I’m considering setting up a home lab and truly self-hosting my own services. Unfortunately, my budget is limited to around $100-$150. I’m wondering if the HP Elitedesk mini PC is suitable for this purpose. I’m particularly looking at the HP Elitedesk 800 G3 or G5 models. Unfortunately, finding these devices in Dhaka has been challenging. So far, I’ve found a G3 on bikroy.com, but it comes with a 6th gen i7 CPU.
Edit: I ended up getting Elitedesk 800 G5 with i7 9th Gen CPU, 32 GB (Kingston) and 1 TB Nvme (a Chinese brand called Kingspec). I’ll get a new ssd later. The price was 35k BDT ($300 approx). The bios was locked. But I managed to unlock it by booting without cmos.
#homelab #pc #selfhosting #selfhosted #linux #server #proxmox #hp #elitdesk
Oh god, don’t waste your money on a mini PC unless you specifically have a reason to get something small.
You’re literally paying more for worse hardware because of the form factor.
Instead, try getting a used Dell Optiplex. You can buy them at walmart for under $100.
Also, don’t kid yourself into thinking your server is going to be more popular than it is. If it’s just for you, then there’s no way you’re going to exhaust its resources unless you’re specifically trying to.
@shreyan I’m getting a used Elitedesk 800 G5. Is that a bad idea?
Try searching for dell optiplexes on ebay and see if any of them suit your needs for a better price.
If you don’t need something with a small form, then don’t get it. You end up paying more for less.