#Mini PC with HA

1 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

carmine lily
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Hey guys, I just found out about home assitant (too late)
I initially thought I would set it up on a raspberry pi, and then I saw that in the same price I can get a mini PC with much better specs
I thouht about using a mini PC to serve as a host for HA and also serve as a 24/7 local server (for straming, seld fev projects hosting etc)
does anyone have some experience with it?
if so does anyone have a recommendation about a mini pc for it?
looked into beelink s12 pro, and firebat t8 plus

thanks!

safe canopy
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minipcs are very popular. i myself plan to move my install to one soon (currently on a HA yellow)
a common approach is to install proxmox on the mini pc and then haos onto a vm, that way you can install another OS alongside it which gives you more flexibility in stuff you can host

crisp epoch
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I picked up a used Dell mini PC with an i5-9500t and I run proxmox on it. I have HA installed in a VM with USB passthrough for zwave and zigbee. I also have a number of other vms running on it for various other services. Do recommend, I use proxmox backup server to keep backups of all my VMs including HA,

keen hearth
# carmine lily Hey guys, I just found out about home assitant (too late) I initially thought I ...

I have a Beelink EQ12 Pro (very similar to the S12 Pro) and the T8 Plus, both pretty solid devices. The Beelink has a DIMM slot so you can upgrade the RAM, I believe the T8 is soldered onto the board. The Beelink has a standard NVMe m.2 2280 drive, but the slot is limited to only x1 PCIe lane. The T8 is SATA m.2 and the 2242 format so replacement is pricier. My EQ12 has dual Intel 2.5 NICs and the T8 has cheaper gigabit Realtek NICs. I also think the SSD in the T8 is dying so I have a replacement ready to swap whenever I get time.

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Either way I strongly echo the suggestions above to use Proxmox and virtualize it 🙂

safe canopy
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i have been looking at the new n150 based eq14. on the negative side its only got 1gbe. but the positives are the internal psu and dual m.2 slots which i am thinking i put a coral tpu into the 2nd one

carmine lily
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thanks for the detailed answers!
Im a software dev so Im familiar with code and dev but still new to this kind of area and would also want to use the opportunity to explore and learn some more (e.g proxmox 🙂 )
i think the beelink s12 pro is the sweet spot for budget to performance, so i might go for it
(around 210$ including import taxes, delivery etc)

safe canopy
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good luck with it!

keen hearth
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Internal PSU is very nice, I have so many damn power bricks

carmine lily
keen hearth
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There is practically no performance difference between the N100 and N150 anyway

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But if you can afford the difference I'd suggest the Beelink over the T8 wholeheartedly

safe canopy
keen hearth
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There are USB-C 2.5 adapters on Slickdeals day and night for like $15 USD

safe canopy
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yeah thats also a fair point. either way it only having 1gbe ports is not a deal breaker

carmine lily
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after somre reading, internal SPU is kinda nice tbh, not sure if worth the extra bucks, and I actually like having usb-c port but same with budget
can I ask what are you guys using this mini pc for except for running the haOS?
I want to get some ideas for future projects and start collecting some knowledge (hardware and software wise) 😛
currently s12 pro seems like the best option for me

keen hearth
carmine lily
keen hearth
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Congrats and sorry you picked a bad time to pick up this hobby

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Well, you've got some time until they learn how to crawl then all bets are off

carmine lily
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oh no, I thought it will get easier over time 😆