Multipurpose home server reddit / selfhosted ---------------------------------------------------------------------- InvisibleRasta · 2023-09-29 20:02 Hello, I have been looking at various options for a home/media server and I am having a bad time choosing between all the available options that there is. As of now i am using a raspberry pi 4 and I am looking at something with a bit more performance. I have been reading about the new Rpi5 that is coming out soon but i am not sure if it will be a good hardware upgrade compared to the rpi4 i have now. I also have been looking at Intel NUC's but there is so many that I am not really sure what to pick. ​ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thekrautboy · 2023-09-29 20:12 This sub is about software... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- jgillich · 2023-09-29 20:33 The Raspberry Pi 5 is certainly an improvement over the 4, but the Orange Pi 5 is still significantly more powerful. The latest generation of low-end Intel chips also make for a great low-power server, such as the [Chuwi Larkbox X](https://www.chuwi.com/product/items/chuwi-larkbox-x.html) with the N100. NUCs have been discontinued, I don't think there are any with the latest gen chips. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ElevenNotes · 2023-09-29 20:49 Intel NUC or similar for container and Synology NAS just for storage. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- InvisibleRasta · 2023-09-29 20:50 oooh wow this Chuwi minipc seems pretty nice. Will it handle plex streaming in 4k on 2 devices at the same time? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- JoeB- · 2023-09-29 20:53 Reddit cops will tell you this sub is about software only, but it's OK to ask about hardware IMO. The r/HomeServer sub went private (ie. disappeared) during the "protests", and some don't know it's back. You could ask there as well. If you are OK with used, then I suggest looking for a used (typically off-lease) business-class Tiny (Lenovo) / Mini (HP) / Micro (Dell) PC. These also are known as 1-liter PCs. Newer models generally support one, or two, M.2 NVMe drives along with a 2.5-inch HDD/SDD. CPUs, RAM, and storage in these are upgradable. Some even can take up to 64 GB RAM. Some of the higher-end models also support Intel vPro and Active Management Technology (AMT) that enables out-of-band management, which would make it easy to run headless. Sorting through the features available on these unfortunately can be as complicated as NUCs, but research them a bit, and you should be able to gain the knowledge needed to make a good decision. Here is an example: [HP PRODESK 600 G5 MINI INTEL i5-9500T 2.2GHz (6-Core) 16GB RAM 256 SSD Win11](https://www.ebay.com/itm/175928576284) for $159.99 USD with free shipping. The ProDesk 600 mini series do not support Pro/AMT. I'm more of a Lenovo guy and not too familiar with HP, but I think the ProDesk or EliteDesk 800 series is needed for vPRo/AMT. Slightly older models with Intel Core i3/i5/i7/i9 7th generation or later CPUs (with integrated GPUs) also work really well as media servers, and can be found for $50 USD to $100 USD used. See [Introducing Project TinyMiniMicro Home Lab Revolution](https://www.servethehome.com/introducing-project- tinyminimicro-home-lab-revolution/) at Serve The Home for good overviews of these. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- InvisibleRasta · 2023-09-29 21:07 thank you for the suggestion. the i5-9500t seems to be just a slightly bit faster compared to the new n100 processors if i can read the data correctly but with way higher tdp so maybe its not the best solution on the long run ---------------------------------------------------------------------- JoeB- · 2023-09-29 21:32 True, but the i5-9500t supports up to 128 GB vs 16 GB for the N100. It also has an Intel UHD Graphics 630 iGPU. A Tiny/Mini/Micro system of this generation, or a generation older such as the Lenovo M720q or M920q can take up to an i9-9900T with 8C/16T @ 2.10 GHz that is configurable to 25W TDP. One of these little guys upgraded to 64 GB RAM with a hypervisor OS (ESXi or Proxmox) installed will make powerful small server. In the end, it comes down to your budget and needs. A mini PC with N100 will make a fine media server, and may run a few containers as well. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dungeonchurch · 2023-09-29 21:41 I think r/homelab is the sub people usually use to talk about this kind of thing ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dungeonchurch · 2023-09-29 21:43 This is the set up I've been running for like a decade and it's perfect. I've used various models of Syno NAS and NUCs and never had an issue with any. I run Proxmox on the NUCs, very helpful for managing a bunch of services and it makes adding more resources or migrating to new servers simple. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- InvisibleRasta · 2023-09-29 21:58 yeah well those are quite expensive. I am looking to spend around 200 max 250 for the home server. Dont really need anything expandable as i will pair it with a nas i got. and I think with 16gb ram i would ahve enought... just need to find the right product for my needs ---------------------------------------------------------------------- InvisibleRasta · 2023-09-29 22:14 What do you think about something like this? https://www.ebay.es/itm/1 15281756791?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=1185-127638-7840- 0&ssspo=2WhnNPtCTiu&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media =COPY ---------------------------------------------------------------------- JoeB- · 2023-09-29 23:13 It is, but r/homelab is intended more for professional/personal development in the IT field. Everything from OSs, firewalls, single servers, clusters, integration, etc. Regardless, there certainly is a lot of overlap between r/homelab, r/HomeServer, and r/selfhosted. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- JoeB- · 2023-09-29 23:24 There is a Beelink Mini S12 with N100 and 16 GB RAM on Amazon for $160 USD. There also is an Orange Pi 5 with 16 GB RAM and a Rockchip RK3588S 8 Core SoC for $140 USD. The [Orange Pi 5 Plus](http://www.orangepi.org/html/hardWare/computerA ndMicrocontrollers/details/Orange-Pi-5-plus.html) has... * full-size HDMI * up to 16 GB LPDDR4 RAM * PCIe4 M.2 slot on bottom for 2280 NVMe stick * eMMC flash socket for separate 16GB/32GB/64GB/128GB/256GB eMMC module * 2 x PCIe 2.5G LAN This is impressive. There is a nice metal case on Amazon for $17 USD. I would go with this over the Beelink. FWIW, my DIY NAS running Debian 11 on a 7^(th) gen 2C/4T i3-7350K with 16 GB RAM runs 20 Docker containers, including Jellyfin, Grafana, InfluxDB, and Prometheus without breaking a sweat. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- JoeB- · 2023-09-30 00:05 I would go with a 7^(th) generation or later CPU. The 6^(th) and 7^(th) generations are similar, but 7^(th) gen have better iGPUs. I would be more inclined to consider something like this... [Computer PC LENOVO TINY M910Q I5 7500T 8 Go 256 Go SSD Functionnelle](https://www.ebay.es/itm/195997110866) for €87.66 I like Lenovo Tiny PCs. They are easy to upgrade. RAM and NVMe drives are accessible from the bottom. The M910q also supports vPro/AMT for out-of-band management. I have two of these in my home lab. One, with 16 GB RAM, 256 GB NVMe and 1 TB SATA SSD, is running bare-metal Hyper-V and two Windows Server VMs. Did you see my post below about the Orange Pi 5 Plus? Can you find these at home? This may be the way to go if you want to stay with low-power ARM. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- InvisibleRasta · 2023-09-30 06:43 Yes the orange pi seems Allright. Is it more powerful than the M910Q? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- JoeB- · 2023-09-30 17:24 I have no personal experience with the Rockchip RK3588S. It appears the Core i5-7500T may be a bit more powerful from the following benchmarks. * [Rockchip RK3588S PassMark](https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu =Rockchip+RK3588&id=4906) : 4283 & Single Thread Rating: 1326 * [Intel Core i5-7500T PassMark](https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php? cpu=Intel+Core+i5-7500T+%40+2.70GHz&id=2917) : 5270 & Single Thread Rating: 1935 I also have no idea about differences in heat or power consumption. Also, keep in mind that the M910q can be upgraded to a 4C/8T Core i7-7700T with the following benchmarks. * [Intel Core i7-7700T PassMark](https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php? cpu=Intel+Core+i7-7700T+%40+2.90GHz&id=2951) : 7572 & Single Thread Rating: 2131