Thoughts on first time server build

[pbjay]

Wanting to launch a Proxmox home server for the following

• Jellyfin Media Server
• NAS via ZFS
• Home labs - various environments to learn different Linux distros, active directory scenarios and to learn docker
• Minecraft server
• Personal File Cloud i.e. NextCloud
• Bitwarden password manager locally instead of online

Note - I have decided not to go with ECC. I am prepared to set up a backs of my system. I do not have any "mission critical" data being stored on this server, hence not a necessity for me

Chosen Intel for QSV - shouldnt need a GPU as only 2 people in my house will be using this so the CPU should be enough. CPU was chosen largely due to the core count

Case: Jonsbo N4 MicroATX Desktop Case
MOBO: MAXSUN Challenger B760ITX D5 WIFI (mainly got it for the price - has enough sata ports for now -
CPU: Intel Core i5-13400 2.5 GHz 10-Core (wanted at least 10 cores for all VM/containers)
NVME: Western Digital Black SN770 500 GB (only for Promox)
SSD: Orico Y-20 2 TB 2.5" (Used to install Jellyfin, docker and all other applications)
Mass Storage: x3 Western Digital Ultrastar DC HC550 14 TB 3.5" (Pulled HDDs)
PSU: Corsair SF750 (2024)

Budget under 2k AUD which this is just.

https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/9Ht7HW

 

[arghdubya]

I could probably do this with a $300 used HP prodesk G4 G5 MT.
(well the (3) 3.5" drives are a prob)
minecraft might see the only benefit with your overpowered CPU (for this use case)
FYI, cores are not dedicated to VMs - they can be overprovisioned and are shared. so a 2 core cpu can run 3, 4, 10 VMs etc

RAM is usually more a consideration than CPU; since it cannot be 'shared'

but these discussions are like someone buying a Porsche because they don't want ice cream to melt on the way home. almost any other decent car is fast enough unless you're >30min on the autobahn, but if the person feels better buying a Porsche and has the money - then sure it works too.

 

[pbjay]

I could probably do this with a $300 used HP prodesk G4 G5 MT.
(well the (3) 3.5" drives are a prob)
minecraft might see the only benefit with your overpowered CPU (for this use case)
FYI, cores are not dedicated to VMs - they can be overprovisioned and are shared. so a 2 core cpu can run 3, 4, 10 VMs etc

RAM is usually more a consideration than CPU; since it cannot be 'shared'

but these discussions are like someone buying a Porsche because they don't want ice cream to melt on the way home. almost any other decent car is fast enough unless you're >30min on the autobahn, but if the person feels better buying a Porsche and has the money - then sure it works too

I am still a rookie when it comes to the this. I am more than down to spend less on a CPU. What would you recommend

 

[UdoB]

MOBO: MAXSUN Challenger B760ITX D5 WIFI (mainly got it for the price - has enough sata ports for now -
CPU: Intel Core i5-13400 2.5 GHz 10-Core (wanted at least 10 cores for all VM/containers)

The motherboard is overkill; for several years now I always went with AMD. Probably a Ryzen 5 would be sufficient. (Sorry, no hard evidence and no specific recommendation.)

NVME: Western Digital Black SN770 500 GB (only for Promox)
SSD: Orico Y-20 2 TB 2.5" (Used to install Jellyfin, docker and all other applications)

Why? Yes, separating OS from data is a good idea. But I suspect you are going w/o redundany? Not good...

Mass Storage: x3 Western Digital Ultrastar DC HC550 14 TB 3.5" (Pulled HDDs)

You are building a threefold mirror from that, right? In any case: add a (mirrored) Special Device, consisting of two (or more) fast SSDs/NVMe; the capacity may be as small as 1 percent of the data capacity.

Whatever you do: buy the double amount of RAM. While you did not mention the planned amount: RAM is always the limiting factor for implementing additional fancy VMs, at least in my world.

Have fun!

PS: please do not forget to plan and build a backup system, preferable a PBS: https://pbs.proxmox.com/docs/installation.html#recommended-server-system-requirements

 

[arghdubya]

PB&jay
so on the CPU almost anything modern will work. To me, modern is 8th. gen intel (younger people here will disagree) and up or AMD Zen1 and up. although intel trancodes way better if you are ok with 'quicksync quality'. if you really care about x265 quicksync then maybe cpus with Iris Xe Graphics, but 7th gen intel and up transcodes x265

a 500gb proxmox boot drive and a 2tb docker/VM drive is overkill. like Udo said running a zfs mirror would be better, maybe of combined os/docker/VM. linux distros for playing really don't use that much space either (esp since ZFS will compress them), but if you're worried then a 1tb ssd mirror. you could mirror nvme and ssd- not optimal but not noticeable in your use case.
SSDs are quite reliable nowadays IMO. if you grab copies of your custom configs and the docker compose files, etc. you could just easily rebuild if a rare failure happens. (I don't know how much space minecraft needs - prob not much)

one thing is that the system you spec'd is mostly fine (where RAM?) (the 13400 is the best value, I'd not change that for new.) low idle with the efficiency cores. altho I'd want ddr4 for value and 4 slots, but itx is usually 2 slots.

if you're a rookie I'd want a starter system so you'd know the limits of hardware and where to put the money next or where to save.

Going new, maybe your system is fine;
--but there are so many deals on used... and they would have larger cases like a old HP Z2 G4 or G5 Tower . can hold 4 (maybe 5) 3.5" drives, 2 M2 2280, 2 16x PCIe for more 2280s if you want. 4 ddr4 RAM slots. (and should be quiet). i5 8500 is 6 cores and would be the minimum cpu I'd recommend. with cpu you'd be around $300 a heck of a value, you can go 64gb ram for $150 or less. but I'm old and cheap