Refurbished Server/Mini PC below 100€ - How low do I want to go in CPU score?

Ympker · February 2023

These days I have been following some of MyDealz 50-70€ refurbished server/mini pc Fujitsus/Dell Optiplex/LenovoTC models to serve as a mini home server (ideally running Plex, uptime monitor and some other small footprint stuff).

Currently, on Mydealz the following offer for 49€ received about 1800 likes, which isn't too bad:

"Lenovo ThinkCentre M600 Tiny Mini PC - CPU: Intel Celeron N3010 - 4W TDP - 4GB RAM 32GB m.2 SSD - SmartHome-Server o. Raspberry-Alternative - refurbished"

CPU scores some 500-600 and people have been saying there have been better offers for 50-60€ range, so I plan to monitor the market a bit, then snipe something. Ideally from smth like Afbshop/one.de since I trust them more than some dude on eBay.

The main questions I have right now is

a) where do you buy refurbished hw (tagging in DACH/Europe @Falzo @dfroe )?

b) I have run lots of stuff on a small 128MB RAM vps, but how much CPU power would I really need for the likes of Plex, UptimeKuma, and maybe some other small things? Many of those systems come with Win10, but I'd just flush Ubuntu on it, really.

root · February 2023

I use Rasbperry Pi 3 as a home server with an HDD attached to it. It acts as a torrent box behind a VPN. Over SSH I mounted the projector to it, added a huge bluetooth speaker, and I got myself a home cinema for the kids during weekends.

The beauty of this is that there are no fans, therefore I don't have to worry about cleaning any dust from such small server. The cooling is passive using an aluminium casing from Amazon.

Instead of doing multiple things on the same server, I like keeping them separate. A Raspberry Pi Zero W is configured as a small home VPN server good enough for my needs, and another Raspberry Pi Zero W is configured for home automation (TasmoAdmin) to control smart plugs and monitor electricity readings around the house (due to our great politicians in EU who like to play with energy prices). The beauty in this is that such servers are cheap in power, no cleaning required, no fans, no wires.

I do not know if this helps you, but I guess it also depends on your needed computing power for that Plex setup and configuration. I have not tried Plex yet.

Ympker · February 2023

@root said:
I use Rasbperry Pi 3 as a home server with an HDD attached to it. It acts as a torrent box behind a VPN. Over SSH I mounted the projector to it, added a huge bluetooth speaker, and I got myself a home cinema for the kids during weekends.

The beauty of this is that there are no fans, therefore I don't have to worry about cleaning any dust from such small server. The cooling is passive using an aluminium casing from Amazon.

Instead of doing multiple things on the same server, I like keeping them separate. A Raspberry Pi Zero W is configured as a small home VPN server good enough for my needs, and another Raspberry Pi Zero W is configured for home automation (TasmoAdmin) to control smart plugs and monitor electricity readings around the house (due to our great politicians in EU who like to play with energy prices). The beauty in this is that such servers are cheap in power, no cleaning required, no fans, no wires.

I do not know if this helps you, but I guess it also depends on your needed computing power for that Plex setup and configuration. I have not tried Plex yet.

Thanks for reminding me. I still have a RPi 3B+ somewhere in the basement. Might check if it still works and put it to some use and see if it does the job. I remember flushing some arm plex build on it in the past but can't remember how performance was. No fan noise is definitely something that is quite convenient as it would kind of be in the living room/kitchen (only got two room apartment so..).

You've got some nice setup there Buying new/additional RPis can be more expensive rn though iirc. Not only is stock a problem but also prices have gone up quite a lot for Pi (at least from last time I checked).

root · February 2023

@Ympker said:

@root said:
I use Rasbperry Pi 3 as a home server with an HDD attached to it. It acts as a torrent box behind a VPN. Over SSH I mounted the projector to it, added a huge bluetooth speaker, and I got myself a home cinema for the kids during weekends.

The beauty of this is that there are no fans, therefore I don't have to worry about cleaning any dust from such small server. The cooling is passive using an aluminium casing from Amazon.

Instead of doing multiple things on the same server, I like keeping them separate. A Raspberry Pi Zero W is configured as a small home VPN server good enough for my needs, and another Raspberry Pi Zero W is configured for home automation (TasmoAdmin) to control smart plugs and monitor electricity readings around the house (due to our great politicians in EU who like to play with energy prices). The beauty in this is that such servers are cheap in power, no cleaning required, no fans, no wires.

