Here’s what I currently have:
- Ryzen 1700 w/ 16GB RAM
- GTX 750 ti
- 1x SATA SSD - 120GB, currently use <50GB
- 2x 8TB SATA HDD
- runs openSUSE Leap, considering switch to microOS
And main services I run (total disk usage for OS+services - data is :
- NextCloud - possibly switch to ownCloud infinite scale
- Jellyfin - transcoding is nice to have, but not required
- samba
- various small services (Unifi Controller, vaultwarden, etc)
And services I plan to run:
- CI/CD for Rust projects - infrequent builds
- HomeAssistant
- maybe speech to text? I’m looking to build an Alexa replacement
- Minecraft server - small scale, only like 2-3 players, very few mods
HW wishlist:
- 16GB RAM - 8GB may be a little low longer term
- 4x SATA - may add 2 more HDDs
- m.2 - replace my SATA SSD; ideally 2x for RAID, but I can do backups; performance isn’t the concern here (1x sata + PCIe would work)
- dual NIC - not required, but would simplify router config for private network; could use USB to Eth dongle, this is just for security cameras and whatnot
- very small - mini-ITX at the largest; I want to shove this under my bed
- very quiet
- very low power - my Ryzen 1700 is overkill, this is mostly for the “quiet” req, but also paying less is nice
I’ve heard good things about N100 devices, but I haven’t seen anything w/ 4x SATA or an accessible PCIe for a SATA adapter.
The closest I’ve seen is a ZimaBlade, but I’m worried about:
- performance, especially as a CI server
- power supply - why couldn’t they just do regular USB-C?
- access to extra USB ports - its hidden in the case
I don’t need x86 for anything, ARM would be fine, but I’m having trouble finding anything with >8GB RAM and SATA/PCIe options are a bit… limited.
Anyway, thoughts?
Is your typical noise floor even under 20 dB? HDDs are also a lot louder than 5-10 dB, and manufacturers usually list dBA in their spec sheets, not dB.
A typical refrigerator is like 40dbA – 25dbA is ABSURDLY quiet. You’re not gonna hit that without a completely fanless system. If 25dbA is his hard cap, he can’t even be breathing in the same area as the computer, because that’s something like 28dbA…
I’m honestly not sure, I’m just pulling stuff from various online sources to get an estimate. This YouTube video measures noise from a single 7200 RPM WD Red drive, and I have 2x 5400 WD Red drives, so I’m guessing mine will be similar, if not a little quieter. I’d measure it myself, but it’s next to 2 other PCs and fan noise drowns it out.
Basically, I want it to work under my bed. It’s a large, thick bed (king size purple mattress; so basically foam), so I can stick it pretty far in to get some flexibility on what “quiet” means. We also aren’t particularly light sleepers, so our threshold is probably a little higher than others.
That said, I’m using the stock fan for my Ryzen 1700 (Wraith Spire I think?), and that’s way too loud for a bedroom (40dba-ish?), and I can’t really hear my drives over the fan unless I get really close. The spec on the drives say something like 20-30dba for my drives (I’m guessing that’s right next to the drive), and I think that’s quiet enough for my room, especially if I can dampen vibration a bit. But since the drives will probably spin down, I’m looking for fan noise around that level or lower, if I need a fan at all.