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Recommended mini pc for a homelab? (lemmy.zip)
submitted 4 months ago by to c/selfhosted@lemmy.world
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My old laptop for self hosting just croaked, and I'm thinking of buying a 2nd hand mini pc, but this time I want to do it proper. I want to optimize the electricity consumption and specs needed/ future upgreadability, considering how expensive everything is now.

My use case is just for self hosting files (infrequent access and reducing reliance to google drive), and occasional dev workload via ssh. I'm thinking of buying a used optiplex with at least i6 gen cpu (SFF or micro form factor), but I want to see if there are better options.

There was a link posted in this subreddit about power consumption comparison of different mini pcs (raspberry pi, n100, etc), and I regret not saving it.

If anyone could suggest me better options it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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[–] 23 points 4 months ago (10 children)

Optiplex etc. with an Intel 8th gen "T" chips seem to offer the best bang for the buck + energy efficiency on the second hand market right now.

The main issue with these thin clients is the lack of SATA ports and power connections for them if you want to add some larger 2.5” SSD/HDD storage. Usually it is only one, but you can also use the DVD drive slot with an adapter in the mid sized versions.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago (2 children)

    The mid size versions have 3 drive bays (2x 3.5", one 2.5") plus an optical bay, but only 3 SATA connectors (which was really odd to me). You can find dual SATA adaptors for the "WiFi" M.2 slot if you want to use an adaptor for a 2.5" drive on the optical bay. But if you want more than 4 drives, you'll need to get creative mounting them.

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  • [–] 2 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    You mean "mid" as in midi-tower? Because that sounds like the large version. Well maybe there is an even larger workstation version or so, but the normal medium sized Optiplex comes with one 3.5" SATA bay and one DVD drive.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago (5 children)

    Still didn't test mine, but I'm planning on using this for two extra (dying) disks for my Jellyfin files in my server: https://aliexpress.com/item/1005009770143040.html

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago (4 children)

    How will you power the drives?

    And from what I have heard, these m2 to SATA adapters have over-heating issues.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago* (2 children)

    You can power the drives using a standard PC power supply. You can also use a switch like this one to power them: https://ebay.io/m/jRSozI

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