I do not know if this helps you, but I guess it also depends on your needed computing power for that Plex setup and configuration. I have not tried Plex yet.

Thanks for reminding me. I still have a RPi 3B+ somewhere in the basement. Might check if it still works and put it to some use and see if it does the job. I remember flushing some arm plex build on it in the past but can't remember how performance was. No fan noise is definitely something that is quite convenient as it would kind of be in the living room/kitchen (only got two room apartment so..).

You've got some nice setup there Buying new/additional RPis can be more expensive rn though iirc. Not only is stock a problem but also prices have gone up quite a lot for Pi (at least from last time I checked).

I bought these Raspberry Pi boards a few years ago when they were in abundance and cheap in second-hand online marketplaces. The reason was precisely this: playing. I love small computers and it is a personal challenge to still find use for them. In my humble opinion technology evolves but humans still have the same needs for basic entertainment (seeing pictures, listening to music, watching videos and movies), which is why I kept these old Raspberry Pi boards.

I also have a Raspberry Pi 3B+ used with retropie gaming. It is a beauty to play old games on a projector. I intended to upgrade to Raspberry Pi 4, but due to thermal issues of Pi4 at release (plus highly needing a cooler at that time) I abandoned the change. I now regret not grabbing a Pi4 when it was cheaper and available. However, i am still quite happy with my current setup.

ialexpw · February 2023

@Ympker said: Lenovo ThinkCentre M600 Tiny Mini PC

I used to have one of these and used it for similar tasts too (Plex etc) but it had an i3 instead of the Celeron - worked perfectly for the use-case. I got it from eBay (UK).

I recently picked up something similar, a Dell Optiplex 7040 (SFF PC) - so a little bigger, but I could fit an extra disk in and currently using that with Plex and some local testing web apps with an i5 6th gen, works great with fairly low power too!

AlwaysSkint · February 2023

@ialexpw said: @Ympker said: Lenovo ThinkCentre M600 Tiny Mini PC

I have an Ideacentre Q180 which was great for music (must get around to selling it): now replaced with a 2010 Mac Mini, due to being the last one with inbuilt Superdrive. It was replaced purely due to aesthetics, as the Atom processor was of no consequence. I hate the proprietary principle of Apple, so it runs Linux Mint, of course, in dual boot configuration.

mee2 · February 2023

@Ympker said:

@root said:
I use Rasbperry Pi 3 as a home server with an HDD attached to it. It acts as a torrent box behind a VPN. Over SSH I mounted the projector to it, added a huge bluetooth speaker, and I got myself a home cinema for the kids during weekends.

The beauty of this is that there are no fans, therefore I don't have to worry about cleaning any dust from such small server. The cooling is passive using an aluminium casing from Amazon.

Instead of doing multiple things on the same server, I like keeping them separate. A Raspberry Pi Zero W is configured as a small home VPN server good enough for my needs, and another Raspberry Pi Zero W is configured for home automation (TasmoAdmin) to control smart plugs and monitor electricity readings around the house (due to our great politicians in EU who like to play with energy prices). The beauty in this is that such servers are cheap in power, no cleaning required, no fans, no wires.

I do not know if this helps you, but I guess it also depends on your needed computing power for that Plex setup and configuration. I have not tried Plex yet.

Thanks for reminding me. I still have a RPi 3B+ somewhere in the basement. Might check if it still works and put it to some use and see if it does the job. I remember flushing some arm plex build on it in the past but can't remember how performance was. No fan noise is definitely something that is quite convenient as it would kind of be in the living room/kitchen (only got two room apartment so..).

You've got some nice setup there Buying new/additional RPis can be more expensive rn though iirc. Not only is stock a problem but also prices have gone up quite a lot for Pi (at least from last time I checked).

All the pi have been out of stock all over the world I heard and was the case when I checked few months back. So a pi in possession is a priced possession these days. They have been listed quite expensively on ebay.
Time to make good use of it if you have one

deank · February 2023

It's pretty unrelated but -

Well, I have a fair amount of exp in this area since I've been purchasing those cheap machines for elderies. (Translation: For old people who just want to use browse youtube and not pay for expensive cable TV.)

