films to my PS3 and for the odd conversion there and there.  I want to buy a small quiet PC that will still have the capabilities to do conversions by connecting to it RDC from my laptop.

Now, the questions... Would buying a Lacie LaCinema or Boxee (or other) be a better streming device than my current set-up? Is it worth spending circa £180 to have a dedicated streamer instead of using the PS3 set-up? I understand that the metadata already helps straight away, but in terms of audio/visual is it a step I should consider and what recommendations may you have.

Thank you

Ben.