So, I currently have a Netgear ReadyNAS 314 with 1 SSD, 3 HDDs, Intel Atom D2701 and 4GB RAM, running Debian 12, and since getting it I’ve been getting more into self hosting. What I have now is primarily too weak in the CPU and RAM department, but it could also use more HDDs. I’m aiming for 5-6 3.5 HDDs, 1 Nvme, 1 2.5" SSD.

What I’m currently running:

  • Samba and NFS server

  • OpenVPN

  • Jellyseerr/Jellyfin/*arr stack

  • Pangolin

  • Dawarich

  • Immich

  • rsnapshot

  • Homepage

And it’s rather sluggish right now, and is almost filling up its 4GB of swap.

What I’d also like to be able to run/have:

  • Nextcloud

  • Transcoding (including ability to decode AV1, but preferably also encode)

  • Anything else I may want to run (working on degoogling myself)

  • ECC RAM (to prevent bitrot, I’m already running btrfs raid1 to prevent bitrot from faulty disks)

  • 1x 2.5G ethernet

If possible I’d like to have some room for upgradeability. I’m aiming for a low power build, that should be rather compact, especially not very wide unless I can find a better place in my office for it.

I’m looking at a Jonsbo N1 chassis (17cm wide) , but I’m also following a Readynas 626 (19cm wide) in an online auction. Options:

Intel N100 board

Pros: cheap, low power, quicksync with av1 decode

Cons: boards with 2.5G ethernet have to be ordered from Aliexpress and have no support and uses the JMB585 chip that prevents low power C states, limited pcie lanes, no AV1 encode, not very upgradeable (1 DIMM, soldered CPU) , no ECC, I worry it may be too slow

Intel 13100

Pros: AV1 decode, quite fast, upgradeable

Cons: No ECC, relatively expensive, no AV1 encode

AMD 8500G

Pros: AV1 enc/dec, ECC, relatively fast, upgradeable

Cons: relatively expensive, not as low power as the 13100

Readynas 626

Pros: enterprise grade HW, less DIY, ECC, may be relatively cheap

Cons: high power for its performance (roughly that of the N100), wider (19cm) than a Jonsbo N1 (17cm), not upgradeable (no CPU or mobo swap), expensive DDR4 2133 ECC UDIMM, doesn’t have M.2 but has a PCIE slot

I’d love to hear what you think about these options and whether you have other concerns that I haven’t thought about.

Edit: I just now realized that the 13100 doesn’t have AV1 encode in HW, that didn’t come until Core Ultra. And wowee, suitable mITX mobos start at 400$ here! I think AMD is the realistic choice if I want to go for AV1 HW encode…

  • fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    5·
    20 hours ago

    I’m aiming for a low power build, that should be rather compact,

    Considering that OP was targeting an N100 I don’t think an old Xeon, especially one without integrated graphics, would be close to that.

    • chellomere@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      1·
      19 hours ago

      Yeah, old Xeons tend to not be very low power, also I don’t think I’ll be able to find one with a mini ITX board to fit it in a compact case. Also, I’d probably need to add a discrete GPU, which adds to the cost and power consumption.

      I want a low power build to limit heat and noise produced in my office room, to limit the electricity bill and as I understood it the case I’m considering also doesn’t have the best thermals, so I don’t want to put a CPU with too high a TDP into it.

      The ReadyNAS 626 actually has a Xeon D-1521, but with a quite low TDP - 45W.

      Regarding budget, I’m aiming for 400-800$. The N100 option, including case and PSU (but not disks) is at the lower end of this, while the 8500G and 13100 options are at the upper end.

      • Blue_Morpho@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        17 hours ago

        I got a sff P330 Xeon with integrated graphics for ~$500 two years ago that includes case power supply etc. Far faster than an n100 and even lower power than if you added a GPU to an n100.

        I just plugged in a kilowatt to check:

        My Lenovo sff workstation running Plex idles at 15 watts- which is 90% of the time. Streaming 4k 52Mbs hevc (This Flash Gordon is my torture test that caused me to upgrade 2 years ago) it’s 18 watts! I was so surprised that I went back and unplugged the Ethernet thinking I put the killawatt on the wrong server.