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Quiet, low power server for home
Hi,
I am looking for a server (used, not new) which is quiet and has a low power consumption. I intend to mount it in a 19 inch rack in my home office.
RAM: 32 GB or more (ECC)
CPU: anything decent with 4 cores or more
Storage: 2 x 2,5 inch for SSD, 1 x 3,5 inch for HDD (optional)
Virtualization: yes (Proxmox)
Power consumption: low
Noise: should be quiet since it will be racked in my home office
Connectivity: 1x Ethernet 1Gbit, second NIC nice to have
KVM: optional, but nice to have
Price: around 450€
Location: EU merchant only
I've got additional budget for rack mounts, storage, etc.
If you know any decent server with above specs please let me know.
Thank you very much.
Comments
Refurbed optiplexes, fujitsu, hp. Basically any modern thin client which supports your desired ecc, which is total bs for home use.
19“ case of your choice, used or new
50€ AM4 Gigabyte server board
150€€ 3950x or 250€ 5950x from eBay
Power-consumption to performance ratio really nice
DDR4 UDIMM ECC also gotten really cheap, 32gb cost around 50€
KVM via IPMI
3x NICs
@Baris
Any Intel Xeon D server is what you need, you can find these cheap for sale as they aged now
Hard disagree, you’ll change your mind too if you have a ram stick spontaneously go bad and hose your data over time or all at once when the machine limps into chkdsk
For the specs you mention, a small miniPC would be fine. No need for a rackmount
I run a dozen VMs with Proxmox on this...it's old and you should get something newer, but as an example:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08TLMY32S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
It's fanless and silent.
I spent 101€ shipped for a Supermicro / E3-1245 v3 / 32GB.
450€ is high budget.
Maybe. But then people complain: "oh my new computer crashes all the time I have no idea why
".
That's why. My previous DDR2 fbdimm had 2 bitflips per week over the years, with the computer in the basement, concrete house, sea level.
Guys, how often your gaming rigs corupts your data in ram?
All the time. That’s why I’m not a professional gamer.
Don’t mind me asking but coming from someone who’s had an entire half rack set up in their home.. I’d ask: do you really need a rack mounted server?
For example, your needs, you can pick up a used Lenovo M710Q for around ~$40.
CPU: 7500T
RAM: 32GB ($20, but non ECC)
HD: 1x NVME & 1x 2.5 (i’ve got a 2T nvme & 4T ssd)
I took out the wifi nic and replaced it with a 2.5G port, so it has a 1G & 2.5G port.
I actually have multiple running in a proxmox cluster. Energy bills gone way down, quiet enough to have on the desk and can add a nas to the network for extra storage.
If you want something more powerful and around your price range, check out the UM890 .. Ryzen 8945hs (32 cores, high frequency, low power).. and you slap up to 96gb of ddr5 on-die ecc ram in there. 2 nvmes, 2 2.5g ports.
Also:
Is a bit of an oxymoron.. to some folks it’s tolerable, but from my experience, rack mounted servers can get obnoxiously loud, hot enough to warm up a room and draw more power than they’re worth.
I could’ve tolerated the first two, since I really wanted to keep my lab, but the more the homelab expanded — the less the energy bill made sense. Tbh, it didn’t even make sense for me with just one server.
Thank you all for your recommendations! I have to compare and research each recommendation. I will let you know which way I chose.
The rack is already installed in the home office. This is how it looks:
The idea was to build a home lab as a hobby and to keep everything tidy and hidden in one place. Will also soon get a fiber upgrade 👍🏼
nice rack, petite yet ample.
I can't see the rest of it but hopefully it gets to breathe a bit, shouldn't go stowing such a pretty thing away -- could get hot all covered up.. gotta let that puppy out.
seriously though, airflow is important, esp if you do end up just putting a 1U in there.. although, it seems you have no servers (yet) -- so, you can still use it for switches/mini pcs as some suggested.
where did you get that rack?
That is a very shallow rack, designed to fit short routers and switches, many of my switches wouldn't fit in there.. Watch for which server you get, that it will fit in there..