this post was submitted on 14 Mar 2025
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53
Where to buy a mini pc (lemmy.world)
submitted 3 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
36 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I'm looking to buy a cheap mini PC to run Home Assistant. I found lots on Amazon.es but I don't want to give them my money. Looking for something like a cheap โ‚ฌ200 n150 box. Any suggestions where I can buy this in Europe?

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[โ€“] [email protected] 14 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)

Question of curiosity: why not consider RaspberryPi for the task? It is definitely going to be cheaper and more power efficient when comparing to mini computer (even if you take new one), because has so much more computing ability per Watt. I've been running HomeAssistant + cups server + small file server on RaspberryPi 3b+ without any issues for few years, and it was pretty actively used.

Additional point, RaspberryPi is publically traded company on London Exchange, and was founded in Britain, which mostly matches the "Buy European" motto ;)

[โ€“] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Raspberry pis are 90โ‚ฌ now instead of 30โ‚ฌ plus you need a SATA hat which is another 40-80โ‚ฌ (unless you want to start having corruption after some years), plus the power supply, another 15โ‚ฌ, that is now the price class of an Intel n100 mini PC that has 10x the power, all of that built in, and still great efficiency.

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Yeah the RaspberryPi is perfect for those things. They also have Suggested hardware for that. I don't know about your country, but here in Germany electricity is expensive.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

RaspberryPi + USB connected SSD would be my recommendation for HomeAssistant. Using an SSD reduces the risk of SD card flaking

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago

And just to be clear, I boot from the SSD and donโ€™t use an SD card at all.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

x86 could be a requirement.

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Not for HomeAssistant ;)

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago

Youโ€™re right, I didnโ€™t see that part.

[โ€“] [email protected] 13 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

I went with a fanless solution, the Slimbook Zero, if that fits your taste.

[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Wow, I expected that to cost much more than it does

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago

That's quite cheap indeed

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Oh cool, 4x 2.5G ethernet for โ‚ฌ200! These could make an awesome pfSense / openSense router.

I've seen similar boxes on AliExpress etc , but there you never know what you're getting, with model numbers and "manufacturers" all over the place. And forget about any form of support.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago

Ahh, the same tech lust I used to get when I saw microboards with multiple ethernet ports. pf is awesome.

[โ€“] [email protected] 8 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Edit: somehow forgot that HA sell their own devices, HomeAssistant Green for 100$ and HomeAssistant Yellow which also supports the project.

Original comment: Highly recommend a used "enterprise mini PC" from Dell , HP or Lenovo. Get it from your local IT refurbisher, eBay or your local ebay-equivelent.
These are sometimes called 1L PCs for their 1 Litre size. Model names are Dell Optiplex, HP Elite desk or Prodesk, Lenovo Think centre. Prices are โ‚ฌ100 to โ‚ฌ1500 depending on age and specs. โ‚ฌ150 should be more than enough for HomeAssistant.

Alternatively https://slimbook.com/en/ sells Linux PCs out of Spain, and https://www.tuxedocomputers.com/ out of Germany.

Another option is the british RaspberryPi, but that might be more hassle. You need to separately get a good power supply and cable, good SD-Card, case, maybe with fan. And its ARM not x86, but that doesn't matter for HomeAssistant unless you're doing something very exotic.

[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago

You need to separately get a good power supply and cable, good SD-Card, case, maybe with fan.

To be fair, if you're not fussy and just want to use it as a computer, you can buy all those things together as a kit. Like so:

https://thepihut.com/products/raspberry-pi-5-starter-kit?srsltid=AfmBOopkmahA5Ntjsh5J-0NW2_skJtlXUGTlNDWRC59yPRroEF2jVOt9

[โ€“] [email protected] 7 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

There are a lot of refurbished ex-corporate mini PCs (Intel CPU, 8-16Gb RAM, Windows 10) on eBay for around โ‚ฌ100. It should be possible to install Linux on them.

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Lenovo thinkcentre tiny is awesome, also very very easy to open if you want to add RAM or switch the 2.5" drive. It also has a nvme slot.

Linux runs perfectly on it.

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago

If you want machines built in Europe, there are Fujitsu-brand mini-PCs that were made in Germany.

[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Digitec/Galaxus Sells pretty much all the tech stuff amazon does but is a swiss cooperative.

Switzerland is part of EEA/European Market, so no tarriffs.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

I tried searching for n150 minipcs but there is just one on galaxus; probably geekom, beelink and acemagic just donโ€™t know about it

Btw Iโ€™d like a source for

swiss cooperative

To me it looks like a normal company but with big majority of shares held by a coop corporation (that it a corporation made of coops, so galaxus is more an asset of this corp not a full member)

Obviously all of this is still by far better than Amazon so Iโ€™ll try ordering from them when the stuff I need is available on it :)

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago

I just knew it was owned by coop which I had been told by my economics teacher in high school was a cooperative (a long time ago!). You digged further than me!

[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago

Research on https://www.minisforum.com/ and https://liliputing.com/.

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago

One option is to look for used and repaired thin clients.

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Not European so I can't answer that part.

If you are only looking at running Home Assistant, why not look at one of their own boxes? Such as the Home Assistant Yellow. Or maybe something along the lines of a 1 liter PC such as the OptiPlex 3070 or whatever the best bang for the buck is on eBay nowadays.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Yes this! They sell HomeAssistant Green for 100$ and HomeAssistant Yellow does ship from various European sellers at various prices.

Otherwise agreed a used 1liter PC from a local IT refurbisher the best option if buying a general PC for HA.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago

I got a home assistant green and it's great. I just plugged it and it works.

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago

Have you tried https://www.pccomponentes.com/ ? You could try fnac too (although I'm not sure where are they from). There's also pc box I think. You might try your luck in those

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago

Just order directly from the manufacturer: https://www.gmktec.com/products/nucbox-g3-most-cost-effective-mini-pc-with-intel-n100-processor

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago

Have you tried looking up on AliExpress? I've got only good experiences with them. Just make sure the product is marked as "Choice", as you'll get free shipping and customs already paid.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago

As others have said, a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 will do everything you need for HA short of voice support.

If you do want to set up voice recognition, honestly, my first stop would be Wallapop/eBay. You can find something marginally more powerful than a Raspi that way if you don't mind the additional power consumption. Or, given what's out there, I'd try to put something small together as a bit of a project from used parts.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Have you looked on eBay? You can either get second hand from someone local to you like I did recently or a just check on who / where the item comes from before buying?

edit to add more clarity

Seen as this is buyeuropean and you may not want to give eBay its percentage what I meant by check on who / where the item comes from is using eBay as an aggregator, checking for sellers and then looking for their storefront outside of eBay to avoid giving them their sales percentage.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago

Have you looked at HP elitedesk mini g5/g6?

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

If you stick to official sellers and sellers with plausible-sounding positive reviews, AliExpress can be fine, and shipping is often quick, though warranty support is a bit of a gamble. There are loads of cheap N100/N150 boxes and other Mini PCs on AliExpress.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Buying there should be really the last option, IMO.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago

I agree, if you can find something more local with warranty support it's preferable.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago

I picked up a second hand nuc for this purpose and its great.