Homelab starter kit
A sub-20 W mini PC running Proxmox, a NAS for the data, and a UPS so a power blip never eats your drives.
A homelab is a small, always-on server (or three) for running Pi-hole, Home Assistant, Jellyfin, backups, and whatever you want to learn next. The modern answer is not a rack of old Dell servers; it is a sub-20 W mini PC running Proxmox plus a separate NAS for the data, all on a UPS.
Software is free: Proxmox VE on the mini PC gives you VMs and LXC containers, ZFS and snapshots through a web UI (the community helper scripts spin up Pi-hole or Home Assistant in minutes). TrueNAS SCALE if you build your own NAS or wipe a TerraMaster. Follow 3-2-1 backups: NAS, a second copy, and an offsite copy on Backblaze B2 or rsync.net.
If this is the box you also want to run small language models on, see the local LLM kit; a homelab node and an inference box have different priorities (idle watts versus memory bandwidth).
The kit
Separate NAS with redundant drives, 2.5GbE between the boxes, a UPS. The setup most people keep for years.
Budget is our editorial estimate (USD, Oct 2026) from the sum of items you keep. It is not an Amazon price; check live prices on Amazon.
- 01 · Server node$$$
Beelink EQ14 mini PC (Intel N150, 16GB, dual 2.5GbE)
The default first Proxmox host: 6–10 W idle, two Intel 2.5GbE NICs.
It runs Pi-hole, Home Assistant and Jellyfin (with QuickSync transcoding) on about the power of a phone charger, and the Intel i226-V NICs are the ones Proxmox likes. Limits are honest: a 16GB single-SODIMM ceiling and no ECC. Make sure the listing you buy is the dual 2.5GbE variant; some are 1GbE.
- cpu
- Intel N150 (4C)
- ram
- 16GB DDR4
- lan
- 2× 2.5GbE
- idle
- 6–10 W
View on Amazonpaid link - 02 · Boot + VM storage$$
WD Red SN700 2TB NVMe (TLC, NAS-rated)
Boot and VM storage that survives ZFS write amplification.
Proxmox with ZFS chews through cheap QLC consumer SSDs. The SN700 is TLC with a 2,500 TBW endurance rating, which is why it is the common answer for a Proxmox boot and VM drive. A Samsung 990 Pro works equally well.
In the budget tier this is also where your data lives, so back it up.
- capacity
- 2TB
- endurance
- 2,500 TBW
Find on Amazonpaid link - 03 · Switch$$
TP-Link TL-SG108S-M2 8-port 2.5GbE unmanaged switch
The fanless way to actually use the 2.5GbE ports on your mini PC and NAS.
If your server and NAS both have 2.5GbE, gigabit is the bottleneck during backups and media scans. This is the cheapest quiet way to fix that. It is unmanaged, so keep the SG108E (or a VLAN-capable router) if you need segmentation.
Keep a VLAN-capable router or add the $30 SG108E if you need segmentation.
- ports
- 8× 2.5GbE
- fanless
- yes
Find on Amazonpaid link - 04 · NAS$$$
UGREEN NASync DXP4800 Plus (4-bay, Intel 8505, 10GbE)
Best NAS hardware per dollar in 2025–26, and it runs TrueNAS if you want it to.
A 12th-gen Intel with QuickSync for hardware transcoding, 10GbE on board, two NVMe slots and 8GB of DDR5, for less than a Synology with a 2018 CPU. UGOS is fine; the point is you can wipe it and install TrueNAS or Unraid without losing anything. Warranty is two years to Synology's three.
- bays
- 4× 3.5" + 2× M.2
- cpu
- Pentium Gold 8505
- lan
- 10GbE + 2.5GbE
- 05 · Alt: software-first NASoptional$$$
Synology DiskStation DS925+ (4-bay)
Buy it for DSM: the most polished NAS software, and a three-year warranty.
Synology Photos, Hyper Backup and Active Backup for Business are genuinely excellent and the reason people stay. The hardware is dated (Ryzen V1500B, no transcoding, no 10GbE), and Synology now steers Plus models toward its own branded drives, so check the current compatibility policy before buying third-party disks.
Swap for the UGREEN if DSM's apps matter more to you than hardware.
- bays
- 4× 3.5" + 2× M.2
- cpu
- Ryzen V1500B
- lan
- 2× 2.5GbE
View on Amazonpaid link - 06 · NAS drives×2$$
WD Red Plus 8TB NAS drive (WD80EFPX, CMR)
Quiet, cool, CMR, three-year warranty. The home-NAS default.
5640 rpm keeps it quiet in a living room and CMR recording is mandatory for RAID rebuilds (the non-Plus WD Red is SMR; never buy it for arrays). Seagate IronWolf 8TB is the equal alternative with a three-year data-recovery service bundled. Buy the biggest drives you can afford because bays are the scarce resource.
Two in a mirror to start.
- capacity
- 8TB
- recording
- CMR
- speed
- 5640 rpm
- warranty
- 3 years
- 07 · UPS$$$
CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD UPS (1500VA / 1000W, pure sine)
The most-recommended UPS on every NAS forum; clean shutdowns over USB just work.
Pure sine wave output keeps active-PFC power supplies happy, and the USB port is recognised by NUT, Synology DSM and TrueNAS out of the box so your NAS shuts down cleanly before the battery dies. About an hour at 100 W. Unclean shutdowns are how people lose ZFS pools; this is the insurance.
- capacity
- 1500VA / 1000W
- output
- pure sine
- runtime
- ~60 min @ 100 W
View on Amazonpaid link - 08 · Cables$
Cable Matters Cat6 slim patch cables, 10-pack (1–3 ft)
Short slim cables in two colors instead of one long cable at a time.
Slim boots make adjacent switch ports usable, short runs stop the spaghetti, and two colors (management versus data) make VLAN mistakes visible. Add velcro ties, never zip ties.
Find on Amazonpaid link - 09 · Rackoptional$
IKEA LACK side table (the LackRack)
19-inch gear fits exactly between a LACK's legs. A genuine r/homelab tradition.
Stack two and you have a 2-post rack for about $40 that looks like furniture. Move to a real 12U open-frame rack once you own a rackmount switch and a patch panel.
Find on Amazonpaid link
Skip this / common mistakes
- !
Don't buy an old Dell R710/R720 rack server as a first homelab. 150–250 W idle and jet-engine fans mean the power bill exceeds the purchase price within a year.
- !
Don't run Proxmox or VMs off an SD card or a cheap QLC SSD. ZFS write amplification eats consumer drives; use a TLC NVMe.
- !
Don't RAID-0, and don't treat RAID as a backup.
- !
Don't put drives in a NAS without a UPS. Unclean shutdowns are how people lose pools.
- !
Don't buy a Synology Plus model without checking the current branded-drive compatibility policy.
Questions people ask
N150 or Ryzen for a homelab?
N150 for a quiet single node running a handful of services. A Ryzen 9 (or a used i5-8500T ThinkCentre) when you want 6–10 VMs or 32–64GB of RAM.
Do I need a managed switch?
Not on day one, but a $30 Easy Smart switch is the cheapest way to learn VLANs and isolate IoT devices from your laptops.
UGREEN or Synology?
UGREEN for hardware (transcoding, 10GbE, NVMe slots) and the freedom to run TrueNAS. Synology for DSM's software and the longer warranty.
How many drives should I start with?
Two in a mirror or four in RAID-Z1/SHR. Buy the largest drives you can afford; bays are the scarce resource and you will not want to rebuild the pool in a year.
Sources
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Spotted a better part, or a price that moved? Tell us. Every kit is re-checked when the hardware changes. All kits.