Hi all,
See previous post for context, still trying to make up my mind on homelab hardware: https://www.reddit.com/r/homelab/s/GWCSZi7io2
Are there any downsides to using an Inspiron model as compute for a homelab versus as an Optiplex (which is more commonly used I think). It will be for proxmox running Plex, Home Assistant, plus 20/30-ish docker containers, etc to supplement a Synology NAS.
The options I am looking at are
Inspiron 3020 Small Desktop £534
i7 13700 16GB RAM 512GB SSD Specs
i5 13500 16GB RAM 512GB SSD Specs
The upsides of the Optiplex Model are 3x SATA3 ports vs. one SATA2 and one SATA3, full height cards, and an extra 1x PCIe slot (2 vs. 1). Are there any other upsides other than the cheaper price that I am missing?
I would intend to get a 64GB RAM kit for either of these options.
Also open to other suggestions with similarish specs.
Go to Dell’s Web site, find service manuals for both models and see which fits your plans better. Down to the number of available SATA ports and the specs of the PCI slots.
Also, Dell’s top desktop line for business is Precision. There’s also XPS, but these days, it’s mostly Precision in a slightly fancier case… Precision lineup goes all the way up to Xeon…