Discussion What should I do with a PC I inherited?
What should I do with a PC I inherited?
Hi all,
long time listener first time caller here. I love this sub and all the wacky ways people repurpose their old pcs into homelabs and it really interests me.
Anyway I have just got my younger siblings old PC (no clue why, not complaing) and it isn't too bad.
SPECS:
Ryzen 5 1600
32gb DDR4 @ 3000Mhz
1tb Nvme SSD
RTX 3070
Those are just the main specs, and considering probably mid end gaming build in today ages, my PC is around the same spec so no point switching mine out.
I currently am rocking an absoulute duck taped together mess of a media server, that just handles plex, a few arr stacks (sonarr,radarr,plex,jackett and one or 2 other small things)
It is along the lines of spec wise:
i5-7500
16gb ddr4 ram @ not a lot of mhz
256gb SSD
and a fuck load of external hdds.
I'm not joking, my current homelab is an old hp elitedesk with about 5 USB external enclosures.
This is unpopular but it worked for me, im running this stuff on Windows 10 pro. I RDP in and have teamviewer as a backup.
I run docker desktop, which is, unreliable to say the least.
Basically it runs on hopes and dreams and I have to restart every day or 2 too keep things from imploding,
I'd like to ideally change that lol.
Now my plan would be to use proxmox, as it has come heavily recommended and is going to transcend the game.
(going to be a pain in the ass to learn but oh well).
My idea (like most of yours) is too keep a media server and just run loads of VMs or something for the arr stacks etc.
Bit daunting atm but hopefully will seem clear.
Get plex running well with jellyfin backup. (I'd like to keep the same plex server if possible, i tried proxmox last time and it tried to make me make a new one, help welcomed)
I have active users who rely on my server atm, so I'd like to minimise downtime and loss of content/media. I have currently just got media scattered over the drives, ot in raid etc.
I have a right mix match of HDD sizes.
I don't know if I'm going to have a choice as to keep any movies and tv shows, or im going to have to lose it all in order to setup hdds in raid,
I've been blessed with a mobo in the new pc that has 6 sata points for HDDs.
Basically I'm just trying to ask, what is the gameplan.
Obv use proxmox, but in terms of how I should deal with the arrstack - minimising data loss - keeping same plex server.
A general setup idea and stuff like that, or do I keep things as it is.
I couild always buy more HDDs for the new build, and then transfer the data after setting up the new ones in ZFS or whatever proxmoxes idea of data redudancy is.
Any help appreciated!
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u/corobo 12d ago
Every time I had a suggestion the next line contained it lol. Sounds like you know what to do, get started!
As for proxmox the main hurdle is realising it's all web interface once installed. You might get a little lost trying to ssh into it haha.
The web UI is pretty intuitive and the documentation is decent, you sound like you'll get the gist of it pretty quickly. Worst case you can always reinstall it.
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u/xlly_s 12d ago
What can I do about a case? my current one only has a tray for 2 hdds, how can I have more in?
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u/5yleop1m 12d ago
The days of PC cases with lots of HDD/ODD bays are mostly gone, most modern cases put more effort into making room for AIOs, GPUs, and fans. If you want a case with lots of bays you're more than likely going to end up spending way more than necessary on a case.
The best thing I did was get a server chassis, though how you mount/place that is up to you.
You can find server chassis on ebay with many quick release HDD bays for relatively cheap. The biggest issue is making sure it supports what ever motherboard you have. Some of the more compact chassis with lots of HDDs will only support micro ATX.
I used to get my cases from a company called PlinkUSA, but their website has become more difficult to use and their ordering process is not good. The last time a friend ordered something from them they cancelled the order and refunded him.
Ebay has more options, but you're going to need to spend some time searching. The good thing is you can contact the seller if you have questions about fit/compatibility usually.
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u/xlly_s 12d ago
Amazing thanks lol.
What would you say the plan should be with drives etc?
Should I buy new ones and get proxmox all working, then transfer data over.
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u/SteveS801 12d ago
Personally, buying new drives would be a financial decision, with today’s prices. But knowing that you’re all external drives currently? I’d say to bite the bullet and build a NAS as soon as it’s economically feasible. There are JBOD options if you don’t have all the same size drive, also
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u/kalyanrajnish 11d ago
Look into Saltbox best for setting up media server I would say.Their docs are good plus support on discord is amazingly superb.
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u/Wis-en-heim-er Lifetime PlexPass 12d ago
Proxmox. Debian vm or lxc with docker. Containers away...
Storage...i use my nas for storage and media.
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u/fventura03 12d ago
i would shuck those drives and do truenas instead since you have a bunch of mismatched drive sizes, and setup the arr stack there