An old laptop became a 6W home server
A 2017 Dell XPS 13 was turned into a dedicated instead of being sold cheaply. A new low-power x86 ITX build or NAS-style setup would have cost about $500 to $800 just for the , memory, and case.
The laptop had an i5 chip and 8GB of memory, but its battery was dead, lasted under 3 minutes, and made local buyers offer only about $20. A wattmeter showed an average idle draw of 6.2W from the wall over a week.
The machine now runs with Immich, a local Postgres , and a large personal Python . Its internal storage was upgraded to a 4TB SSD, while the battery was dead and beginning to swell.
Key points
- A new low-power build can cost $500 to $800 before storage.
- A laptop with a failed battery can still work as a small always-on server.
- The Dell XPS 13 averaged 6.2W while idle at the wall.
- It runs , Immich, Postgres, and a Python .
- The storage was upgraded to a 4TB SSD, but the swelling battery is a real safety issue.