Don't turn your old PC into a DIY homelab: This tiny board is the smarter choice
If you're looking to get into self-hosting and want to build your first home server or NAS, an old desktop PC might seem like the best starting point. It's cheap, relatively powerful, and offers great storage and upgrade options. While it's not a bad choice, there's a much better middle-ground today that combines the efficiency of purpose-built NAS hardware with the flexibility of a desktop PC, without the downsides of either.
Why an old desktop PC isn't the perfect DIY home server that it sounds like
Flexibility and raw power come at a cost
If you've got an old desktop lying around, it's pretty easy to install a Linux-based server OS and turn it into a headless server. Desktop PCs make for solid DIY NAS devices because they've got several SATA ports (usually 4 to 6) that you can plug hard drives and SSDs into.
Depending on what you plan on self-hosting, you likely don't need a ton of processing power, so there's a good chance that whatever CPU and RAM you've got lying around is perfectly fine. Even an ancient 4th-generation Intel Core i3 can handle hardware transcoding thanks to Intel Quick Sync, which means it's good enough for building a Jellyfin or Plex media server .
On a more general level, an old desktop is already a complete, self-contained device that makes it a fantastic starting point. It probably has a case, fans, power supply, and maybe even a graphics card—but even if it lacks one of these components, you can probably find spare parts on Facebook Marketplace. Therein lies the beauty of desktop PCs—they're extremely flexible and upgradeable.
But when the time finally comes to start using this cobbled-together tower, you'll start noticing the real downsides of an old desktop: they're loud, inefficient, generate heat, and are rather bulky. You have to find a place to put this machine where the noise and heat won't keep you awake at night, but the real sting usually comes later when the power bill shows up. In short, as cheap and easy as it is to put together an old desktop PC and turn it into a home server, the ongoing electricity costs might not be worth it.
Motherboards with integrated N100 and N150 processors are basically purpose-built for homelabs
Tiny low-power platforms that are ideal for always-on servers
When I built my first media server/NAS earlier this year, I used an old laptop instead of a desktop. The reason boils down to power efficiency—a mobile CPU and low-power RAM draw significantly less power, both under load and at idle.
Luckily, there's now a way to get an efficient mobile-grade processor in a form factor similar to a typical desktop system, effectively giving you the benefits of both—and it doesn't involve a mini PC . The answer lies in motherboards with integrated low-power Intel processors, like this N150 model and this N100M unit from ASRock .
The exact specs and what's included vary between models, but generally speaking, these boards only include the processor and the motherboard, which is often optimized for NAS-style use.
In case you're not familiar with these CPUs, they are mobile 4-core, 4-thread processors that work with DDR4 and DDR5 RAM, and they include a relatively capable integrated GPU with Intel Quick Sync support, making them ideal for a media server. The Intel N150 is essentially a newer version of the Intel N100, but even the older chip is still perfectly fine if budget is a concern.
Despite their small size, these motherboards offer a surprising amount of upgradeability—the aforementioned ASRock N100 motherboard has two 6 Gbps SATA ports, an M.2 NVMe slot, a PCIe 3.0 x1 slot, gigabit Ethernet, and a healthy amount of rear I/O. What it lacks, though, is a power supply and RAM—you'll need to source those yourself. Still, you get a well-balanced, budget-friendly, and significantly more power-efficient home server, which makes these boards ideal for a first homelab or NAS that can run circles around a Raspberry Pi build .
You still get the flexibility of a desktop, but in a smaller, more efficient package
You still retain plenty of room for upgrades and expansion
Capix Denan / Shutterstock.com
The beauty of these Intel N100/N150 motherboards doesn't end with power efficiency. One of their biggest advantages is that they retain most of the flexibility of a typical desktop motherboard, but in a much smaller form factor. The ASRock N100M board is micro-ATX, but you can go even smaller.
If you're resourceful, you can find N100/N150 Mini-ITX boards on sites like AliExpress and eBay. Just be wary of less reputable sellers.
As for what to put these boards in, you can find some truly tiny Mini-ITX cases that look great and still have enough room to fit your board and all the hard drives you could possibly need. Just be aware that good Mini-ITX cases designed for NAS usage can be expensive. If looks don't matter, a simple rackmount server chassis gets the job done (and you can used units for cheap online).
This might be the smartest foundation for a long-term homelab
A practical middle ground between a mini PC and a recycled desktop
I'm a PC builder at heart, so I might be biased when I say this, but a motherboard with a decent integrated processor is one of the best ways to build a home server from scratch.
You get the power efficiency of a mobile chip on a board designed for NAS use, which often means plenty of SATA ports, M.2 slots, and multi-gig Ethernet . Put simply, it's the best of both worlds because it gives you the freedom and flexibility of a desktop, and the efficiency of a laptop or mini PC.
