I use my desktop PC for Jellyfin and torrenting, but I’m looking for something that I can keep on 24/7 that draws less power and run other self-hosted services on Linux. I would like to have at least 2x 14 TB 3.5" hard drives in or attached to it with the possibility of expanding in the future.

From my research, these seem to be some good options:

  1. Mini PC like this Beelink S12 Pro + USB hard drive enclosure. The price seems reasonable for the specs and low power consumption. Not sure if USB will limit transfer speeds.
  2. ODROID HC-4 or similar SBCs. I feel like these have much lower performance for not much price savings, and it’s harder to get software running up because of ARM. But it seems like they don’t use too much power.
  3. Used enterprise PCs/servers. I know they can be found cheap used, but I’m a little lost at comparing the performance and power draw to other options.
  4. DIY build. I’m interested in getting a Mini-ITX case like this Jonsbo N2 and getting parts for it, but it seems like it will be the most expensive option. It does seem like the most modular and upgradable.
  5. Classic NAS products like Synology. It seems like these are falling out of favor because they are pretty under powered for the price.

What does selfhosted think about these options, and what would you recommend?

  • Moonwalk@lemm.eeEnglish
    2·
    10 months ago

    I recently got the Beelink Mini S12 Pro. I’m completely impressed with its capabilities, especially for that price. I got the 16GB Ram N100 version. Great piece of hardware.

    I’m running 27 different services, including the *Arrs, Jellyfin, paperless-ngx, home assistant, and even stuff like Kasm workspaces and emulatorjs.

    • tehnomad@lemm.eeOPEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      Yeah, the mini PCs look great. How do you have your storage set up?

      • Moonwalk@lemm.eeEnglish
        2·
        10 months ago

        I just have the included 500GB SSD and an external 2TB HDD, but I’m planning on getting a 4TB 2.5" SSD to put it inside the mini PC, since it has an extra slot for that.

    • drudoo@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      I’m seriously thinking of getting this. Maybe the Firebat brand though as it has two Ethernet ports and it’s cheaper for me.

      Have you had Pi’s? I’m currently using a pi4 4gb and wondering how it compares.

      I’m also frustrated with arm as a lot of docker images aren’t working. Recently had issues with Hugo and Jekyll which needs node.js that doesn’t support arm at this version.

      Have to tried Immich on it?

      • Moonwalk@lemm.eeEnglish
        2·
        10 months ago

        Yes, I have a Pi4 2GB, it’s still working as a second pi hole node. That’s what got me into the world of self-hosting, but 2GB is not enough for a lot of things. I went from that to a N100 with 16GB of RAM, so the difference is huge and I think it’s totally worth the money.

        I haven’t tried Immich, but I probably will once I have a better solution for storage.