Top 5 Mini PCs for Home Server in early 2024

[@AchwaqKhalid]

On-Screen specs are a must on this type of videos 💡

[@VirtualizationHowto]

@AchwaqKhalid good to note. Thank you for the feedback!

[@RutgerJonaker]

Good video, but I think you talk too much about VMware. VMware is not free anymore so I think homelabbers are going to change hypervisor now

[@rakly347]

It's actually free again. Well, Workstation and Fusion that is.

[@majorgear1021]

Good point. ESXI free license ( which is what you meant) is gone.

[@druxpack8531]

been using mini-pcs since the HP mini G1's a decade ago...and to be honest, the Asrock Deskmeet is a better option. 4 full size RAM slots (128GB or 192GB in the new x600!!), Desktop CPU, and a PCIe slot that can handle a video card or 10/25/40/100GB networking) in a 8 liter size. just tune the power settings up and down depending on the project and how much horsepower you want/need at the time. minis have too many limitations and lack expandability. Resale value is better as well because you can part it out and sell as you upgrade.

[@darthkielbasa]

Interesting take. I had no awareness of the asrock deskmeet platform. Gonna check it out! Initial browsing is showing barebones x300w are widely available.

[@Airbag888]

Sure but what is the lowest power draw you can hit? If it's not using a DC power jack very often it will be in the double digits at idle

[@druxpack8531]

@@Airbag888 You will be using a desktop processor, so it will be higher, but that is the trade off for performance, expandability, resale value, etc...just keep in mind, the number one on this list (and widely considered the best mini-pc for homelabs; the MS-01) has an idle power consumption of 25-29 Watts as tested by Serve The Home: "Idle power consumption was higher than the average mini PC. We saw around 25-29W at idle on our test system.The system under load would spin up to around 115W for ~45 seconds before pushing back down to 90-95W and run at that level consistently."

[@Airbag888]

@@druxpack8531 in case you did not know it's possible to hit single digits on a decent processor. The minisforum is nice but maybe needs better power management in their drivers and also offer mid spec cpus. Lookup wolfgang's channel

[@johngreen1060]

This looks great. My main gripe with mini PCs was lack of space for storage. Desktop components mean I already have most components to populate the x300 system.

[@gmullBlack2]

I've been using the Minisforum UM790 Pro now for over a year. It's been a great low wattage bastion box/mini server performer. The only gripe with this unit is the CPU fan has been documented to go out, but it's easy to replace and cheaply.

[@User1-zk2xr]

As energy efficiency is a key parameter, what are the typical average electricity consumption figures of each mini PC reviewed in this video? Meaning the wattage cosnumed when perdoming standard home assistant tasks, like sensor data collection; not during boot-up or other rare tasks.

[@inlandchris1]

I cannot find a mini pc with access to the pci-e bus; I want to attach 4-8 SSD’s/NVme’s to make a NAS server and configure the HDD to raid, can you help?

[@JamesGreen-gv4yn]

I find these Mini PC videos interesting and after watching it I still feel like I made a great choice in selecting a Protectli Vault. These are fantastic for a home lab server running Proxmox. I have two sets of three. One for my home network and one for a lab network. Each set clustered together. 100% fan-less and no noise coming from them. They now have some with 10G networking if that is desired. For those still using 1G network switches, the 6 ports allow for different ports on different VLANS or even creating some redundancy plus faster speeds by bonding them together.

[@sekritskworl-sekrit_studios]

Where are the SATA slots for NAS😢

[@TontNZ]

I've just purchased a barebones AOOSTAR R7 2 Bay 40T NAS Storage AMD Ryzen 7 5700U Mini PC(8C/16T; up to 4.3GHz, they are currently selling for US$299! I plan to put 64Gb (2xSO-DIMM), a 2Tb M.2, 4Tb M.2 and two Exos 18Gb's into it. I want a basic NAS and would like to try Proxmox for the first time.

[@timeobserver8220]

How did you go with this? Were you able to get transcoding going OK in VMs using that ATI GPU? Are you worried about the reviews that mention any constant load overheats?

[@scampi_ml]

At 10:57 the audio cuts out, is this normal? Thx :) Keep them coming

[@VirtualizationHowto]

@scampiml1985 - So sorry on that, didn't catch this before uploading, it looks like something happened with the audio right at the end during upload....well at least it is just me signing off :)

[@jasonluong3862]

Can you do a video on what to do when issues arise from using these Intel hybrid CPUs with the performance and efficiency cores? In particular how do these CPUs affect the use of Proxmox?

[@lse123polis]

Do you mean Vmware esxi needs Ethernet 2.5GHz and up...?

[@polraudiozion1156]

I been using a reServer i5 1135G7 with 64gb of ram, 1TB NVME for the main drive, 4TB HDD and a 500GB SSD. I have proxmox on it and i use it for hosting game servers and some development things. I dont remember what model but i also have a reComputer with 8gb of ram that i just use for my plex server and NAS. Its got a 6TB and an 8TB HDD connected to it.