I take two scores into account: Passmark and Geekbench.

A passmark score of 3,000+ is required for smooth exp.
A geekbench score of single-core 700+ (dual core minimum) is required for smooth 720p/1080p youtube usage.

Now, I don't know what my experience will translate for you though. I've been buying the machine at Ebay. Even on Amazon, some Chinese sellers come up with killer deals sometimes for even new machines in NUC form.

Your usage is headless server, so I reckon it will be lower. But personally I wouldn't go below J4125

Neoon · February 2023

I would not go below 3k cpu benchmark.
Neither would I buy a CPU with to high TDP / too old, given the energy crysis.

50€ for a 600 bench cpu is bad, I have seen better ones.
You have to wait for deals.

havoc · February 2023

I'd spend a bit more tbh. Working with slow devices is frustrating

deank · February 2023

N3010 is a bitch to work with. Avoid that CPU at all cost.

root · February 2023

I am not a fan of Plex, but I would first try that Raspberry Pi 3 B+ sitting around, with an SSD attached into USB port. There are multiple examples and videos on Youtube.

For easy install (and to protect that microSD) I would use DietPi operating system, installing Plex from it's repository.

If this would not work, then I could spend money for better solutions.

Neoon · February 2023

I have seen a few weeks ago, which sucks that I didn't buy one though.
Fujitsu Futro S740 with around 3k bench for 48€.

You could even negotiate a lower price, around 35€, with shipping included.
You can buy 3k ones now but for 99€ which is fucking expensive.

rajprakash · February 2023

I've really had a good experience with the HardKernel ODROID boards as a very solid performing SBC with greatly better availability, and at this point, far less cost than the Raspberry pi boards. Take a look!

vyas · February 2023

My Thinkcentre M900 Tiny is a 3 TB storage server

Go for the Thinkcentres

rajprakash · February 2023

@vyas said:
My Thinkcentre M900 Tiny is a 3 TB storage server

Go for the Thinkcentres

How did you fit 3TB inside the case? Single 2.5" 3TB drive?

deank · February 2023

What?

Wait, people use spindle drives in 2023? I stopped using mechanical HDDs around 2015.

terrorgen · February 2023

@deank said:
What?

Wait, people use spindle drives in 2023? I stopped using mechanical HDDs around 2015.

Last I checked 3TB drives are only available as spindle drives.

I have 2x 6tb spindle drives running zraid10 on my proxmox server.

vyas · February 2023

@rajprakash said:

@vyas said:
My Thinkcentre M900 Tiny is a 3 TB storage server

Go for the Thinkcentres

How did you fit 3TB inside the case? Single 2.5" 3TB drive?

1.5 TB Seagate Spinner USB
500 GB NVMe
1 TB M2 SATA

Also had a 120 GB SATA and a 300 GB Seagate Spinner HD (both via USB) but power draw and heat becomes an issue when ambient temp is 30 degrees C

ialexpw · February 2023

@deank said:
What?

Wait, people use spindle drives in 2023? I stopped using mechanical HDDs around 2015.

For a home Plex server I'd rather spend < £200 each for 8TB compared to > £400 per drive - especially with only a few users on it

root · February 2023

@deank said:
What?

Wait, people use spindle drives in 2023? I stopped using mechanical HDDs around 2015.

Mechanical drives are the best. Data resists longer.

deank · February 2023

You mean data retention?

I did some study on that. Data on SSD lasts longer.

Data on HDD has a general lifespan of 2 years before data corruption starts to show.
Data on SSD, on the other hand, shows no degradation. But I observed that smaller files, like pictures, got corrupted after only a year.

I am still doing the study.

Either way, the end is nigh. Can't ducking believe spindle drives are still in use.

Ympker · February 2023

@deank said:
You mean data retention?

I did some study on that. Data on SSD lasts longer.

Data on HDD has a general lifespan of 2 years before data corruption starts to show.
Data on SSD, on the other hand, shows no degradation. But I observed that smaller files, like pictures, got corrupted after only a year.

I am still doing the study.

Either way, the end is nigh. Can't ducking believe spindle drives are still in use.

Fwiw, I bought 2x 2TB External Drives from WD Elements line. One in 2020 and one in 2021. One of them already died. I should have probably checked for warranty, but well..

