Last built a PC in 2006, looking to build a new unit.
Like the title says, I am looking to build a new PC, last time I did so was 20 years ago, so what information I can break free from rust in my head might be out of date anyway, so looking for where to get started.
What I am looking for is centrally storage and media availability. With smartphones, my wife and I have a considerable amount of pictures/videos on our phones, and paying to store them in a disorganized cloud that charges fees goes against all of my old man instincts. Additionally, I have a collection of movies on a portable hard drive (again on the old man front, acquired not from sailing the high seas, but a more convoluted older process involving Blockbuster DVDs) that I would like to keep somewhere I can access.
I currently have an old MacBook whose working well but I can see the end coming. So what I want to do is build a PC to eventually serve as a replacement, and a stepping stone to the media server that fits best what I want to do long term. Something for storing all of this, basic PC functions (running OpenOffice or similar, e-mail, etc.) The only gaming I do is sometimes play Minecraft, so I want to do that but nothing all that demanding. Ideally I could stream from that to my TV (to emphasize the old man thing, I ran an ethernet cable in the wall from the office where the PC would live to the living room, I hardwire anywhere where two immobile computers are interacting). When I get the money any know-how, I graduate to a server in the house providing storage and media access, and the PC become the tool for managing that server. Willing to budget up to $2k, but completely unsure of the modern pricing world.
Any advice on getting started on this process would be appreciated. Thank you!