What do you want it for?
Home Assistant, Plex and Jellyfin, Proxmox, OPNsense, NAS, desktop or electronics: which mini PCs and boards suit each job, and why.
- Home Assistant serverAlways-on home automation with Home Assistant OS: low power and reliable storage matter more than speed.5 great fits · Cheapest great fit: ZimaBoard 2 ($279)
- Plex / Jellyfin media serverStreaming your films to TVs and phones. Converting video on the fly needs a hardware video engine.10 great fits · Cheapest great fit: ZimaBoard 2 ($279)
- Homelab: Proxmox, VMs and DockerSeveral services and virtual machines on one box. RAM is the limit long before the CPU.4 great fits · Cheapest great fit: Minisforum MS-01 ($679)
- Router and firewall (OPNsense, pfSense, OpenWrt)Replacing your ISP router: at least two network ports, ideally 2.5 GbE with Intel controllers.5 great fits · Cheapest great fit: ZimaBoard 2 ($279)
- NAS and backupsShared storage and backups: count the drive slots and the network speed.1 great fits · Cheapest great fit: Beelink ME mini ($525)
- Desktop for office, web and studyA small, quiet computer behind the monitor for work, browsing and video.5 great fits · Cheapest great fit: Minisforum MS-01 ($679)
- Electronics, robotics and learningSensors, motors and classroom projects: you need GPIO pins and lots of examples.3 great fits · Cheapest great fit: Pi Zero 2 W ($15)