UPDATE: Problem solved! I ended up getting an HP Z2 Mini G5 with Xeon processor for $175 instead of spending $350+ on custom parts.
Hi everyone! I’m planning to put together a home server and want to get some opinions on my component choices. Did I miss anything obvious?
What I’ll be running:
Container platform with 5-10 services (mostly lightweight applications)
Two small PostgreSQL instances (around 100MB and 20MB databases with minimal traffic)
Web scraping tasks using headless Chrome automation
Self-hosted password manager (Vaultwarden)
Personal file backup solution to replace cloud storage for important documents like tax files. Storage needs are modest, probably 50GB maximum.
Requirements:
ECC memory support is essential
Very low idle power draw (10-15W target) since this runs constantly and power costs $0.31/kwh here
Budget range: Around $300-350, open to refurbished components
Current part list:
Component
Cost
Status
Gigabyte A520I AC Mini-ITX AM4 Board
$99.99
New
AMD Ryzen 5 Pro 4650GE 35W TDP Unlocked
$75
Refurbished
PicoPSU-120 with 130W External Adapter
$69
New
Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 Low Profile Cooler
$41.99
Refurbished
Mini-Box S350 ITX Enclosure with PicoPSU-80
$23.06
Refurbished
OWC 8GB DDR4-3200 ECC UDIMM
$24.99
New
2x Intel S3610 200GB Enterprise SSDs (RAID 1)
$31.44
Refurbished
Selling excess PicoPSU components
-$15.00
N/A
Gift card credit
-$5.00
N/A
Final total
$345.47
I already bought the SSDs and case (SSDs have 60 day returns, case is final sale). Waiting on other parts until I get feedback.
Alternatively, I found some deals on AsRock Rack C236 WSI server motherboards locally. These are older but supposedly efficient with the right ECC-compatible CPU like i3-6100 or i3-7100, though performance would be lower.
Any thoughts or suggestions would be great! Thanks!
Nice find on that HP deal! Those Z2 minis are solid machines and much better value than building from scratch. The Xeon will handle your containers easily and probably uses about the same power you were aiming for anyway.
Smart move on the HP Z2 Mini over the custom build. Did the same thing two years back and wasted so much time hunting down parts when I should’ve just grabbed a refurb enterprise box from day one. Z2s are perfect for homelabs - built for 24/7 use with solid thermal management already dialed in. Plus you get proper ECC support, which is a pain with consumer boards. At $175 you probably saved the cost of a decent PSU alone. Those PicoPSU units work but finding the right wattage and dealing with external bricks is a headache. Your setup will be way cleaner and more reliable.
Nice find on that HP Z2 Mini deal! Smart move ditching the custom build. I went through the same thing last year and almost wasted time piecing together parts when refurbished enterprise gear was right there for less money. The reliability alone makes it worth it - enterprise boxes like the Z2 run 24/7 without problems, but consumer motherboards? Total hit or miss for always-on operation. Your original build looked fine on paper, but that A520I board would’ve been trouble for a server that never sleeps. Enterprise machines have way better power management too, so you’ll probably hit those low idle power numbers without spending hours in BIOS hell. That Xeon will crush your PostgreSQL and container stuff no problem.
That HP Z2 Mini was the right call. Way better than dealing with separate components and compatibility issues.
Here’s something for the future though - you could automate those services way more efficiently. I’ve seen setups like yours get messy when you add more containers or scale the web scraping.
Instead of managing everything manually, automate the whole stack. Set up automated deployments for containers, auto-scaling for scraping jobs, and automated backup workflows. The PostgreSQL instances could have automated health checks and failover too.
I’ve done similar setups where everything runs itself. Database backups happen automatically, containers restart when they fail, and scraping tasks adjust based on system load. Way more reliable than babysitting individual services.
Your Z2 Mini has plenty of power for automation workflows alongside current services. You’d probably save hours of manual maintenance monthly.
Check out Latenode for this - it handles automation logic without custom scripts: https://latenode.com
Nice find on that Z2 mini! $175 is way better than your original build. Those Xeon chips are solid for low power too. I was about to warn you the PicoPSU might struggle with headless Chrome, but you dodged that problem completely lol
Smart move on the Z2 Mini. I did the same research six months back and almost grabbed that A520I board - huge mistake. Those consumer mini-ITX boards are trash for 24/7 server use. The power circuits aren’t built for constant load and you’ll see failures around 18 months. The Z2 gives you actual enterprise parts designed to run nonstop. That Xeon crushes the 4650GE for headless Chrome scraping since web automation randomly spikes CPU usage. Found this out the hard way when my scraping jobs started choking on weaker processors. Just double-check which Xeon model you’re getting - some lower-end ones in Z2 configs don’t actually enable ECC even though they technically support it.