Ars System Guide: Home Media Server

No, not "Windows Home Server," but ArsTechnica's own concoction of what's required to set up your own server system for your home. They break it down into 2 systems, a budget & performance…but when you're talking about a server, basically that just means a lot more Hard drives normally, but they go from Celeron to a Core 2 Duo…which may be overkill if you ask me.

With a home media server unable to ever take full advantage of a fast
RAID controller, the real breakdown between the Budget Media Server and
the Performance Media Server is expansion potential. Cramming
another disk or so into the Budget Media Server is about the limit of
the motherboard and the chassis. The Performance Media Server can
handle additional drives more easily. With a larger starting budget,
initial capacity can be much greater while retaining significant
expansion potential. 

Read the rest here.