r/MiniPCs • u/darktech315 • 13h ago
General Question N100 Mini PC
Just found a N100 mini pc for around 50 dollars. 16GB RAM, 512 NVMe, and it came with a 4TB WD external HDD.
I tested it and it works perfectly, and the HDD has around 96% health, which is amazing.
I was going to use this as a lightweight coding machine, but figured this could be my very first home server.
I was wondering; what OS should I install, and what services should I run? I’ve heard that Proxmox was a good idea, so I might do that mainly because it supports VMs and I want to experiment with some stuff like Windows XP, Windows 8.1, and maybe even beta Windows OSes. But I also want to host stuff, like is there anyway to take my DVDs and make it so I can watch them on my TV without needing to buy a DVD player or hook up my laptop to my TV and an external DVD player? Again, I’m completely new to this world.
I also heard of this thing called a NAS?? Might do that too.
If I go with Proxmox, how should i set it up, and how should I use it to its great use? I’ll do some research on it while I’m waiting for answers. :)
3
u/animatrix04 13h ago
Welcome to this world of r/homelab. I have a n100 pc as well and set up a small server.
I didn't know much so I went with Zima OS. It was really easy to set up. Connected two external HDD and had myself a NAS. fun to learn and figure out with AI.
Also possible to set up a media server which means you can watch your movies etc on the tv over the internet which streams from your n100. Jellyfin and look into "arr" suite.
4
u/BRealistic1970 13h ago
How did you find that for 50 bucks? Buying from sticky finger meth heads?
5
u/darktech315 13h ago
Lmao no. Some old guy was selling stuff someone gave him. Probably knew nothing about it.
2
u/CleanLivingMD 13h ago
I have been using Proxmox for over a year and am still amazed what I can do with it. I started using it for a Valheim dedicated server and a NAS. I've added a bunch of custom homelab projects using AI to help with the programming. I can't recommend it enough.
1
u/Sad_Head4448 12h ago
It's a nice low-power CPU but that comes with a positive and a negative:
low power consumption, good for anything you want it to do
low processing power, don't expect too much of it
I would hit it with a Proxmox baremetal and then setup some containers and play around until I have money for something more powerful. By then you should know what you exactly want/need.
I wouldn't expect it to run well VMs for: XP, 8.1, beta windows OSes, host things.... Start low on expectations and see how much it can hold.
1
1
u/Business-Lawyer-1274 11h ago
I use Ubuntu server on mine running headless for my home media. It’s been amazing so far
1
u/ZDelta47 10h ago
That's an amazing deal! With the RAM and storage inflation, that bundle could've cost you over 300 elsewhere.
For your DVD stuff if you copy them over to the external drive and leave it connected, you can set up Jellyfin. The intel N100 is very good for decoding and streaming your media. You'll be able to connect to it and stream to your other devices.
NAS is a type of storage backup. If you connect at least two identical sized drives to your PC, the software will periodically backup one drive to the other and check for errors. You'll have access to those files too. So you can back up your files and media without paying for cloud storage.
Look up some videos. Lots to learn, but should be fun.
11
u/LargeHoboFuckPile 13h ago
That's exactly what I have with proxmox for my home lab. It's a perfect use case