NUC/SFF - Very Low Cost - Windows Box?

dlockers · 22 Oct 2021 at 20:30

Hi folks,

Apologies if this gets asked a lot (I did search) - a quick point to the relevant thread appreciated if there is something already.

I want to install Shinobi or BlueIris (DVR software) - I did buy a Raspberry Pi but I think I am going to keep this dedicated to my PiHole/AdGuard Home - on a small form factor device with an decent size HDD for a week or so's recording in reasonable quality.

I think a NUC or something with a bit more grunt is in order, possibly even for light-Plex duties.

Is there a low-cost starter kit that won't break the bank?

momo56 · 24 Oct 2021 at 14:19

Look for a dell optiplex unit on ebay. They are relatively small and some are as low as £50 for a quad core machine.

MagicBoy · 24 Oct 2021 at 14:32

Assuming you don't need something the size of a stack of CDs, that's a good shout. I've been using an OptiPlex 790 for HTPC purposes for a few years.

dlockers · 24 Oct 2021 at 20:21

momo56 said:
Look for a dell optiplex unit on ebay. They are relatively small and some are as low as £50 for a quad core machine.

MagicBoy said:
Assuming you don't need something the size of a stack of CDs, that's a good shout. I've been using an OptiPlex 790 for HTPC purposes for a few years.

Great shout, thanks guys. Is there an easy way to compare the processor options? I guess I don't need anything too crazy - I run an ESXi whitebox on a Xeon 1230 flawlessly - I imagine given the Optiplex 790 is a lot newer even an i3/i5 will be sufficient?

Mr Gimp · 24 Oct 2021 at 20:44

If you go for an Optiplex 790 USFF you'll be limited to 65w TDP processors, so something like the i7 2600S would be the beefiest CPU for that one

andy_mk3 · 24 Oct 2021 at 20:52

Remember the uSFF units won't have space for a 3.5" drive bay if that's what you were planning to use for your NVR.

I run a Dell 5050 SFF unit with a G4400 CPU. I was planning to upgrade to an i3 or i5 but the little G4400 has surprised me, running pfSense, Home Assistant and Unifi Video with 4 cameras recording 24/7 and it doesn't break a sweat. It idles at like 10-15w as well which is a bonus (measured as low as 9w in Windows 10 before installing ESXi etc).

My other machine which runs unRAID is a Dell 5070 SFF with an i7 9700 if you fancied a beefier machine. This is what I run my Plex and various other services on, other 30 docker containers and a a windows Server VM, it has more than enough CPU power.

I picked up the 5050 for around £80 I believe, which is a bargain. The 5070 was aboit £350 I believe due to the better model, cpu, ram etc. I checked on the Dell website and they were both still in warranty too

Between them and a 4-bay drive enclosure they run at 74w which is very acceptable to me, plus they're whisper quiet, the hard drives are the noisiest bit.

dlockers · 24 Oct 2021 at 21:39

Thanks @Mr Gimp and @andy_mk3 . I've sent a few cheeky offers out on eBay and spotted on Facebook marketplace a Dell 7010 with an Ivy Bridge Core i5/ 8Gb/ 500GB for £79 local which looks to be the winner.

nst68 · 5 Nov 2021 at 14:38

andy_mk3 said:
Remember the uSFF units won't have space for a 3.5" drive bay if that's what you were planning to use for your NVR.

I run a Dell 5050 SFF unit with a G4400 CPU. I was planning to upgrade to an i3 or i5 but the little G4400 has surprised me, running pfSense, Home Assistant and Unifi Video with 4 cameras recording 24/7 and it doesn't break a sweat. It idles at like 10-15w as well which is a bonus (measured as low as 9w in Windows 10 before installing ESXi etc).

My other machine which runs unRAID is a Dell 5070 SFF with an i7 9700 if you fancied a beefier machine. This is what I run my Plex and various other services on, other 30 docker containers and a a windows Server VM, it has more than enough CPU power.

I picked up the 5050 for around £80 I believe, which is a bargain. The 5070 was aboit £350 I believe due to the better model, cpu, ram etc. I checked on the Dell website and they were both still in warranty too

Between them and a 4-bay drive enclosure they run at 74w which is very acceptable to me, plus they're whisper quiet, the hard drives are the noisiest bit.

@andy_mk3 on your 5050 do you run pfSense, Home Assistant and Unifi as VM's?

andy_mk3 · 5 Nov 2021 at 16:04

nst68 said:
@andy_mk3 on your 5050 do you run pfSense, Home Assistant and Unifi as VM's?

Yes that's right, running ESXi.

nst68 · 5 Nov 2021 at 16:20

andy_mk3 said:
Yes that's right, running ESXi.

Thanks, what's the memory and disk specs of the machine?

andy_mk3 · 5 Nov 2021 at 17:38

nst68 said:
Thanks, what's the memory and disk specs of the machine?

It came with 4GB so swapped in a 16GB kit. I think it has a 512gb nvme drive plus a 2TB WD Purple drive for the cctv.

Moving house soon and will have a big increase in Internet speed from 26mb to 500mb, so will have to see how the cpu handles that, but in theory it should be fine.

nst68 · 5 Nov 2021 at 20:56

andy_mk3 said:
It came with 4GB so swapped in a 16GB kit. I think it has a 512mb nvme drive plus a 2TB WD Purple drive for the cctv.

Moving house soon and will have a big increase in Internet speed from 26mb to 500mb, so will have to see how the cpu handles that, but in theory it should be fine.

Cheers