Used and refurbished mini PCs are everywhere online, and Dell's Optiplex family of tiny office drones may be the most numerous simply due to the sheer number of these PCs that have made their way through business customers and to the end of the line at refurbishers.
These computers are ideal for the coming era of self-hosting. They're small, quiet, and even the ones from back in Intel's Sandy Bridge era have enough CPU power for normal self-hosting purposes, although you should really use Haswell or later if possible. The RAM and storage are upgradeable, there's plenty of I/O available, and for a good deal they're not that far off from the cost of a single board computer but have much more performance and flexibility. What apps could you host yourself using one, two, or even three of these? mini pc? I think you'll be surprised.
Despite all the problems associated with streaming services, more and more people are simply deciding independent owner Media to watch at home. You can convert your own physical library into digital files or use DRM-free video files you purchase. Software type Plex, Jellyfishor Emby work great on these mini PCs. Although it's not Dell, I have it Plex server on a similar Lenovo mini PC with an older dual-core Intel processor, and the results were flawless. Even with 4K streams.
You can use software like Immich to create what is effectively a standalone service like Google Photos. You can also use openmediavault Turn any x86 64-bit mini PC with at least 1GB RAM into a NAS.
Home automation and smart home control centers
I have always said that a real smart home is one that works without the Internet. With the self-hosting revolution in full swing, you also have the opportunity to turn those old Dell Optiplex mini PCs into on-premises smart home control systems. Home assistant is the star here, and you also have the option of using devices like Zigbee USB dongles to give your mini PC direct control of your smart home without Wi-Fi or Ethernet.
Personal Productivity and SaaS Application Replacement
I don't know about you, but I can't imagine returning to the world of offline productivity. I'm talking about services like Google Docs and even standalone apps like Microsoft Word and open source options like OnlyOffice that have some sort of cloud functionality. So why not host your own productivity apps yourself?
For example, Paperless-ngx it's like your own version of Google Drive. It allows you to organize, store and search documents. You can edit the document using the application of your choice and then upload it to the Paperless-ngx server.
If you are a software developer and do it as a hobby or hobby, you can use an old Optiplex mini PC for self-hosting. Guide. It allows you to manage Git repositories for your software locally without paying or using Github.
Lightweight web services and interesting add-ons
There are plenty of lightweight web services you can host on these little PCs yourself, some of them quite niche, but once you try them you'll probably want to keep them.
You may have heard about Pi hole which started out as software developed for the Raspberry Pi, allowing it to act as a network-wide ad blocker. However, you don't actually need a Raspberry Pi to use this service. You can install it on a mini PC, point your router at it, and enjoy no ads on anything connected to your local network.
When I mention self-hosted media server, everyone thinks of video streaming, but using applications like Caliber And Come on thenyou can even create your own e-book, comic and manga server. All you need is a compatible reader or client app, and everyone in your home can access your local collection.
And there are also interesting things, for example, hosting your own local game servers. Many modern and especially classic computer games allow you to host your own server. So for example you can configure Mining craft a server for your kids and their friends that you know is safe because you control who has access to it.
I think people are clearly waking up to the fact that these old mini PCs are capable of so much that the demand for them will soon increase. So your best bet is to buy an old Optiplex or other similar mini PC before these bargain prices become a thing of the past.
