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I'd use a small OEM box myself: https://www.servethehome.com/introducing-project-tinyminimicro-home-lab-revolution/ https://www.servethehome.com/introducing-pro

I'd use a small OEM box myself: https://www.servethehome.com/introducing-project-tinyminimicro-home-lab-revolution/ https://www.servethehome.com/introducing-project-tinyminimic...

nickthemagicman 6y ago
This is a great write up!
- rektide 6y ago
  ServeTheHome has a long history of spilling the beans on the best value secrets on the planet, on knowing where to look for the best second-hand gear. A couple years ago the Dell & Supermicro FatTwin2's were all the rage... I may have been one of the folks doing that too. There was no place else like it, reviewing & looking not only at new products, but the most sensible purchases. It's a treasure of a site, such a rare realistic home-operator wallet-conscious view of things. Although a lot of the coverage now is more "regular" these days, there are reviews of all sorts of low & mid range products, & things like add-on drive bays that the at home systems cobbler would be interested in. Sometimes things like this Project TinyMiniMicro 1L mini-pc series come along & write up all the really smart really sharp things folks have been doing for a while time, really show/reveal the secret undercurrent that pulls so many. I sometimes worry that Patrick is spilling the beans, that he'll turn too many people on to the great deals & they'll stop being so great. The good thing about these business mini-pc's is that they are used in countless businesses, which is why they are so radically much better value than the imo way way over priced barebones mini-pc's that I used to oggle. It's also nice to see the range expand- new Ryzen offerings are exciting (if expensive), and higher wattages (more oomph) are both new.
drewzero1 6y ago
Some years ago I picked up an old HP thin client that was essentially one of these mini boxes, popped in a mini-IDE SSD and maxed out the processor and memory. Set it up to try out CentOS and ended up using it as a small home server for a few months. I love this form factor, and the next time I'm in the market for a home server it's going to be my first choice.
rrmm 6y ago
STH has a bunch of videos on youtube reviewing different machines of this sort. Seems like there is a lot to recommend using these as homelab systems or just to add a little extra horsepower for builds and testing. The only annoying part is that so many variations exist and stuff on ebay isn't always well marked.
cpach 6y ago
Awesome writeup. Just out of curiosity: Of all those models listed in the article, what would be your top five picks?
- happycube 6y ago
  I work at a Dell shop, so I only have experience with the Optiplex Micros and quite like them. I would guess that all three OEM's boxes are good and it's mostly about getting a box that is well spec'd for it's role. Heck, for really simple homelab roles you can use a ~$50 thin client from Dell/Wyse or HP on eBay.

I'd use a small OEM box myself: https://www.servethehome.com/introducing-project-tinyminimicro-home-lab-revolution/ https://www.servethehome.com/introducing-project-tinyminimic...

nickthemagicman 6y ago

This is a great write up!

rektide 6y ago
ServeTheHome has a long history of spilling the beans on the best value secrets on the planet, on knowing where to look for the best second-hand gear. A couple years ago the Dell & Supermicro FatTwin2's were all the rage... I may have been one of the folks doing that too. There was no place else like it, reviewing & looking not only at new products, but the most sensible purchases. It's a treasure of a site, such a rare realistic home-operator wallet-conscious view of things. Although a lot of the coverage now is more "regular" these days, there are reviews of all sorts of low & mid range products, & things like add-on drive bays that the at home systems cobbler would be interested in. Sometimes things like this Project TinyMiniMicro 1L mini-pc series come along & write up all the really smart really sharp things folks have been doing for a while time, really show/reveal the secret undercurrent that pulls so many. I sometimes worry that Patrick is spilling the beans, that he'll turn too many people on to the great deals & they'll stop being so great. The good thing about these business mini-pc's is that they are used in countless businesses, which is why they are so radically much better value than the imo way way over priced barebones mini-pc's that I used to oggle. It's also nice to see the range expand- new Ryzen offerings are exciting (if expensive), and higher wattages (more oomph) are both new.

drewzero1 6y ago

Some years ago I picked up an old HP thin client that was essentially one of these mini boxes, popped in a mini-IDE SSD and maxed out the processor and memory. Set it up to try out CentOS and ended up using it as a small home server for a few months. I love this form factor, and the next time I'm in the market for a home server it's going to be my first choice.

rrmm 6y ago

STH has a bunch of videos on youtube reviewing different machines of this sort. Seems like there is a lot to recommend using these as homelab systems or just to add a little extra horsepower for builds and testing. The only annoying part is that so many variations exist and stuff on ebay isn't always well marked.

cpach 6y ago

Awesome writeup. Just out of curiosity: Of all those models listed in the article, what would be your top five picks?

happycube 6y ago
I work at a Dell shop, so I only have experience with the Optiplex Micros and quite like them. I would guess that all three OEM's boxes are good and it's mostly about getting a box that is well spec'd for it's role. Heck, for really simple homelab roles you can use a ~$50 thin client from Dell/Wyse or HP on eBay.