Small energy efficient mini PC advice

[Whiffle]

I am going to be using mine as a headless Linux server, so this sounds like an absolutely perfect fit. With the even lower power of the N100 chip, I am hoping that it will costs next to nothing to run as well, given that it will be on 24/7.

I will report back, with an update, just to confirm whether it was indeed a good purchase or not.

 

[Cyber-Mav]

Assuming it performs ok, the article I linked says it struggled to decode 4k and the GPU was under provisioned. Might be more efficient with AV1, not sure.

which article is this send link

 

[LuckyBenski]

N95 looks like an interesting CPU that might be a second choice bit of silicon - have a look at this article and specifically the comments.

Mini PC With Off-Roadmap Intel Processor N95 Chip Appears at Retail

Alder Lake architecture N95 chip is found in a sub-$200 mini PC.

www.tomshardware.com

It may be that the machine using the N95 is just poorly put together but I'd definitely not assume it's a better CPU. The Amazon listing also isn't clear whether it's 8 or 16GB of memory and that kind of puts me off

Quoting on mobile has gone a bit naff. @Cyber-Mav

 

[Cyber-Mav]

thats just one guys comment. probably didnt have drivers installed or something. even older atoms have h264 video decode which you can force on with a browser extension. id be surprised if it could not do hardware video decode. does sound like user error.

 

[Timber]

I know this isn't quite the thread for it but I'm starting to think these 'mini' PCs might be the future for me.

Last November I purchased the Beelink U59 Pro (N5105/16GB RAM/500 M.2 SSD) and paired it with a Crucial BX500 1TB 2.5" SSD in the internal 2.5" slot. Apart from a hiccup running OMV (which whilst really great piece of software was buggy for me) has been stellar running Ubuntu Server 22.04 for the last 3 months. I don't know how reliability or durability holds up but we shall see. Basically silent unless you reboot it and seems to be really solid. One thing I do like about the U59 Pro is the dual network ports, as I've had a faulty one of these on another PC motherboard before.

That S12 Pro looks to be a bargain too.

Last year I also bought a full PC setup which whilst brilliant for what it is (I only really play old or indie PC games) I wonder if down the line a more power mini PC is the way to go.

 

[Whiffle]

I know this isn't quite the thread for it but I'm starting to think these 'mini' PCs might be the future for me.

Last November I purchased the Beelink U59 Pro (N5105/16GB RAM/500 M.2 SSD) and paired it with a Crucial BX500 1TB 2.5" SSD in the internal 2.5" slot. Apart from a hiccup running OMV (which whilst really great piece of software was buggy for me) has been stellar running Ubuntu Server 22.04 for the last 3 months. I don't know how reliability or durability holds up but we shall see. Basically silent unless you reboot it and seems to be really solid. One thing I do like about the U59 Pro is the dual network ports, as I've had a faulty one of these on another PC motherboard before.

That S12 Pro looks to be a bargain too.

Last year I also bought a full PC setup which whilst brilliant for what it is (I only really play old or indie PC games) I wonder if down the line a more power mini PC is the way to go.

Thanks for the heads up on this.

I have never had an issue with OMV but I have always run it on older hardware.

As it is based on Debian, which favours stability over being up-to-date with the latest tech, I am taking a bit of a punt that the S12 Pro will end up working.

If not, I might have to consider the Ubunutu Server route instead.

 

[Timber]

Thanks for the heads up on this.

I have never had an issue with OMV but I have always run it on older hardware.

As it is based on Debian, which favours stability over being up-to-date with the latest tech, I am taking a bit of a punt that the S12 Pro will end up working.

If not, I might have to consider the Ubunutu Server route instead.

I went with Ubuntu Server because I've run it before and its always been rock solid. Although I'm pretty lightweight in my usage and suspect I could get away with the RPi4.

OMV impressed me. I know it's just a pre-packaged Debian-based OS. But it is so easy and quick to have a server up and running. And I did like some of the add-ons which make potential Dockers redundant as you have the functionality baked-in. That said I kept getting browser errors and then when I shut down the server one day the actual front-end wouldn't restart even though the dockers were running and I could SSH to the machine. I did read through their forums and was slightly concerned by the number of similar threads. Might be hardware drivers as you say although there was the odd suggestion on those forums that bugs are creeping in more and more with OMV lately. Again may be just be noise from users have difficulties. Either way without being able to track down the cause I thought I'd just install Ubuntu Server. Which has been running for 3 months or so without skipping a beat.

Hopefully the S12 Pro will be fine and good luck. With the U59 Pro I also ran the included Windows 11 install for a few days just to make sure the machine worked and again was really impressed. Very capable for very little juice.

 

[Whiffle]

Sorry - me again.

Could do with some further advice on this.

I ordered my S12 Pro via Beelink's official site - £208 including free shipping.

I have just been informed that the carrier, DHL, have the device and will not be releasing it unless I pay an additional £52.60 in import tax.

What would you do (or do I have little choice but to drop my trousers and bend over)?

Feel a bit aggrieved as nothing was mentioned on the site, about additional fees, and I am now being asked to stump up another 25% on top of the price already paid.

Had I known that I would having paying £260.00 in total, this may well have changed what I ended up going for.

 

[Timber]

Sorry - me again.

Could do with some further advice on this.

I ordered my S12 Pro via Beelink's official site - £208 including free shipping....

