Beelink SER5 - Ryzen 7 Mini PC Home Server

I try out the Beelink SER5 with the Ryzen 7 5700U processor. This is an 8 core, 16 thread, low-power processor that is a great value. Check out my thoughts on making this little mini PC a home server in the home server lab.
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Introduction to a Ryzen 7 mini PC to run a home lab - 0:00
Overview of trying out different mini PCs 0:29
Introducing the Beelink SER5 with 5700U processor - 0:42
Max memory is 64GB of DDR4 memory - 1:08
2280 NVMe slot and a 2.5 inch SSD - 1:29
The problem with many mini PCs and network adapters - 2:05
VMware will not detect the Realtek network adapter - 2:30
Less than desirable to have a LAN port you can't use - 2:42
I wanted to run all hypervisors, the Beelink falls short in this area - 3:00
Beginning the physical overview of the Beelink SER5 5700U - 3:27
Front of the unit - 4:00
Back of the unit - 4:10
Beelink makes their mini PCs to take apart and upgrade - 4:55
Looking at Proxmox 8 console - 5:33
Proxmox overview of CPU details and memory - 5:40
Looking at workloads - 6:12
Talking about cloning Ubuntu Server template - 6:49
Even with a number of VMs, just a bit of CPU usage - 7:00
Talking about the hardware configuration of the virtual machines - 7:28
Opening the console to a virtual machine - 7:47
Thinking about real world home lab workloads - 8:15
No issues interacting with VMs - 9:00
Concluding thoughts on the Beeink SER5 with the Ryzen 7 5700U, is it worth it? 9:37
The written write up of the Beelink SER5 5700U mini pc:
www.virtualizationhowto.com/2...
XCP-ng home server build with the Citrix Hypervisor:
www.virtualizationhowto.com/2...
Mini PC - things to know before you buy one for a home server:
www.virtualizationhowto.com/2...

[@UnicornReacharound]

One thing to keep in mind is that the 5700U is a Zen 2 CPU, so comparable to the 3000 series desktop processors. A little confusing numbering from AMD so worth pointing out if someone was expecting a Zen 3 part.

[@93ct]

Really like your videos including this one. And based off of this video I did buy a SER5 with a 5700U processor, 32Gb RAM and 1Tb NVME to run proxmox as my previous Mac Mini ESXi just died. Added a 4Tb SATA SSD. Running Proxmox 8.1.4. Windows 10, PiHole and TrueNAS currently running. TrueNAS makes use of the 4Tb drive for storage. And on top of that TrueNAS runs a Plex server. All very smooth and no problem at all. I did try to see if I can run a ZFS mirror using 2x 512Gb USB Sandisk thumbdrives plugged in at the front (I know not recommended but wanted to try) but the system won't boot after setting that up.

[@VirtualizationHowto]

@93ct wow that is an interesting thing to try. I like that you are willing to try things like that just to see what happens (the true spirit of a home lab). Feel free to create a forum thread and we can all chime in on it to see if there are some ideas there: www.virtualizationhowto.com/community

[@Stephan4711]

Hi, I bought exactly the same box. But I'm struggling with the optimal uefi settings for maximum speed and maximum power saving in idle. All the settings are confusing me. Could you make a video about the best settings? And aren't there firmware /uefi updates available?

[@christianchan328]

Hi all, you may already discussed about that but what’s about nested esxi and vcenter inside VMware workstation ?

[@adamsuail]

with ESXi-Customizer GUI you can inject any nic driver.

[@cybr774]

One thing I should try on a mini PC is microstack

[@misterc3835]

Why don't choose newer 7730u mini pc?

[@vadimus70]

Good evening. How to enter bios on a mini PC? I have a Geekom A7 (Ryzen) on my desk.

[@nizmister]

Hi Brandon, great videos! Question: can these be powered via USB-C?

[@Stephan4711]

No

[@ioannisgko]

Any recommendations for racks intended for mini PCs?

[@nincure]

Why is it I can't find what operating system this comes with?! I can't stand Windows 11, but really considering this computer to replace my Intel ComputeStick. It's been going since like beginning of 2016 or so. It's still kickin', but I want something faster. I'm willing to do the "downgrade" process, but I haven't seen what OS this has on it!? Can't find info on that anywhere. Still watching your video hopefully you say it 😂😂😂

[@braiandickson]

I just bought a mini PC with this 5700U and 2 ethernet ports as my first home lab project, let's see how it goes when arrives :D

[@VirtualizationHowto]

Awesome!

[@ahyi9350]

Wanted to share my experience with similar spec using Asus Pn series, running same CPU 5700U for 2 years+, maxed 64Gb RAM and 2 TB SSD. Heat has always been an issue and it will literally shut you down after a year while running 24/7. I got the Asus guy to troubleshoot, changed a new motherboard and the issue came back again after the 2nd year. Kinda suck, but just to check with everyone else if they had the same issue with Beelink or other brand, so we can tell if this is due to the compact form.

