Ask HN: Best Low-Power, Budget-Friendly, and Capable Home Server Setup?

2 johnnykree 0 6/5/2025, 8:03:59 AM

Hello.

I'm planning to build my first home server and am looking for the best combination of:

    Low power consumption

    Affordable price (used or new)

    Good performance for self-hosted apps

Use cases:

    Docker containers for things like Linkding, Karakeep, a personal Wiki

    Self-hosted Bitwarden

    Small Nextcloud instance

    Jellyfin (light use, just streaming a few movies to the TV)

    Lightweight game servers (e.g., Terraria)

    Maybe some basic platformers on the TV (just a bonus, not a must)

I'm currently considering:

    A used Mac Mini M1

    The new Mac Mini M4

    Old office minis like Dell Optiplex / HP 800 G4 with i5-8500T

    Chinese mini PCs from Minisforum, Beelink, Geekom, etc.

I'd love to hear your experience or suggestions. What's the best value setup you've found for this kind of home lab?

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Ask HN: Best Low-Power, Budget-Friendly, and Capable Home Server Setup?

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