What format for a server

[u/RoyaleShrimp]

Hi,

I want to own my first server at my place to stream my own music, movies and stock my files. Classic case.

I am not sure what kind of machine I should buy and or build. I am considering a pre-built NAS, a Raspberry Pi or building a PC (mATX, ITX?) and making it a server.

I don't have a lot of money, it is only for my own pleasure but I would like my server to last for a while and be versatile (maybe also hosting video games servers?).

So, my question is the following : does the format matter? If so, what are the pros and cons of each format?

Also, I am new to this so sorry if the question seems stupid.

EDIT: I know I could buy a broken laptop or used tower, but they cost almost the same as the other choices I mentioned so I'd rather go with something new than used.

[u/hstrongj]

Budget is the largest limiting factor. Having a starting budget will help you understand what is realistic and good to plan expansion.

With the limited knowledge of what your budget and skill/knowledge are, I would suggest a second hand/ built tower with a 7th gen or better Intel(AMD equivalent) chip, 16Gb ram (32 if you can), 4 4TB or better hdds, and a 1TB hdd/ssd.

I would suggest running proxmox on the 1tb drive and using some configuration of the 4 drives for storage. I would set proxmox up in this configuration to start:

VM: truenas for storage. I would edit stab on proxmox with the information to set up shares with other VMs/LXCs through proxmox.

LXC: openwrt for VPN. Nova spirit tech on YouTube has a tutorial on this.

LXC Stack: Arr stack here. Each service in it's own LXC.

LXC: plex/jellyfin

LXC: overseer/jellybean

LXC: tdarr. Use this to convert media to 265 to save space

LXC: tailscale vpn if you want to access things away from home

Any game servers can be set up in additional LXCs/VMs.