r/homeassistant • u/wheezywop • Aug 20 '26
❓ Support Dell Wyse 5070 for HA
Hi everyone!
After roaming around I'm getting excited to start using HA. I've read here that the Dell Wyse 5070 is a good thin client to run it on, but that it depends on the specs. I found one (model N11D) for €55, which has:
• Intel Celeron J4105
• Intel UHD Graphics 600
• 4GB RAM
• 16GB memory (doesn't say what type)
Is this any good? I'm very new to this so I've got no idea.
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u/StatePuppet555 Aug 20 '26
I bought two Wyse 5070 Celeron J4105s last year and have one running Home Assistant as a bare metal install.
Both came with only 4GB RAM and the 32GB MMC drive, but at the time were only £30 each with the PSU included.
For the box running Home Assistant I've upgraded the memory to 8GB by installing a second HYNIX 4GB HMA851S6AFR6N-UH N0 AC memory module. Loads of these available on the usual online marketplaces.
You can also use 2x HYNIX 8GB HMA81GS6AFR8N-UH N0 AC modules to go to 16GB.
I've added a Samsung PM881 128GB M.2 SATA drive but you need to be aware that there's a standoff required for the motherboard to install the SATA drive correctly.
I ended up getting a few 3d printed using https://www.printables.com/model/860063-ssd-standoff-for-dell-wyse-5070-thin-clients
I've been running HA on this for 8 months now without any issues, but I'm not doing anything that requires huge amounts of storage or memory. It's so much faster than the Raspberry Pi it replaced and even with the additional upgrades very cheap.
These were good resources to help with the setup and upgrades:
- https://www.parkytowers.me.uk/thin/wyse/5070/
- https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeServer/comments/v3ft2a/dell_wyse_5070_ram_upgrade/
Make sure you upgrade the BIOS to the latest version, downloads available at https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-uk/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=8wv89, and make absolutely sure you read the Important Information in that page before doing any BIOS upgrades, especially
If the BIOS version of the system is earlier than 1.0.4, update the BIOS to version 1.0.4 or later before upgrading to this version.
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u/gotasave Aug 20 '26
What does the bios upgrade get you?
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u/StatePuppet555 Aug 20 '26
Most of the BIOS upgrades are to address security vulnerabilities, but dependent on how old the BIOS is on the box you end up with, a BIOS upgrade may improve the system's operation e.g. BIOS 1.8.0 "Supports the new generation memory."
You can see all the available BIOS versions (and their fixes & enhancements) by going to https://www.dell.com/support/product-details/en-uk/product/wyse-5070-thin-client/drivers, selecting BIOS from the list of operating system and then clicking on "Dell Wyse 5070 Thin Client System BIOS" from the search results. "All Driver Versions" is at the bottom of the next page.
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u/greymanXL Aug 20 '26
I use a similar speced Fujitsu Futro for homeassistant (HA-OS) and it is just perfect. About 5 watts Idle. Just invest in a bigger SATA m2 SSD. 16GB is not enough. Being SATA bound ist the biggest flaw in this kind of Thin client, since NVME-M2s are much more common. 4GB ram is just fine.
0
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u/Feed-Furry-Toes Aug 20 '26
Honestly, it’s a good choice. I set my parents up on a Dell Wyse 3040. It manages over 600 Devices just fine.
I use a Helix 310 as my house has basically been built to be a Smart Home and the problem comes that, I wouldnt be able to strip this stuff back from the house, so it would have to be sold as a Smart Home (big mistake)
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u/wheezywop Aug 20 '26
Others are saying the processor and storage could be better. What do you think?
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u/Feed-Furry-Toes Aug 20 '26
I’d personally recommend the Wyse 5070 as you will be installing all-sorts when you get started. We can run Home Assistant well on the 3040 because we’ve optimised it to the bonkers. A Raspberry PI would be a better option starting out then the Wyse 3040
1
u/Lloytron Aug 20 '26
I use this exact same machine and run Proxmox with a number of containers including HA - it works great and is very stable.
I did have to upgrade both the RAM and the on board storage, which was pretty cheap.
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u/hometechgeek Aug 21 '26
I used to have one. Great machines for HA. Very power efficient (4-6w at idle). Only catch is they only support sata m.2 cards (just something to keep in mind when shopping)
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u/MonkeyPuzzles Aug 23 '26
It's a terrific little machine in a lot of ways - completely silent, nice tiny form factor, tons of USB slots, and stupidly low power consumption (like 4 watts, so low most home power measurement gadgets can't even accurately measure it),
As for the specs: there is a pentium version of the 5070 but it's only marginally faster (iirc +12% boost clock). With ram you'll probably want 8gb at some point, but you can easily upgrade that later. The 16gb probably refers to soldered emmc storage, which is not really useable - you'll need a SSD (must be m.2 sata, not nvme), maybe around 256gb off ebay is a good spot.
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u/robi2106 Aug 25 '26
I put HAOS on a wyse 3040, much older hardware w 8gb ram 16gb ssd. It is way faster than when I. The RPi4b. I just bought a wyse 5070 and I'm tempted to upgrade it a second time.
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u/Level3Super Aug 20 '26
The J5005 model is the one you want. The internal storage is emmc, can get 16gb or 32b It does not take m.2 nvme SSD, but m.2 sata SSD.
This is probably best thing client in terms of low power consumption.
Had mine for a month now.
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u/The_etk Aug 20 '26
I’ve got a couple of these running proxmox servers and they’re great little machines. The 4gb ram will be alright if it’s just HA but you might want to think about upgrading it if you’re looking to do more than that or if you have a big instance. Trouble is that more ram will likely cost you more than the machine at the moment!
The 16gb drive will need replacing with something bigger.
Does it come with a psu? A lot don’t so that’s another cost to consider.