[@Tanax13]

What about Asus NUC 14? They are using Intels new "Ultra Core" 5/7/9

[@g.s.3389]

I think that the only rule is to use a Ryzen and not an Intel with efficient and performance core, so that it is possible to use ESXi but have also stable performance.

[@frustratedalien666]

How many people still use ESXi for their home server? Almost everyone I know uses proxmox and it works fine with the P and E cores. Most of my devices are Ryzen, but I've got two reasonably powerful mini PCs with 12th and 13th gen i9s and they haven't given me any grief in the 6 months I've had them.

[@dukeseb]

I’d swap out your beelink for the EQ12pro….. it’s top notch for clustering proxmox and has both sata and nvme as well as 2 2.5g nics

[@timeobserver8220]

Is there anything with onboard integrated transcoding and 2x m2 with 2x 2.5 sata?

[@zyghom]

the biggest problem with all mini PCs is lack of SATA ports or ways to install it - except maybe MS-01

[@HiltonT69]

I've seen quite a few with a 2.5 SATA capability.

[@zyghom]

@@HiltonT69 what is 2.5 SATA? I heard about SATA 3 but 2.5?

[@peteradshead2383]

@@zyghom 2.5 is the size of the drive 2.5 inch , eg a laptop size .

[@zyghom]

@@peteradshead2383 yeap, this I know, but to make a NAS or so, 1or 2 SATA ports is not enough.

[@dukeseb]

Eq12 pro beelink

[@pascalmartin1891]

If you are looking for a mini PC because of its overall cost efficiency, why would you pay for an ESXi license? This is even worse if you intend to set a VMWare cluster? Maybe a lot of people find ways to avoid paying the licenses?

[@conorton]

Can you run ESXi 8 on the minisforum or just Windows 2022 Standard on it?

[@pfitz4881]

Seems most of these have some shortcomings for home lab use. Are there any Mini PCs that tick all the boxes?

[@VirtualizationHowto]

I think the MS-01 is the one to go with at this time in 2024.

[@enzanto]

Got my self a used dell 3070, with i5-9500t and 256gb nvme disc, and 8gb of ram. ca $100. Just going to add more ram. and a ssd for storage. and i have a perfect proxmox server with NAS for my use

[@majorgear1021]

and that is a mini PC?

[@enzanto]

@@majorgear1021 same physical size as some in the video.

[@ytnimal]

Where did you get it from in CA?

[@enzanto]

@@ytnimal CA? i bought it second hand in norway

[@enzanto]

@@ytnimal oh i see the confusion! ca, is a common way to type "cirka" in Norway. thoguth cirka was used in english language as well

[@gowinfanless]

Very impressive and I hope you could try the Gowin R86S fanless version!

[@accesser]

Possibly unlikely, I'd like to see a model with the new laptop LPCAMM2 memory

[@thatpovguy]

How refreshing to actually SEE the reviewer!!!

[@christianlohmann8577]

Xcp-ng on my MS-01; thinking to get a second one

[@VirtualizationHowto]

awesome!

[@sekritskworl-sekrit_studios]

Minisforum lost me at Intel processor which could have largely been replaced by AMD offering for lower cost

[@cloudcloud408]

the web link is broken.

[@christoffbothma3905]

Where is the v700

[@DrSoda.]

Lots of good info here, thank you very much. God bless. Jesus loves you!

[@ronm6585]

Thanks.

[@jackz166]

I just feel regular ATX build is better for home lab. Why do we need mini PC?

[@delliscool4924]

BEAUTIFUL DEVICE...IF ONLY POSSIBLE TO CONNECT IT TO MOBILE PHONE SCREEN BY BLUETOOTH OR WIFI..

[@geraldmansfield2631]

The home server should serve the entire house. Control the survelance cameras, turn on the outside lights, call the police in case of breakin. I need a way to put I/O pins on the machine. How do I do that??

[@atamarez80]

the first one was very nicre

[@tvojejbabkydedko]

pretty sure you cant run esxi on ms01

[@VirtualizationHowto]

@tvojejbabkydedko, thanks for the comment. There is no issue running ESXi on the MS-01 as long as you run the ESXi boot parameter for non uniform processors. See my review video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/imOVaoZvnM1lrpo

[@majorgear1021]

esxi is too expensive anyway

[@HiltonT69]

Nobody will be buying a new pc for a VMware homelab any more.

[@majorgear1021]

This is the hard truth!

[@joeshmoe7899]

Raspberry pi?

[@theroboticscodedepot7736]

Seriously, you didn't include the MINSFORUM Mini PC NAB9? I think you need to do a little better research.

[@VirtualizationHowto]

@theroboticscodedepot7736 as I mentioned at the end of the video, the mini pcs in my list are only ones I have tried. I dont' want to give recommendations on any hardware I haven't tried out personally.

[@vasileioszografos9318]

ok I am setting speed to x1.25

[@VirtualizationHowto]

lol...I guess this means I talk too slow? :)

[@majorgear1021]

Go 2x or go home!

[@playdoh1975]

An enterprise server in iraq??? Damn what’s that like?? Lol 😂😂😂 speech to text is so much fun… 🤭