Now, I check my drives' health with CrystalDisk Info and use Aomei Partition Manager to run Surface tests. Thing is, while you can still move your data when CrystalDisk shows health status as "Caution", if a surface test shows a bad sector, it's usually already too late, so testing it gives me only so much of an advantage..

@root said:
I am not a fan of Plex, but I would first try that Raspberry Pi 3 B+ sitting around, with an SSD attached into USB port. There are multiple examples and videos on Youtube.

For easy install (and to protect that microSD) I would use DietPi operating system, installing Plex from it's repository.

If this would not work, then I could spend money for better solutions.

Yeah, probably gonna dig out the Pi and check if it's still functional and there is still a compatible arm build for Plex available. If it won't do, I'll look for an upgrade along the lines what ppl like @Neoon @vyas @AlwaysSkint etc suggested here

Falzo · February 2023

@Neoon said:
I have seen a few weeks ago, which sucks that I didn't buy one though.
Fujitsu Futro S740 with around 3k bench for 48€.

You could even negotiate a lower price, around 35€, with shipping included.

I bought exactly this one, but with 8gig of RAM for less than 45€ or so. also added a smallish 240GB m.2 for 25 bucks or so. really lovely small box. USB3 for external storage etc.

@Ympker seller was piospartslap on ebay, they do have a website as well: https://www.piospartslap.de/Fujitsu-Futro-S740-ThinClient-Intel-J4105-150GHz-8GB-16GB-SSD-ohne-Fuss-mit-Netzteil - no idea if those will ever come back though

there is quite a lot of stuff comparable, you always want to check what CPU is in there and what the benchmark of that (I usually just look up the passmark score to get an idea)

Ympker · February 2023

@Falzo said:

@Neoon said:
I have seen a few weeks ago, which sucks that I didn't buy one though.
Fujitsu Futro S740 with around 3k bench for 48€.

You could even negotiate a lower price, around 35€, with shipping included.

I bought exactly this one, but with 8gig of RAM for less than 45€ or so. also added a smallish 240GB m.2 for 25 bucks or so. really lovely small box. USB3 for external storage etc.

@Ympker seller was piospartslap on ebay, they do have a website as well: https://www.piospartslap.de/Fujitsu-Futro-S740-ThinClient-Intel-J4105-150GHz-8GB-16GB-SSD-ohne-Fuss-mit-Netzteil - no idea if those will ever come back though

there is quite a lot of stuff comparable, you always want to check what CPU is in there and what the benchmark of that (I usually just look up the passmark score to get an idea)

How bad exactly was the fan noise of that one?

Falzo · February 2023

@Ympker said: How bad exactly was the fan noise of that one?

you can sleep on it. no noise at all, because:

AuroraZero · February 2023

@Falzo said:

@Ympker said: How bad exactly was the fan noise of that one?

you can sleep on it. no noise at all, because:

Hell that's hot!!!

cpsd · February 2023

@Falzo said:

@Ympker seller was piospartslap on ebay, they do have a website as well: https://www.piospartslap.de/Fujitsu-Futro-S740-ThinClient-Intel-J4105-150GHz-8GB-16GB-SSD-ohne-Fuss-mit-Netzteil - no idea if those will ever come back though

I don't need anything but those prices/products are tempting

Ympker · February 2023

@cpsd said:

@Falzo said:

@Ympker seller was piospartslap on ebay, they do have a website as well: https://www.piospartslap.de/Fujitsu-Futro-S740-ThinClient-Intel-J4105-150GHz-8GB-16GB-SSD-ohne-Fuss-mit-Netzteil - no idea if those will ever come back though

I don't need anything but those prices/products are tempting

Come on, I know you want one

root · February 2023

@Falzo said:

@Ympker said: How bad exactly was the fan noise of that one?

you can sleep on it. no noise at all, because:

Ympker · February 2023

@Falzo beat me to it.
The one he mentioned just came back in stock. Ordered one for 50€ (excl shipping)

https://www.piospartslap.de/Fujitsu-Futro-S740-ThinClient-Intel-J4105-150GHz-8GB-16GB-SSD-Incl-Fuss-Netzteil

Refurbished Server/Mini PC below 100€ - How low do I want to go in CPU score?

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