Hi everyone, Last month I finally managed to build my first SFF PC (Ryzen 7600 + AMD 6800). I’m also starting to learn about self-hosting and tinkering with it (the usual stuff: Jellyfin, pi-hole, nextcloud, VPN, torrenting etc.)
Thing is, of course, a server has to be always on, and I’m having trouble understanding if it can be reasonable to keep it always on or if it’s too pricey and I should invest in a dedicated hardware.
My consideration: a Raspberry Pi seems like it’s not enough powerfull after all. I’ve seen you can come up with an old i5 (4th to 6th gen) minipc with like 100/150 euros, but in not really sure it’s gonna consume much less than my system. What do you suggest? What am I missing?
Thank you :)
I run a home server with an i5-4590 and I haven’t seen it use more than 35W. I’m still looking to upgrade to a newer but lower power CPU (ideally one of those super low wattage chips with similar or better performance like an R7 5700U or i7-1260U).
If power usage is a concern and you don’t need much raw compute, a Pi (or similar SBC) should serve your needs just fine.
If you need a decent middle ground, take a look at mini PCs, they tend to use efficiency-focused laptop chips which are way more powerful than an SBC but sip power compared to a full-fat system.
