Right now I use an old Dell compaq (i3 3220, 12GB RAM, small SSD + 2TB HDD)
I use it for Owncloud, game hosting and automatic media management.
I want to upgrade to something more solid and with parity so I can actually use it for more than movies that I would be sad when lost but nothing world-ending. Plan is to use TrueNAS and throw maybe 4x 8TB drives in there with raidz1 with thy ability to add more later. And move all my docker stacks there.
I found a local seller of old refurbished servers and the prices and capabilities look very good but I want to go through reddit homelab experts first.
some of the good looking listings listings: (Prices converted from CZK to EUR)
- Dell PowerEdge R610 12-Core 2.26 GHz Low Power ( 2x 6-Core L5640 | 8 GB | 6x SFF | 6/I | iDRAC6 | 4x 1Gb Ethernet ) - 74€
- IBM System x3630 M3 12-Core 2.26 GHz Low Power ( 2x 6-Core L5640 | 16+ GB | 14 disků 3.5" | ServeRAID M5015 | IMM port | 2x 1Gb Ethernet ) - 102€
- Dell PowerEdge R620 12-Core 2.00 GHz Low Power ( 2x 6-Core E5-2630L | 16+ GB RAM | 8/10 disků 2.5" | 1Gb/10Gb | Ethernet/SFP+ ) - 139€
- Dell PowerEdge R510 12-Core 2.27 GHz Low Power ( 2x 6-Core Intel L5640 | 16 GB | 12x LFF | H700 | iDRAC6 | 2x 1Gb Ethernet ) - 167€
- Dell PowerEdge R620 v2 12-Core 2.40 GHz Low Power ( 2x 6-Core E5-2630Lv2 | 16+ GB RAM | 8/10 disků 2.5" | 1Gb/10Gb | Ethernet/SFP+ ) - 198€
and many, many more (you can check the link above).
Big plus is most of them have 2 year warranty.
Questions:
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Are they worth it? Can I find something better elsewhere?
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power consumption is bad right? :D. Could I turn one CPU off or take one out entirely?
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noise - can the fans be adjusted so it's actually usable somewhere where people live. Or can I upgrade the fans to something more manageable?
If they have DDR3 RAM, I personally wouldn't use them Strictly for performance understandings. This being they would struggle to keep up with any more modern chip you can get that does support DDR4/DDR5 for a decent price.
That being said, if you need a server to run some basic tasks. You could do worse, but I wouldn't say I suggest it.
If I were using that site personally and looking I would look more towards the HP DL380 G9 for about $500. But anything from that site is going to SUCK when it comes to sound. Not something you want in a room where you want it to be quiet. Mine is in my office and makes a decent but not unbearable sound.