Painful when that happens.

Personally I'd probably pay it. Wouldn't be happy but I'm not sure the alternative of sending it back would be worth the hassle.

I remember once buying a 3DS LL Famicom case for c.£20 and the thing ended up costing me £54 with admin and duty. Wasn't happy and moaned for days!

 

[Whiffle]

Painful when that happens.

Personally I'd probably pay it. Wouldn't be happy but I'm not sure the alternative of sending it back would be worth the hassle.

I remember once buying a 3DS LL Famicom case for c.£20 and the thing ended up costing me £54 with admin and duty. Wasn't happy and moaned for days!

Thank you.

Damn it - I have looked and it looks like it is really difficult to get this machine in the UK, anyway, so anywhere I do it buy will be subject to the 20% approx. tax.

Certainly going to be moaning about it for a few days, myself.

What worries me, now, is how to be sure that I never get caught out like this again. Do I have to e-mail, in advance, to start asking companies where a device is coming from and whether there will be any additional fees that I will be expected to pay?

 

[Rroff]

I know this isn't quite the thread for it but I'm starting to think these 'mini' PCs might be the future for me.

Last November I purchased the Beelink U59 Pro (N5105/16GB RAM/500 M.2 SSD) and paired it with a Crucial BX500 1TB 2.5" SSD in the internal 2.5" slot. Apart from a hiccup running OMV (which whilst really great piece of software was buggy for me) has been stellar running Ubuntu Server 22.04 for the last 3 months. I don't know how reliability or durability holds up but we shall see. Basically silent unless you reboot it and seems to be really solid. One thing I do like about the U59 Pro is the dual network ports, as I've had a faulty one of these on another PC motherboard before.

That S12 Pro looks to be a bargain too.

Last year I also bought a full PC setup which whilst brilliant for what it is (I only really play old or indie PC games) I wonder if down the line a more power mini PC is the way to go.

I've moved a lot of my network services, backup stuff, etc. to a MeLe PCG35 - can get idle wattage down to about 2 watt though probably averages more like 5-7 watt with Windows 10 on there still fairly low though and capable of many tasks even moderate desktop stuff though I don't use it for that.

 

[Timber]

Thank you.

No worries. Without knowing the exacting details and trying to put 2+2 together I suspect you've paid the same as the 'UK landed' price from any reseller. Ideally any website should be clear on that stuff although as you say maybe sometimes a little research, forum question or social media post to clarify is required. Which isn't ideal.

 

[Cyber-Mav]

Also have a look at thin clients. Stuff like the dell wyse series.
Iv got a wyse 5010 that needs testing just waiting on a power supply to arrive

 

[Whiffle]

Credit where credit due - I contacted Beelink and they offered to reimburse me for 50% of the import tax.

Got the money within 24 hours, so much better outcome - shall just make sure to be a bit more careful in the future.

 

[LuckyBenski]

Credit where credit due - I contacted Beelink and they offered to reimburse me for 50% of the import tax.

Got the money within 24 hours, so much better outcome - shall just make sure to be a bit more careful in the future.

Lucky - it wasn't their responsibility to cover this so it's nice of them to lose cash over it.

What worries me, now, is how to be sure that I never get caught out like this again. Do I have to e-mail, in advance, to start asking companies where a device is coming from and whether there will be any additional fees that I will be expected to pay?

It's on you to know your country's import policy and the financial responsibility isn't theirs it's yours so - don't ask companies. Just remember importing stuff gets taxed and that can negate benefits of ordering from abroad

 

[Pickers]

@Whiffle - how is this machine coping?

I have HA on a 3b+ and pihole on two other older pi's and like you I am thinking of consolidating these.

I'm a bit of a n00b (ok total n00b) with docker containers and virtual machines and the like. But I am willing to learn if this saves me pi hassle, gains me more HA stability, speed and unlocks a few extra Ethernet ports!!

 

[Whiffle]

@Whiffle - how is this machine coping?

I have HA on a 3b+ and pihole on two other older pi's and like you I am thinking of consolidating these.

I'm a bit of a n00b (ok total n00b) with docker containers and virtual machines and the like. But I am willing to learn if this saves me pi hassle, gains me more HA stability, speed and unlocks a few extra Ethernet ports!!

Hi Pickers - best upgrade I have made, to be honest.

The S12 has never crashed, is silent and everything on it is lightning quick.

I have even stuck on a few extra dockers, since, and they again never slow ti down.

Could not recommend enough.

I am by no means an expert but feel free to let me know if I can help in any way, with your setup.

 

[Pickers]

Ah rather than litter this thread I was going to start a convo with you, but you have this turned off?

It seems you can get a s12 pro for just less than £180 which makes it more appealing...

 

[Pickers]

An alternative is to consolidate the HA and pihole to run in docker/VMs on my gen8 microserver running Unraid.

Performance and practicality wise can anyone suggest if this is a good move?
I've upgraded the ram to max of 16gb but have the standard G1610T CPU.
I have an SSD cache pool.

 

[Pickers]

Hi Pickers - best upgrade I have made, to be honest.

The S12 has never crashed, is silent and everything on it is lightning quick.

I have even stuck on a few extra dockers, since, and they again never slow ti down.

Could not recommend enough.

I am by no means an expert but feel free to let me know if I can help in any way, with your setup.

What's the power draw? (Do you have a smart plug or power monitor?)