I do a lot of VMWare work but I’d like to tinker with proxmox at home- I just don’t want to bring an awful old HPE server/etc home to try it out on-

Anyone have any reccomendations for a quiet, small homelab server with a solid (12-16 thread) core count?

  • @Cypher
    link
    Esperanto
    81 year ago

    I used an inWin Chopin Max case with a Ryzen 5700g and 32gb ram. It does the job well and isnt too noisy even with the stock wraith stealth cooler, though I ended up buying a low profile noctua which was really unnecessary.

    If you can still find an AM4 mitx mobo you should be able to pick up the rest quite cheap, though you may want to look at am5.

    For near sever grade cpu perf you could go am5 with an x3d and undervolt. The 7800x3d has a 65w tdp mode which is perfect though that’s getting a bit expensive.

    • @ReygleOP
      link
      Esperanto
      31 year ago

      Good ideas here, I’ll do some shopping around. Thank you!

    • @XGM
      link
      Esperanto
      11 year ago

      Older used 1st/2nd gen Ryzen can be fairly inexpensive as people upgraded to 3rd gen or newer for better gaming performance.

      If you happen to go down the used route and buy separate CPU and motherboard just make sure they are compatible. Some early AM4 motherboards (x370/x350) can be a bit limited in what Ryzen CPUs they support because of small BIOS flash chips so ideally get a board with USB flashback.

  • @BoomBoomLemon
    link
    Esperanto
    31 year ago

    I run a half dozen smallish VMs and some containers on a NUC using Proxmox. It’s very quiet despite having a fan. My other gear is all fanless including a 10Gbe switch and an OPNsense box.

  • @Pat
    link
    Esperanto
    11 year ago

    There is alot of small factor pc´s on aliexpress. Might not be enough performance for you but you might want to check it out

    • @ReygleOP
      link
      Esperanto
      21 year ago

      My first reaction to AliExpress is still “Eeeeeew”, but I’ll take a peek.