Hey,
I’m working on building a compact, efficient, and budget-friendly home server to centralize my scattered data and host a few lightweight services.
Currently, my data is spread across multiple hard drives, and accessing it is a hassle. A while back, I set up a home server using an old netbook running Debian and a few Docker containers. It was a fun Linux learning experience, but not a long-term solution (its RAM can’t be expanded beyond 2 GB, and its CPU is too weak). So, I guess it’s time for an actual dedicated server machine!
Budget: Around €500, including storage (I’m in Europe, btw)
Requirements:
- Centralized storage for data, photos, and phone backups
- Run lightweight containers for web services like Immich, Paperless-ngx, Pi-hole, and custom services I’ve developed
- Occasionally download Linux ISOs (I use and delete them; the whole *arr stack would be overkill for my needs)
- No need for virtualization (so no Proxmox, TrueNAS, or Unraid); a plain Debian install with Docker should suffice (or maybe I could use OpenMediaVault)
- No closed OS: I’m not interested in Synology, QNAP, or similar. I want full control to install and customize my OS
Goals:
- Low power consumption: ≤10 watts idle without HDDs would be ideal (this is my number-one priority)
- Low noise
- Compact size: space is limited, so it needs to be small (I also don’t need a huge case for just a couple of drives)
Ideas:
- DIY Option (ASRock N100DC-ITX):
- CPU + Mobo: ASRock N100DC-ITX (~€138)
- RAM: Kingston ValueRAM 16GB 3200MHz DDR4 Non-ECC CL22 (€32.99)
- SSD (for OS and containers): Patriot P320 128GB NVMe PCIe Gen 3x4 (€15.99)
- PSU: LEICKE PSU 19V, 4.74A, 90W (€19.99)
- Case: Sharkoon QB ONE (€50)
- Total: ~€257
- Concerns: Will the 4-pin connector on the board be able to power two HDDs? ASRock includes a cable to power 2 HDDs in the package, so it should be fine, and I don’t plan on adding more drives
- DIY Option (ODROID H4+):
- CPU + Mobo: ODROID H4+ (€196)
- RAM: Crucial RAM 16GB 4800MHz DDR5 Non-ECC CL40 (€48.90)
- SSD (for OS and containers): Patriot P320 128GB NVMe PCIe Gen 3x4 (€15.99)
- PSU: LEICKE PSU 19V, 4.74A, 90W (€19.99)
- Case: ODROID H4+ Case Type 4 (€44.90)
- Accessories: 2x SATA data and power cables (€14.00)
- Total: ~€340
- Concerns: I’m unsure about reliability and updates, and with 2 HDDs, it’s out of my budget
- Prebuilt Option (AOOSTAR R1):
- Specs: N100, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB NVMe
- Total: ~€238
- Concerns: Power consumption might be higher than the ASRock and ODROID boards; I’m unsure about its reliability and updates; I’ve read that it can get noisy and heat up
Storage:
For storage, I’m planning to use two 4 TB HDDs (Seagate IronWolf, ~€120 each) in a mirrored configuration. I’m considering ZFS for its compression, deduplication, snapshots, and bit rot protection. However, I’m unsure if I really need RAID since I’ll perform regular backups.
Questions:
- Which of these options would you recommend?
- Are there better hardware options within my budget that meet my power/noise/size goals?
- Do you have other suggestions for hardware or software I might have overlooked?
Any advice or feedback would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance :)
And you don’t think, office PCs pay attention to power consumption, given they are intended to run 8h a day?
My optiplex sff runs at about 10-15W in idle, and it’s an i5 6500. The t variant in my elitedesk runs at 5W.
The random office PC with an older i7, no GPU, and two hard drives I was using idled at around 70W. So… it goes either way.
Edit: This was a “standard” ATX tower PC and reading your other comments it sounds like that isn’t what you’re referring to.
It really depends on the model. Best to pay attention to it like the previous comment mentioned.
Yes, I’ve seen a lot of them idling at 45+ watts. With quite some outliers. 80W is not uncommon for what I’ve seen. And you need to attach an energy meter to measure that. The CPUs itself are mostly fine. It’s the mainboard chipset that might do a lot of unnecessary power drain. Plus some other components and the power brick that only has a certain efficiency.
For an office that’s not an issue. They pay like a third for electricity. They’re making good money with the PC being used. And maintenance etc is the major cost factor, not the annual few bucks for electricity.
Sorry, but you’re either pulling those numbers out of your ass or haven’t kept up with the real world for 25 years.
The numbers I’ve posted above are measured using an external meter. I’m German, I have a vested interest in knowing how much power my devices pull.
Idk. I’ll look it up. If that’s true, I’d be interested to replace my trusty old Skylake generation NAS computer. We have a nice shop selling refurbished office computers in town (afbshop.de). Last time I’ve checked it was difficult to get computers <40W idle, because that’s mainly laptops or small form factor computers these days. And those are kind of unsuitable to attach several harddisks. And the Dell/HP/Fujitsu Esprimo workstations needed more power. If that’s changed in the meantime, I think I’d like to buy one.
Do you happen to know about the idle power consumption of graphics cards? Because some of the computers have GPUs and I also always wanted to fit in something like a modern Radeon graphics card to do some machine learning, have Home Assistant talk to me etc. But I’m in the same boat and can’t afford the amount of electricity the American selfhosting community uses for their projects…
But yeah, most computers I measured were kind of old. Not 25yo but old enough to be finally replaced at work, or to be had for really cheap.
Workstations, like real workstations, are another beast and not what’s typically referred to as “office PCs”, those are indeed rather sff builds.
Again, optiplex sff 3060 as an example, it has two SATA ports, one x16 and one x1 (I think) PCIe, and looking at the PCB, apparently there’s a version with m.2 slots. Sure, not exactly server grade storage, but if you manage to find some version with m.2 slots or invest 10€ for a cheap SATA card, you can get enough storage attached.
GPU wise, absolutely no idea. My optiplex has a wx3100 that I got for cheap and its self reported power draw never goes under 5W, but since this machine is a desktop, it doesn’t run all day.
Ah, alright. I can see how these things idle at 15W. Or an comparable amount to a laptop. That might do it for OP. I don’t think that’s what I’m looking for, though. I need like 3 or 4 SATA ports plus maybe 2 spare for future upgrades. Hence my “compact” is a small midi tower.
You could easily throw the components into an old tower case.
Getting the PSU to fit could be a bit tricky due to the rather short cables.