hp microserver replacement advice

[encephalopathy]

i currently have a n54 microserver acting as a download box running windows. it really struggles especially if i have to unpack stuff. It originally was my storage box but i have moved onto a dedicated NAS (ugreen 4800). It is time to retire it!

What should i go for second hand, processor/mobo and ram-wise to comfortably process moderate workloads? i5,? i7? etc
Ideally need space for at least 3x3.5" hdd

thanks

 

[Avalon]

Do you actually need anything? Surely you would have moved this workload over to the UGreen, it supports most of the standard download options along with docker and has a much more modern and capable CPU and easy web management/updates.

With the right workloads (eg pure storage), a N54L can still potentially be useful, but Windows is a horrible OS choice, something Linux based is your best bet. General advice would be to put the compute side on a cheap 8th gen or newer USFF, they are effectively cheaper and more functional than a Pi, and better specified/have SSD’s for the most part, various ‘1 click installer’ distro’s will make your life easy doing this such as Casa.OS, and then just have it dump the output where you want. Before you go down that rabbit hole, consider if your storage is the same age as your N54L (2-4TB), people junk drives with bigger capacities at this point, buying a larger drive for the UGreen and using it as intended is potentially a much more efficient use of your money.