[@unkownomega]

I was looking for something like this to make some game servers a shame about the realtek problem is there a workaround or a fix since this video has come out? not that I have 2.5 gig net anyway but yeah currently waiting for primeday sale to snag this and save some cash while I am at it thanks for your video very informative.

[@CKallias_SteelEternal]

Thanks for the video, do you know if you can passthrough the iGPU in proxmox?

[@VirtualizationHowto]

@chriskallias1749, unfortunately, I have not had success with these integrated GPUs that are part of the Ryzen CPUs with Proxmox passthrough. I think there are conflicts with resources since these maybe are not treated the same as a discrete graphics card, but that is just my hunch.

[@themomorain]

Do you think I can use this thing as a nas if I connect two hard drives on those usb 3.0? I know this is kind of a weird usecase but this is perfect for the custom case I want to put it in thats why im asking.

[@VirtualizationHowto]

@themomorain, create a topic on the forums here www.virtualizationhowto.com/community and let's discuss. Thank you for your comment!

[@VirtualizationHowto]

@digitalzeddeathlabs thank you for the comment! It would be awesome if you could share your experiences over on the VHT forums here: www.virtualizationhowto.com/community.

[@arrivedknight7632]

How reliable is the beelink 5700u models? Amazon sells them from other sellers that buy from beelink so don't know if there is any differences

[@VirtualizationHowto]

Thank you for the comment! Sign up on the forums and let's discuss: www.virtualizationhowto.com/community

[@duduoson1306]

OK but is there anything similar that will run esxi out of the box?

[@VirtualizationHowto]

@duduoson1306, stay tuned, the next video will show case one that does!

[@BrianThomas]

Thank you for sharing this video. Would you be willing to share with us why you chose the 5700U over the 5800H?

[@VirtualizationHowto]

@brianthomas the H model isn't as power efficient

[@godnamedtay]

@@VirtualizationHowtoreal talk. It’s significantly cheaper and more power efficient. Exact reason why I bought it. Less than $300 later I have 64gb ddr4 ram and 2TB storage

[@xellaz]

​@@godnamedtaySame reason I got the 5700u version over the 5800H. 😁

[@spcverd6654]

Este tiene 3 salidas a monitores diferentes, Display port, Hdmi y conector C, ademas de la eficiencia energetica y el precio menor..

[@soarsup]

so what's the best mini PC that support VMware ? thanks in advance

[@lcizzlelc]

The best one I have found is sold by various vendors but you can find it from ChangWang or Toptop easily. Its a Ryzen 7 based 5825U mini pc. All alluminium chassis, 8 core 16 thread, up ot 64GB of ram, 4x2.5gbe intel i226 nics. 2x m.2 slots, a 3rd m.2 to be used with an extensions to pcie adapter and 2 sata ports. After seeing the performance and support for various hypervisors due to the intel nics im basically ditching all my rackmount devices for a cluster of these. Setting up a cluster of 4 as I type this.

[@davidcooke285]

Do you have a recommendation for a mini PC with ESXi 8?

[@VirtualizationHowto]

@davidcooke285, stay tuned for the next video!

[@davidcooke285]

@@VirtualizationHowto hopefully something with some punch.

[@awrosemba]

Looking forward to this!

[@thadhinz8814]

I’m running esxi8 on a beelinek ser pro 6 which I upgraded to 64GB of ram and a 1TB ssd. Hardest part was getting the network up and running. Couldn’t use the 2.5Gb/s Realtek mic it came with. Had to go with the USB adapter. Currently runs at 55 watts running a vcenter VM and 3 kubernetes cluster nodes.

[@emraith]

I just picked up a Minisforum UM560 XT, it has an Intel I225-V nic, worked straight out of the box with standard 8.0 iso image

[@steveremington]

The first mini PC I used as Proxmox VE host was a AMD 5700U based device similar to this one. I had to abandon it for Proxmox use after a couple of months, despite it being a nice, looking, well-constructured device, because there was at the time (early 2023) an incompatibility (frequently mentioned in Proxmox forum posts) between Proxmow VE 7.x and the AMD Ryzen 5700U APU. The incompatibility caused a kernel panic in the OS at random intervals. I tried many of the suggested fixes but none of them worked for me. The incompatibility may have been fixed in Proxmox 8.x. I suggest you double check that the incompatibility has been resolved before buying a Ryzen 5700U APU mini PC to run Proxmox. I switched to a genuine Intel NUC with an i7 CPU and it has been rock-solid reliable.

[@VirtualizationHowto]

@steveremington, thanks so much for the comment. I hate to hear that about the instability with Proxmox. I haven't ran mine long enough to say for sure whether or not it is stable on VE 8.0, but will keep an eye on this. Good shout out on this though, thanks again!

[@paulelliott9487]

Will in run Linux? Debian?

[@jordanslack5232]

Of course it’s a computer lol

[@benjiro8793]

Why not use a Intel 1220p ... They idle way lower...

[@erperejildo]

what mini pc model?