I’ve been looking for an ideal Homelab server for a while. Something that’s not too big but not too simple, something that can power many VMs in my Proxmox but does not sound like a jet engine. Something that could be potentially used even in the apartment and is not too noisy and big. Ideally, I would like to install something with more than 64GB of memory and add more than 2 SSDs.
Recently I found a device that has a lot of these qualities: Minisforum MS-01. It has a decent 13th Core i9 13900H Processor with 14C/20T, 24MB Cache, up to 5.4GHz, and can have up to 64 GB of DDR5 memory officially (and looks like it’s possible it can support 96GB unofficially, unconfirmed). Also, it has 2x 10Gbps SFP+ and 2x 2.5G RJ45 (one of which can be used as IPMI for remote management). Also, you can install up to 3x M.2 NVME SSDs (one of which could be U.2 NVME SSD). This looks almost perfect, but for some reason, I am still not convinced. Maybe if I get at least one more NVME, it would be an easier choice for me. And today, I found an interesting video from NASCompares: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MDzL2mxYcY, where he showcases an official (not yet released) upgrade card for this mini PC, which can transform 3xM.2 NVME into 6xM.2 NVME. Pretty exciting solution, and I’m waiting to see this in store.
Another great review of MS-01 (without the 6xSSD card) from Hardware Haven on YouTube
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