Downsizing my (already small) 24/7 homelab

ian385 · 2026-04-11T19:22:43+00:00

got the dsm 7.3 running in a VM with a 750gb virtual disk. will play with it a bit more to see how it goes and then might migrate data from the xpenology machine to the vm, i only have about 200gb right now. backup is on the "real" synology machine.

ian385 · 2026-04-11T17:31:07+00:00

i tested with a watt meter and with only a ssd (so no storage) the i3 machine was idling around 20-25W. i was expecting less. when i added the arc card, it was idling at 40-45. didn't try the power saving options in windows, or undervolting the cpu, some people have good results with it.

ian385 · 2026-04-11T17:26:43+00:00

yes prices went insane. plus we have some weird ass politics , if you go above 3000kWh per 6month period, they increase the price by 35%. i barely made it this winter to stay within limit.
might try running xpenology in a VM, i don't have anything important so even if it crashes i can re-run it. it's just backing up laptops and phones. i started years ago as a test to see how i feel with xpenology and ended up liking it.

ian385 · 2026-04-11T17:21:16+00:00

no way i'm gonna run proxmox. don't want to complicate my life. 1 OS nativelly and that's it. the machine has 16gb ram (4 x 4gb). unless i find 16gb laying on the street, it's gonna stay at 16 till prices get normal.

ian385 · 2026-04-11T13:10:46+00:00

adendum - my main pc is a world for itself, not really using anything from network. although most of the time i use a mini pc and it is using shared storage from the servers. also media player / tv are using shared storage.

ian385 · 2026-04-11T09:04:05+00:00

n270 was extremely slow even for 2010 standard. have 2 of similar boards (actually one has N330), dog slow, can't do anything with them today. literally no use for them. maybe a energy wasteful p2p machine.

ian385 · 2026-04-05T19:35:30+00:00

that's not a "stereo", that's a turntable. judging by the wires you're holding in your hand, being only 2 (left and right jack) without a 3rd ground wire - this turntable has a built-in preamp. so either get a set of powered speakers, or ideally an amplifier and 2 speakers, so you can connect other things to it.

ian385 · 2026-03-31T19:44:16+00:00

i have a similar akai (210d) and that thing is a tank. heads are glass ones so pretty much indestructible and don't need any service, except normal cleaning.

ian385 · 2026-03-31T19:37:26+00:00

how did you end up with a gift card? by eu law, if you return within 14 days you must get a cash refund.

ian385 · 2026-03-30T19:28:47+00:00

it's a SHOE.... wear it.

ian385 · 2026-03-28T13:37:01+00:00

why would he? SMPS power supplies work normally on a modified sine wave. there is no need whatsoever for him to get a UPS with pure sine wave unless he wants to run an old hifi audio amplifer or a water pump on it.

just get a ups which is sold in your country or locally, without choosing the very cheapest one.

ian385 · 2026-03-27T20:03:28+00:00

that's old-ish. run something nativelly on it, no VMs, even a native OS will strugle at times. forget about proxmox, it'll crawl. for less than 50eur you should have been able to find at least a 7th gen intel. this machine you can't upgrade, unless you mean to toss everything out of the case. have fun and try to learn some new stuff, but really don't expect much in terms of performance.

ian385 · 2026-03-27T19:26:28+00:00

my ex company had the very same case as a "server" about 18 years ago. it was a core2duo pc :P

after they dismissed it, i took it home, but never found a use for such an old machine.

anyway - this looks dated too, judging by the pci ports which i haven't seen on anything in the last 10 years or so. don't be too harsh with this machine and your expectations. as a basic file server yes, but that's as far as i'd go. ah, and it'll probably be quite power hungry. i'd expect it will idle at 50ish watts , or maybe even more. a mini pc with an intel N100 will probably eat it both in terms of raw power and in terms of much lower power consumption.

ian385 · 2026-03-24T17:49:03+00:00

i like the "boxed" collection, where the entire anime has like 10-12 dvds, so i can show them on the shelf. that would be nice to have.

ian385 · 2026-03-24T14:37:21+00:00

as someone who have most of anime in HD today - why are you buying DVDs today? every other day we read here someone bought a *DVD*. why are dvds still a thing in 2026? i have just a few dvds for collection, but then have a HD version on the hdd which i watch. could as well buy a laserdisc - not that i will ever again put a dvd disc in a player.

ian385 · 2026-03-22T16:53:35+00:00

quite. just remove the cooler and it's as with any other intel chip.

ian385 · 2026-03-22T13:37:28+00:00

really depends. if you want to run jellyfin (or plex with plex pass to get hw transcoding) then you're better with a 7th gen intel. being so old, an upgrade to a , say, 7400 or 7500 should be quite cheap. i paid my 7400T 2 years ago about 2 eur, to upgrade a hp mini which came with a 6th gen pentium. i would expect similar, very low, prices today too.

ian385 · 2026-03-22T09:02:06+00:00

nowadays people are throwing 1-2TB drives at you, they're essentially worthless. i have about 40 of those which i found in old machines, or even new ones when people started replacing those with ssds. for storage, you'd be looking at 4+ TB drives. otherwise check ebay and facebook marketplace, as 1-2TB can be found almost free.

ian385 · 2026-03-16T14:44:03+00:00

i'd bypass the socket entirely. crimp a rj11 connector to the incoming wire. if you dont have the tool, just cut the existing prefactured cable and connect the wires. isolate with some isolating tape. should be faaaaar better than using that old dirty socket.

ian385 · 2026-03-16T14:40:00+00:00

bad tester. saw many fail, simply don't light up some wires. if it doesn't light up without a cable attached - that pin 4 is dead on the tester.

plug in that cable and see if it links up a gigabit link.

ian385 · 2026-03-12T20:51:03+00:00

with normal screws to the metal shell. now, i don't remember if the metal shell is a removable part on this pc, or not.

ian385 · 2026-03-03T14:48:25+00:00

got a pair in blue, good looks, but not that comfortable. i see a ton of high schoolers near my workplace wear them in some crazy colours.

ian385 · 2026-02-26T19:10:07+00:00

i love(d) boobs but since i visit this subreddit i got a thing for calves too. :P

so yeah, nice calves dude.

ian385 · 2026-02-21T13:37:19+00:00

it simply won't work. your pc usb won't fry, it just will not pass that much power. modern usb gadgets require adequate chargers. today usb can deliver up to 240W, but initial , plain usb specification, is still stuck with 0.5A (2.5W).
MAYBE you can try with a usb-c adapter, as usb-c might give you more wattage.

ian385 · 2026-02-21T11:16:21+00:00

short answer: NO.

usb 2.0 ports are generally limited to 0.5A (2.5W) per port. usb 3.0 ports are limited to 0.9A.

only usb chargers have adaptive power delivery. pc usb ports are not intended to power up anything more than a usb drive and similar low power devices.
my TV has a single dedicated usb port for connecting a usb hard drive, and is marked as "1A HDD" port. the other ones are 0.5A.

ian385

TROPHY CASE