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Choosing the right computer for basic self-hosting : any other factor than power consumption ? (tarte.nuage-libre.fr)
submitted 5 days ago by to c/techsupport@lemmy.world
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A few month ago, i used my old gaming laptop (HP Omen 15 (2016)) to start a small home server with Yunohost. I recently got an old PC for a few bucks, with a Intel Pentium D 820 as CPU. I thought that as its specs were closer to my hosting needs (just a bunch of files for archives and collaboration with Trilium, no media streaming or anything), I could use the old PC as the server and use my laptop for something else, or give it to someone.

But I tried to check the power consumption of the Pentium D 820, and found 148W idling and 233W under load, while the Omen 15 is probably around 20W idling and 120W under load. So apparently the gaming laptop has both better performances and lower consumption (i guess the fact it's a laptop and the better efficiency of more recent tech are two of the main reasons).

If i'm correct on that, does it make sense to stay with the laptop just because it'll probably consume less ? Or is there any reason to choose the old PC ?

Both machines specifications details

HP Omen 15 (2016) Old PC
CPU i7-6700HQ 3.5GHz Pentium D 820 2.8GHz
RAM 16Gb 1Gb
GPU GTX 965M None
PSU 120W adapter ? H280P-00 280W

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[–] 2 points 5 days ago (3 children)

The only reason to not use the laptop is because there is some concern that the battery in a laptop plugged in for years on end with constant operation might swell up and explode/catch fire. This is possible, but extremely rare. I’ve had a 10-year-old laptop plugged in exclusively for the last 6 and it’s been fine. YMMV. That aside, the Pentium-D was intel’s least efficient series by a large margin, which is part of the reason your idle is high.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 5 days ago (2 children)

    Oh, that's a great point. I didnt think of it cuz the battery inflated and i removed it years ago, so issue cleared in my case, but i'll keep this in mind.

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  • [–] 3 points 5 days ago (1 child)

    Oh it’s a no-brainer then, stick with the laptop. You’re lucky, a lot of them won’t even power on without the battery connected these days.

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    • [–] 2 points 5 days ago

    I'd stay with the laptop. More powerful, less power consumption. the only thing I would be concerned about is the laptop fan. Those things are not designed to run 24x7 like pc fans so taking a look into modification options to extend it's lifetime.

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    [+] 1 point 4 days ago
    [deleted]
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