Low Cost Mini PCs

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Overview & Use Cases

  • Tool aggregates low-cost mini PCs from eBay into a dense, sortable table; many find it far easier than raw eBay for hunting lab servers, home servers, HTPCs, light desktops, or routers.
  • Common target uses: Proxmox/virtualization hosts, Jellyfin/Plex media servers, NAS, Docker hosts, home routers/firewalls, HTPCs (including 4K playback), and general-purpose desktops.

Site Feedback & Feature Requests

  • Strong demand for:
    • Location filters: marketplace (ebay.de, .co.uk, .es, .com.au, etc.) and especially item location + shipping cost integration.
    • CPU-related filters: architecture (x86/ARM), Intel vs AMD, CPU generation, T-series, core count, vPro/AMT, passmark/Geekbench, price/performance and perf/Watt.
    • Keyword filters (already added) for things like NVMe, N100, specific models, ECC, fanless, etc.
    • URL-encoded state for sharing/bookmarking configurations (added).
    • Columns for power usage, noise, external I/O (USB-C power/video, eSATA), PCIe presence, and possibly 4K decode capability.
  • Some want links to open in new tabs to avoid losing scroll/filter state; others prefer default behavior. Author changed to new-tab links.
  • Suggestions to add non-eBay sources (AliExpress, refurbishers, local EU classifieds) and possibly open the model list on GitHub for community curation.

Power Consumption & Cost Trade-offs

  • Large subthread debates electricity cost vs upfront price:
    • Rules of thumb: ~$1–2/year per Watt at 24/7 depending on kWh price; 20–50 W savings can pay for hardware over a few years.
    • Idle power is more important than TDP, especially for always-on home servers; many enterprise mini PCs idle around 5–15 W.
    • Measurements show some NUCs and mini PCs idling at 1–12 W; others caution TDP and spec sheets are poor predictors.
    • Some prefer newer N100/N305 boxes; others argue used enterprise mini PCs match or beat them in idle power and quality.

Mini PCs vs Alternatives

  • Many compare mini PCs favorably to:
    • Raspberry Pis and other SBCs (more RAM, storage, and performance, often similar or slightly higher power; GPIO and extreme low power remain Pi advantages).
    • Old SFF desktops/workstations (more PCIe and expansion, but bigger, louder, higher idle power).
    • Cheap used laptops, especially with damaged screens, which offer built-in UPS and better mobile CPUs.

Brands, Models & Buying Tips

  • Frequent mentions of Dell Optiplex/EliteDesk/ThinkCentre “tiny/micro” lines as excellent value, plus Chinese brands (Beelink, Minisforum, GMKtec, N-series boxes, etc.) with mixed but often positive reports.
  • Calls to include Fujitsu and fanless firewall-style appliances; note that AMD mini PCs and some popular brands are underrepresented due to search patterns.
  • Multiple reminders to watch for:
    • Variant listings where the shown price is for the lowest-spec option.
    • Shipping that can dwarf item price, especially outside the US.
    • BIOS quirks, limited upgrade paths (e.g., Wi-Fi whitelists), and sparse data on ECC or coreboot support.