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This is why for my home server I didn't get second hand servers but built the following in a 2U case that fits in my network closet: Asrock Rack c246 WSI (Mini

This is why for my home server I didn't get second hand servers but built the following in a 2U case that fits in my network closet: Asrock Rack c246 WSI (Mini ITX workstation board) 32GB DDR4 ECC Udimms (16GB x2) Core i3 9100T (25w, low power 4 core part, supports ECC, and quicksync) 6 IronWolf 4TB NAS drives The 6 drives are in RaidZ2 so give 16TB usable space, and at full pelt the max power consumption is 60W for everything.

mynameisvlad 4y ago
My R730 averages at around 100-200W with two 12-core CPUs, 128GB RAM and 8 12-14TB drives. Servers are more efficient than people give them credit for. It's close to a gaming PC in electricity usage. Certainly not 60W (or what people can get with NUCs and RPi clusters) but for the power I get, it's very much worth it.
- TylerE 4y ago
  I'd guess the issue isn't so much peak consumption but idle.
- happyopossum 4y ago
  If we average that out to 150W, that'd be 1250-1300Kwh/yr. Current Bay Area electric prices means that'd cost in excess of $500/yr to run. I'd say that servers are not more efficient than people are giving them credit for...
  - mynameisvlad 4y ago
    And at Seattle prices, that's $150, so I don't exactly see what the purpose of your anecdote is other than to mention how pricy your electricity is. Edit: But even at $500, that's pretty much the price of a low-spec VPS or VM per year. So for a fairly low initial price to buy the server, you're getting far more performance for the same price you'd pay someone else to use theirs.
  - manfre 4y ago
    Servers are more efficient when fully utilized. A commercial grade server in a homelab is more likely to idle all the time, making it very energy wasteful. Servers need to be right-sized, instead of "more is better".
- philjohn 4y ago
  What's it like at idle though? Since it's a home server, when it's not receiving backups from computers in the house, or streaming media via Plex it's sitting there at < 15w, which is low enough not to worry about.
xemdetia 4y ago
My favourite 'home server' board for a while was J3160DC-ITX, which runs at 6W TDP and runs off a 12V brick.

mynameisvlad 4y ago

My R730 averages at around 100-200W with two 12-core CPUs, 128GB RAM and 8 12-14TB drives. Servers are more efficient than people give them credit for. It's close to a gaming PC in electricity usage. Certainly not 60W (or what people can get with NUCs and RPi clusters) but for the power I get, it's very much worth it.

TylerE 4y ago
I'd guess the issue isn't so much peak consumption but idle.
happyopossum 4y ago
If we average that out to 150W, that'd be 1250-1300Kwh/yr. Current Bay Area electric prices means that'd cost in excess of $500/yr to run. I'd say that servers are not more efficient than people are giving them credit for...
- mynameisvlad 4y ago
  And at Seattle prices, that's $150, so I don't exactly see what the purpose of your anecdote is other than to mention how pricy your electricity is. Edit: But even at $500, that's pretty much the price of a low-spec VPS or VM per year. So for a fairly low initial price to buy the server, you're getting far more performance for the same price you'd pay someone else to use theirs.
- manfre 4y ago
  Servers are more efficient when fully utilized. A commercial grade server in a homelab is more likely to idle all the time, making it very energy wasteful. Servers need to be right-sized, instead of "more is better".
philjohn 4y ago
What's it like at idle though? Since it's a home server, when it's not receiving backups from computers in the house, or streaming media via Plex it's sitting there at < 15w, which is low enough not to worry about.

xemdetia 4y ago

My favourite 'home server' board for a while was J3160DC-ITX, which runs at 6W TDP and runs off a 12V brick.