This is a great use for your machine. Don't get scared by this, but it is also one of the two most involved things to set up that we will cover on this site. There are several components to it, and it is also the most taxing duty you can set up on your computer, at least that I am going to cover on this site. I don't want to scare you off by saying that though, it is still completely do-able and will be well worth it when you get it all set up.

     Due to the potential complexity and the fact that there is several different things you can do with a media server, I have split this one up into several tutorials, one for each aspect of the media server. This will also help you not feel overwhelmed by setting up the media server. Another plus to this is that you can set it up in steps so you don't have to sit down and do it all at once. A media center is where the older hardware might run into some troubles with large media libraries, or playback of videos, especially HD videos, and handling multiple tv tuners and things of that nature. This is where being careful with picking your hardware should help out with knowing what to expect.

     Use these links for what you will need.