Proxmox homelab advice requested - low power usage, mid performance - Which TinyMiniMicro?

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denis_tmm

New Member
Jan 24, 2023
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Hey guys,

After watching dozens of hours of TinyMiniMicro reviews by STH I still can't decide what I want.

Here is what I want to get from the system:
  • lowest power usage as possible (idle < 10W if possible)
  • mid performance
  • as cheap as possible but definitely not over 500€ (I'm in Germany)
  • as much RAM as possible
  • minimum one M2 slot
What do I want to run on it?
  • Proxmox VE 7
  • 1 VM for InfluxDB (gathering all the timebased data from my KNX smart home via HomeAssistant)
  • 1 VM Grafana (visualizing the data in different dashboards, it would be nice to get fast rendering even for bigger timeframes e.g. last year)
  • 1-2 VMs or LXC containers running some fun stuff (e.g. BTC Lightning Server etc.)
  • Daily data backups to Proxmox backup server
What I don't want?
  • Router, NAS, Firewall software running on the Proxmox host
  • WIFI
  • Multiple display ports are not needed
  • High power usage :)
What I can offer for the system as housing?
  • 19" server rack
  • cool drinks and lemonade ;)
I've looked at the following systems in detail or these are my favourites right now:
  • Lenovo Tiny M900 i5 6500T (well cheap but not as powerful)
  • Lenovo Tiny M75q Gen2 with AMD Ryzen 5 Pro 5650 GE (more powerful but not as cheap at least when getting more RAM + disks)
  • HP Elitedesk Mini 805 G8/G6 (much to expensive and availability is a big problem)
What systems would you recommend for me? I haven't got much experience in the hardware segment so I can't really say what will fit my needs perfectly. I would love to hear some recommendations from you. So e.g. is the "Lenovo Tiny M900 i5 6500T" good enough for my needs or is it better to get a more powerful system?

I'm open for all your suggestions.

Thank you very much.

Denis

-
 

bigfellasdad

Member
Apr 10, 2018
74
40
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I'm somewhere in the middle.

Lenonvo m920q
I3-8300t
32gb ram
Pcie riser with tiny dual2.5gb nics
2tb ssd sata, it fits but not pretty
1tb nvme boot disk
Proxmox latest
Idles between 7 and 9w with 1 vm and 2ct's running, depends what you consider mid performance but feels as fast as my xeon e3-1245v6 box but half the threads.

Hth
 

T_Minus

Build. Break. Fix. Repeat
Feb 15, 2015
7,625
2,043
113
I'm somewhere in the middle.

Lenonvo m920q
I3-8300t
32gb ram
Pcie riser with tiny dual2.5gb nics
2tb ssd sata, it fits but not pretty
1tb nvme boot disk
Proxmox latest
Idles between 7 and 9w with 1 vm and 2ct's running, depends what you consider mid performance but feels as fast as my xeon e3-1245v6 box but half the threads.

Hth
Good to know. I have a variety of the small\micro systems I'm testing for this same purpose. Your setup sounds like the most ideal for me, affordable, and enough space to make it happen :) I also have 6500T and 7500T systems I'd be fine with and save a bit more $$ like you said, my goal is just to nearly match performance on 1230 V3 but much lower idle.

If you did not go dual 2.5g\nic could you have done another m2 or ssd?
 
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Marsh

Moderator
May 12, 2013
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Go to Ebay,
hunt down any HP, Dell , Lenovo ( if you prefer mini ) I5-8500T class machine for $120 or lower.
Add 32gb sodimm for $40, your choice of SSD.

If you have bigger budget, I5-10500T class of mini for $200 each.
 

bigfellasdad

Member
Apr 10, 2018
74
40
18
67
It would easily beat the v2 xeon If clock speed rather than threads is of use. If I didn't have pcie nics, which is a really really tiny card, I doubt an 2.5 ssd and a m2 pcie card could fit. I will say the nic card stops my hw states dropping g below c3, without the card it Idles 5-7 watts. Remarkable really, peaks at 38w under load
 
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T_Minus

Build. Break. Fix. Repeat
Feb 15, 2015
7,625
2,043
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I wish European prices where as low as US prices...especially for power
What is power there? We pay on avg around 42c per kWH in California :eek:
I'm in the USA and wish I paid what most other states pay ;)
 

Marsh

Moderator
May 12, 2013
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I am using 6 x Dell Optiex 5060 SFF as Windows , proxmox servers.

