So I am brand new to homelab using a laptop from 2010 that I am running proxmox with VMs (home assistant, virtual desktop and docker container utilizing portainer). I think scraping by is an understatement. I want to find a mini pc that I will set up the same way (boot into proxmox), and would like to add NAS. I do not care on model, but would like to spend around $100-150 for something use. Are there minimum system requirements that I should look for so that I don’t need to update in a year or so?
What are you trying to learn or do?
Bought a n100 mini pc with alder lake igpu today for 60 bucks :). Will set it up as a plex server with av1 decoding! So definitely doable to get something recent for 150.
It’s probably possible.
Last night I bought an HP Elitedesk 800 G3 with an i7-700 for $163 shipped off a d00d on Facebook Marketplace.
I’m only just starting my homelab journey and I’m just going to take it slow.
I’m aiming to get stuff for a NAS next.
Very similar to what I got and it’s been plugging away for three months just fine beyond my own user errors.
This is great to hear. Despite all the recent Black Friday or cyber Monday deals, I still couldn’t bring myself to forking out tons of money just to get started when something used will do just fine for learning.
I keep scooping up Elitedesk 800’s for 100$ all day and then you can bump the ram to 32gb for the other 50. That gets you at the top of your budget for a pretty decent lil low power proxmox box
So what specs should I look for in a machine?
I would look for a hp z240 with no hds and as much ram and processor as you can afford.
There are enough hdd slots to run a small nas or play with proxmox or both especially if you get to 32gb of ram or so. And in my experience the sffs upgrades are cheaper than the micros because right now that micro sodimm is pricey.
A used Optiplex is usually the recommendation I see. They’re plentiful and usually capable, so long as it has a decent CPU and enough RAM to handle what you put on it.
Any modern CPU, like a 6th gen intel or newer, should be fine.
I have just bought a used lenovo thinkcentre m710q with i5 7400T, 8Gb, 128gb for 80€. That leaves some financial space for ram and ssd upgrade.
I think if you look at your local used listings and ebay you should be able to get something that fits the bill. If cost up-front is a concern, then operating cost is also a concern, so you should be considering power draw of the system as well.
I used this spreadsheet to help me choose a recent Lenovo M710 SFF (i5-7500) build I did for pfsense. It’s not perfect, not all mobo pairings are included, but it gives a starting point for power consumption.
I am slowly getting started on my journey, but basically have no clue what I’m doing. I’m a civil engineer and for the past few years have finally been branching out into other areas of interest.
Anyways, I found 10 Optiplex SFF on govdeals from a nearby large university. They are older, with 7th gen i5, 16gb ram, and 256gb ssd each. I got all 10 for 40 bucks, I’m still amazed tbh.
They aren’t top of the line, but they are great to just mess with. I currently only have 4 in use for various things as I feel my way around via self education. It’s fun and nice that if I somehow obliterate them, I’m only out $40.
Personally I like the Dell Optiplex Micros. You can scoop up a 7040 or 3040/3050 pretty cheap. I found mine refurbed on Craigslist for like $70 a pop and put together an HA cluster. As far as specs go, as long as your chip supports virtualization for Proxmox, you should be fine. Everything else is pretty much up to you.
Since you mentioned NAS, a micro system isn’t the best as there is no room for a high capacity 3.5 inch drive.
I have a HP 600 G2 with a i5-6500 in a small form factor (SFF). It cost a whole $55 and has room for one 2.5 drive and 2 3.5 drives.
I like the 3070sff right now on ebay. Easier to add faster internet compared to a micro
I picked up an hp z420 on marketplace for$50. Added 80Gb of ram off ebay $60. Just look around