selfhosting.couchsurfing6d ago

so while I'm desperately trying to get a HDD purchase figured out tonight before prices go up some more, I realized, I'm not really sure I described what I'm actually trying to do all in one place.

long story short, I have a 10yo metal eSATA+USB2 drive enclosure which I'd like to use for an external HDD on one of my #1LPC servers, in place of an 8yo plastic USB3 enclosure (with USB3 micro B connector and dodgy USB-SATA bridge chip).

the plan is to use an m.2 A+E key SATA adapter with hopefully somewhat less dodgy SATA controller in the m.2 2230 wifi slot, plus a slim SATA cable with 90-degree connector at one end, to connect the external drive. because why not.

I haven't had problems with the current questionable USB3 setup, but would prefer fewer translation layers between the drive and the OS. and an enclosure which radiates heat a lot better.

Show threadselfhosting.couchsurfingMar 2

I gotta say I'm disappointed at the amount of cache not increasing, but they are speccing these chips for compact single-user business desktops.

if you are sticking to #1LPC systems, the tradeoff is between getting a system from a major manufacturer like HP or Lenovo with one of these and then enjoying the parts availability, firmware updates, etc which comes with that.... or buying a similarly sized box from a small manufacturer with higher-end laptop silicon in it, which doesn't come with those ecosystem benefits (and maybe sounds like a wind tunnel when you exercise it, depending on the thermal envelope).

selfhosting.couchsurfingMar 2

AMD has finally announced the next series of 35-watt and 65-watt desktop APUs to follow up the Ryzen 8000G/GE series. these are the chips which get used in "1-liter" PCs from major manufacturers, among other things.

@arstechnica: AMD Ryzen AI 400 chips will bring newer CPUs, GPUs, and NPUs to AM5 desktops

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/03/amd-ryzen-ai-400-cpus-will-bring-upgraded-graphics-to-socket-am5-desktops/

#AMD #Ryzen #RyzenAI400 #1LPC #miniPC

AMD Ryzen AI 400 chips will bring newer CPUs, GPUs, and NPUs to AM5 desktops

First wave of Ryzen AI desktop CPUs targets business PCs rather than DIYers.

Ars Technica
selfhosting.couchsurfingFeb 14

Patrick from #ServeTheHome with a new TinyMiniMicro video on Lenovo's new generation 2 ThinkStation P3 Tiny ... there's a lot crammed into a tiny 1-liter package!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-xVenrTcB8

#miniPC #1LPC #HomeLab #CouchLab #TinyMiniMicro #ThinkStation

Even an NVIDIA GPU and 3x SSDs fit in 1L Lenovo ThinkStation P3 Tiny Gen2

YouTube
Show threadselfhosting.couchsurfingJan 9

@badnetmask @mmeier @homelab I have two HP EliteDesk Mini and a Dell OptiPlex Micro, all running Proxmox headless.

most of these so-called "1-liter" PCs ship with CPUs in the 35-watt range, though you can get 65-watt ones which will be louder if you make them work hard.

I don't know about AMD yet, but with Intel CPUs it's possible in Linux to tell it how much power it can use for short & long periods, so if you want to limit noise and power consumption, that's at least possible. not sure about BSD.

as far as expandability, Dell tends to skimp on NVMe slots. HP EliteDesk Mini and ProDesk Mini often have 2. I like to put an Optane stick in one NVMe slot and use it for swap and partitions like /var/log.

HP also has a lot of little option daughterboards, such that you can add a NIC or a high-speed USB port with PD in (and then get a USB NIC with PD in and power your PC thru it).

you can also get cards for the m.2 wifi slot which accept a tiny NVMe drive, or add a couple SATA ports, or add a NIC (which you then have to mod the case to add).

be aware that if you get a DDR4 #1LPC, you are limited to 64GB of memory.

selfhosting.couchsurfingJan 2

Arm Comes to Project #TinyMiniMicro: Lenovo neo 50q Tiny QC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yenAVRvctdQ

tl;dw: last-gen Qualcomm CPU, soldered memory, poor Linux support

#ServeTheHome #ARM #miniPC #1LPC

Arm Comes to Project TinyMiniMicro Lenovo neo 50q Tiny QC

YouTube
selfhosting.couchsurfingOct 21

some days more than others I perceive the time warp living in a constant state of sensory overwhelm puts me in, and today is one of those days after learning that the 9000G (and presumably GE) series #AMD Ryzen APUs will drop soon.

as a #1LPC user, AMD's 35 and 65 watt APUs are important, especially since Intel just could not compete in thermally-limited applications for so long.

that said, I think I remember looking at a roadmap when the #Ryzen 8000G series came out and thinking that the 9000 series would be hot on its heels, after a couple rounds of long pauses between Zen 2 and Zen 3 #APU products in that class.

Show threadselfhosting.couchsurfingApr 5, 2025

but thankfully there are parts of my #surfhosting tech stack which are fairly settled already:

OS: #LinuxMint; #Debian (with #LXQt if needed, or #BunsenLabs); #OpenWRT

Virtualization: #Proxmox

Hardware: refurb "1-liter" #1LPC business #miniPC from HP, Dell, Lenovo, with mid to high end CPU

Network: #GLiNet and #FriendlyElec #NanoPi routers / network-attached devices; #PiVPN

Phone: #VoipMS with dedicated SIP phone, plus softphone apps for limited use

Power: 90% of everything powered from compact #GaN USB-PD power supplies; 24/7 gear backed by ~15 year old consumer UPSes with drop-in LFP 12V batteries

selfhosting.couchsurfingMar 4, 2025

#ServeTheHome takes a look at the first 1-liter PC to (unofficially) support 128GB of RAM, the Lenovo M75q Tiny Gen5.

reviewed unit has an AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 8700GE processor, 35 watt TDP.

overall a very promising Proxmox box, only stumbling blocks are that it still ships with 1Gbps ethernet, and SATA is no longer supported.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCvyUyk8jmk #1LPC #miniPC

A New Era of 1L PCs with 128GB and more

YouTube
selfhosting.couchsurfingFeb 23, 2024

Some specs for the Ryzen 8000GE series of 35-watt CPUs leaked recently. The figures include base clock but not boost clock or GPU clock.

Hardware looks identical to the 8000G series, just clocked down to fit in a 35-watt power envelope (more or less).

This is good news for people who want ultra-compact servers! There's even some hint that the PRO units may support ECC RAM.

spec table via TomsHardware #AMD #Ryzen #selfhosting #UCFF #1LPC