I5-8500 class , 4 ram slots , 2 pcie slots ( x16 and x4 ) , I used Intel P3605 SSD in x16, either 10gbe or 2.5gbe o 4 port NIC in x4.

Dell SFF have a place to mount a 80mm fan, fan is pointed to the x16 slots, it cools both pcie cards very well.

Price is between $60 and $120 with I5-8500 ( not T version ).

Waiting for the I5-10500 version to drop in price.

I have couple of HP SFF I5-10500 version, runs between $200 range.
 
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Connorise

Member
Mar 2, 2017
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US. Cambridge
I am using 2x Supermicro E300. They are tiny servers and give zero to no noise. It is ideal if you need a tiny lab you can pack in a 40L backpack.
There is no room inside for storage though.
 
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Marsh

Moderator
May 12, 2013
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food for thoughts

Dell OptiPlex SFF 5060 i5-8500, 32gb ram , 2 fan
1 Nvme Samsung 960gb SSD
Proxmox 7.1 idle 10-11w

Passmark @ 9571
 
Last edited:

unmesh

Active Member
Apr 17, 2017
200
55
28
65
I'm somewhere in the middle.

Lenonvo m920q
I3-8300t
32gb ram
Pcie riser with tiny dual2.5gb nics
2tb ssd sata, it fits but not pretty
1tb nvme boot disk
Proxmox latest
Idles between 7 and 9w with 1 vm and 2ct's running, depends what you consider mid performance but feels as fast as my xeon e3-1245v6 box but half the threads.

Hth
Are you taking the 2TB SATA SSD electronics out of their case to make it fit?
 

CyklonDX

Well-Known Member
Nov 8, 2022
784
255
63
When considering some of those - look for thunderbolt port.
(if you will feel like it you could always connect external gpu - and plug it off when you don't need it.)
Would recommend turing arch as you can do vgpu with them - its lot of fun when they work.
 

denis_tmm

New Member
Jan 24, 2023
20
4
3
Thank you very much for all your comments. I will walk through them step by step.

But one big remark:

Go to Ebay,
hunt down any HP, Dell , Lenovo ( if you prefer mini ) I5-8500T class machine for $120 or lower.
Add 32gb sodimm for $40, your choice of SSD.

If you have bigger budget, I5-10500T class of mini for $200 each.
I would love to see i8500t machines here in Germany for $120. :eek: They do cost in fact about 340€ (about $370).

But in the end what I get is that it is much better to go with the intel ones right?

In the end I know the YouTube video from Wolfgang I just want a ready to go machine and no self build (I could build it but I just want to get a machine now without having to fiddle around with the hardware :)).

Size is no issue so I don't really care if it is super micro.

Let me dive through all your posts in detail and I will get back.

Thanks.

Denis
 

denis_tmm

New Member
Jan 24, 2023
20
4
3
I am using 6 x Dell Optiex 5060 SFF as Windows , proxmox servers.

I5-8500 class , 4 ram slots , 2 pcie slots ( x16 and x4 ) , I used Intel P3605 SSD in x16, either 10gbe or 2.5gbe o 4 port NIC in x4.

Dell SFF have a place to mount a 80mm fan, fan is pointed to the x16 slots, it cools both pcie cards very well.

Price is between $60 and $120 with I5-8500 ( not T version ).

Waiting for the I5-10500 version to drop in price.

I have couple of HP SFF I5-10500 version, runs between $200 range.
Unfortunately the same machine costs in Germany 319€ (refurbished).

Just some findings on ebay or refurb shops here:


So to be honest we are not near the prices you get in the US. :eek: Or do I get something completely wrong here?

If you get me some US links to the offers you refer to that would be nice. I will import the machines. :) Because I don't get a complete build including i5-8500(t) in Germany below 300€.
 
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Marsh

Moderator
May 12, 2013
2,642
1,496
113
Non-US Ebay is much harder find cheap IT equipment.
Even US Ebay today price for Dell 5060 had gone up almost 100% due to lack of supply.

Sometimes you would just get lucky with a cheap system.
I picked this Dell 5050 with I5-8500 CPU as is system was filled with dirt and grime . total was $25 +shipping + tax = $57
I used bathroom scrubbing cleaner and garden hose, hosed the entire system, waited 24 hours to dry out.

May Ebay bless you with a good deal.
 

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