this post was submitted on 29 Apr 2025
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My budget is ~500 Euro.

I haven't built a PC in 10 years, I gave no idea where to start.

It will mostly be used to run Nextcloud, Minecraft Server and some future homelab projects.

I'm thinking of using this for the case https://www.the-diy-life.com/introducing-lab-rax-a-3d-printable-modular-10-rack-system

Where do I start? What CPU or motherboard would you recommend? I want it to be somewhat future proof and also act as a NAS

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[–] Xanza@lemm.ee 28 points 3 days ago (2 children)

IMO MiniITX are a real PITA to build for on a budget. Most of the smaller components are sold at a premium because of their size.

I sell these things for a living and its exceptionally difficult to compete with pre-built ITX boards. Generally, I have to get a really great deal to come out on top vs some of the prefab models.

Because of that, unless you need something very specific and can't find it elsewhere, I generally suggest that you do some research and find a nice prefab one for your needs. If you don't mind spending the extra $, then building them is a hell of a lot of fun because you can customize them and you get exactly what you want, nothing extra.

Replacing the mini-rack with a completely 3D printable version will pretty significantly curtail the cost (between 1-300 euro because mini-racks are fucking expensive), so it might really be worth it if you can. Everything else is pretty trivial. Only thing you'll have to make sure is you get a CPU and MB with enough PCIe lanes for you to expand to what you want. Specifically a PCIe X4 to 6 port SATA 3 host controller. The board only uses 4x lanes, but you'll have to ensure that all 4 lanes are available or you'll see reduced read/write speeds.

[–] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 7 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Yeah, the case and mobo are frequently 2x the price of a mATX build. But pretty much everything else can be done on a budget (e.g. I'm using an ATX PSU in my ITX case).

[–] BCsven@lemmy.ca 3 points 3 days ago

I found M ITX on eBay for cheap $50, the ad said used mobo (10 available), but it arrived absolutely factor clean and had CPU cover on, etc. I assume old stock rather than used?? And found a CPU for $40. Monsterlabo fanless case cost me the most at $200