Homelabber asks: do old monster servers still make sense vs mini PCs?
A homelab user describes losing interest in collecting big used s like the Dell R730, which they used to find fascinating for their single-CPU, many-RAM-slot design. The reason: today's mini PCs, even a basic i3 desktop, now beat those old servers on several tasks thanks to much stronger per-core (IPC).
Mini PCs are also far more power-efficient and much quieter, so the poster no longer sees a reason to seek out old s, though they're not criticizing people who already run them — they're just curious what those owners actually use them for. Their current setup includes a Proxmox box (i7-9700, 16GB DDR4, 256GB SSD), an Ubuntu AI training server (Ryzen 7 3700X, 32GB DDR4, 512GB SSD, RTX 4080 16GB VRAM), a (8GB) as , and a cheap 24-port switch.
Key points
- Poster lost interest in collecting old s like the Dell R730 after finding them power-hungry and underwhelming
- Modern mini PCs, even i3 models, now beat old multi-CPU servers on several tasks thanks to better per-core (IPC)
- Mini PCs are far more power-efficient and quieter than old s
- Current setup: Proxmox (i7-9700), an AI training server (Ryzen 7 3700X + RTX 4080), a , and a 24-port switch