Best current hardware solution for selfhosting?

I use my desktop PC for Jellyfin and torrenting, but I'm looking for something that I can keep on 24/7 that draws less power and run other self-hosted services on Linux. I would like to have at least 2x 14 TB 3.5" hard drives in or attached to it with the possibility of expanding in the future.

From my research, these seem to be some good options:

  1. Mini PC like this Beelink S12 Pro + USB hard drive enclosure. The price seems reasonable for the specs and low power consumption. Not sure if USB will limit transfer speeds.
  2. ODROID HC-4 or similar SBCs. I feel like these have much lower performance for not much price savings, and it's harder to get software running up because of ARM. But it seems like they don't use too much power.
  3. Used enterprise PCs/servers. I know they can be found cheap used, but I'm a little lost at comparing the performance and power draw to other options.
  4. DIY build. I'm interested in getting a Mini-ITX case like this Jonsbo N2 and getting parts for it, but it seems like it will be the most expensive option. It does seem like the most modular and upgradable.
  5. Classic NAS products like Synology. It seems like these are falling out of favor because they are pretty under powered for the price.

What does selfhosted think about these options, and what would you recommend?

Decronym Bot ,

Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:

Fewer Letters More Letters
DNS Domain Name Service/System
NAS Network-Attached Storage
NUC Next Unit of Computing brand of Intel small computers
NVMe Non-Volatile Memory Express interface for mass storage
PCIe Peripheral Component Interconnect Express
PiHole Network-wide ad-blocker (DNS sinkhole)
Plex Brand of media server package
RPi Raspberry Pi brand of SBC
SATA Serial AT Attachment interface for mass storage
SBC Single-Board Computer
SSD Solid State Drive mass storage

[Thread for this sub, first seen 24th Aug 2023, 01:25]
[FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • [email protected]
  • kbinchat
  • All magazines