Best mini PC for a homelab: Beelink vs GMKtec vs Minisforum

Want to add a desktop GPU later? Read our external GPU dock guide: native OCuLink or a suitable PCIe-tunnelling Thunderbolt/USB4 host is the starting point, rather than a USB-C socket alone.

Which mini PC should you buy?

For Home Assistant plus a small Proxmox lab, pick the Beelink EQ14 N150, 16 GB / 500 GB. For a dedicated host with Home Assistant OS already installed, pick Home Assistant Green. The original three picks below still cover Docker, RAM growth and dual-NIC labs.

Choose the Beelink EQR6, Ryzen 5 6600H, 24 GB RAM / 500 GB SSD for a compact Docker host when its fixed memory is enough. Choose the Minisforum UM760 Slim, Ryzen 5 7640HS, 16 GB / 512 GB for a Proxmox node with room to expand RAM. Choose the GMKtec G11 Plus, Ryzen 5 3500U, 16 GB / 512 GB when you need both dual Ethernet and replaceable RAM, accepting its older CPU and lower memory ceiling.

The Beelink already has dual Ethernet. The reason to choose the GMKtec is its replaceable memory, not an extra network port.

Connecting a mini PC to a NAS? Our 2.5GbE switch and NIC picks separate five-port and eight-port switches, VLAN controls and a 10GbE SFP+ uplink.

Specs and setup guidance come from the makers and project docs; the Green power figure is maker-published at its DC input.

Write a short buying checklist before ordering: required memory today, likely expansion, physical network connections, boot/data layout and a recovery route. Reject a box that misses a non-negotiable item even when its processor name or sale label looks attractive. This prevents an inexpensive host becoming a series of unplanned adapters.

N150 for Home Assistant and Proxmox: pick EQ14

Want one little box for Home Assistant and a few lab projects? Choose the Beelink EQ14 N150, 16 GB DDR4 / 500 GB SSD. Its four-core, four-thread Intel CPU brings Quick Sync video support, while replaceable RAM and two wired network ports give you a useful starting point for a small Proxmox node. Keep the UM760 Slim pick for a lab that will outgrow 16 GB.

Bought the EQ14? The Home Assistant OS install guide walks through a bare-metal install or a Proxmox VM with the Zigbee stick passed through.

Want the lights and sensors working without choosing a hypervisor? Buy Home Assistant Green instead. Home Assistant OS comes installed. Plug in power and Ethernet, complete onboarding, then follow our Home Assistant starter kit for the first sensors and automations.

What matters	Beelink EQ14 N150 selected configuration	Home Assistant Green
CPU	Intel N150, 4 cores / 4 threads	Rockchip RK3566, 4 Cortex-A55 cores at 1.8 GHz
Memory	16 GB DDR4 in a replaceable SO-DIMM; maker maximum 16 GB	4 GB onboard LPDDR4X
Included storage	500 GB SSD; maker says the retail unit ships with SATA III	32 GB eMMC
NVMe expansion	Two M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 sockets in total; the supplied drive occupies one	eMMC appliance; no internal NVMe expansion listed
Wired networking	Two 2.5 GbE ports on the selected offer	One Gigabit Ethernet port
Best job	Home Assistant OS directly, or a small Proxmox host	Dedicated Home Assistant appliance

The Beelink EQ14 specifications, Intel N150 specifications and Green hardware page supply these details. EQ14’s DDR4 SO-DIMM is replaceable, not soldered LPDDR memory. It ships at Beelink’s published memory ceiling, so the slot helps with replacement rather than a supported jump beyond 16 GB. The factory SATA drive also means “M.2” on the box does not automatically mean the included SSD is NVMe.

Choose the installation, then the radio

For a dedicated host, follow Home Assistant’s generic x86-64 installation: enable UEFI, disable Secure Boot and write HAOS to the intended boot drive. That replaces the drive’s existing installation. This is the straightforward route when Home Assistant is the computer’s whole job.

For a shared lab, install Proxmox and use the official HAOS KVM image and VM instructions. Leave memory for the hypervisor as well as its guests; Proxmox recommends at least 2 GB for its OS and services, plus the memory assigned to guests. Start small and watch actual RAM use before piling on extra VMs.

Give a USB Zigbee radio to the Home Assistant guest through USB passthrough. A network coordinator is another option if you want the radio away from the host. Our Zigbee/Thread coordinator guide covers that choice; the Home Assistant hub takes you from the host to useful projects.

Frigate: try the Intel graphics before buying an accelerator

N150’s Quick Sync handles supported video work; OpenVINO is a separate route for Frigate object detection. Frigate documents Intel video decoding and an OpenVINO detector on supported Intel GPUs. Give the Frigate runtime access to the graphics device, including through the VM boundary when applicable, then try that route first. You may not need a Coral or Hailo accelerator.

Our Coral vs Hailo guide explains the no-extra-hardware option. Pair the host with a camera from the Frigate PoE buying guide, then choose recording storage for your retention plan. Two M.2 sockets make this a compact SSD host, not a chassis for several hard drives.

For power planning, Beelink’s reviewed page supplies no EQ14 idle-watt figure. Green’s maker publishes about 1.7 W idle at 12 V, a DC-input figure rather than an AC-wall measurement. Measure the finished N150 configuration with a plug-in power meter before calculating its monthly bill.

Compare the three original configurations

The table describes the installed configuration shown, not the maximum memory or extra SSDs. Slot counts are totals; an installed drive already occupies a socket.

Specification	Beelink EQR6	GMKtec G11 Plus	Minisforum UM760 Slim
CPU	Ryzen 5 6600H	Ryzen 5 3500U	Ryzen 5 7640HS
Cores / threads	6 / 12	4 / 8	6 / 12
Installed RAM / SSD	24 GB LPDDR5 / 500 GB	16 GB DDR4 / 512 GB	16 GB DDR5 / 512 GB
RAM ceiling / slots	24 GB onboard for this configuration; no SO-DIMM upgrade	32 GB / 2 DDR4 SO-DIMM slots	96 GB / 2 DDR5 SO-DIMM slots
NVMe-capable storage sockets	2 × M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0	2 × M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0; second also supports SATA	2 × M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0
Wired NICs	2 × 2.5 GbE	2 × 2.5 GbE	1 × 2.5 GbE
Published power / supply	Built-in 85 W PSU; CPU TDP not stated on reviewed page	Vendor modes 15 / 20 / 25 W, up to 35 W peak; included adapter, DC input 19 V / 3.42 A	AMD processor TDP 35–54 W; included 19 V adapter, wattage not stated in reviewed vendor table

Sources: exact Beelink EQR6 product page, GMKtec G11 Plus specifications, UM760 Slim specifications, and AMD’s 7640HS processor specification, checked 2026-10-22. The power entries have different scopes; they are not an efficiency ranking or measured wall draw.

For an ARM learning project or board-level expansion, compare the Raspberry Pi alternatives. Their software and accessory checks differ from choosing a complete mini PC.

Docker host: Beelink if fixed RAM fits

The EQR6 is the Docker starting pick when its fixed 24 GB meets the workload. Its six-core, twelve-thread CPU and dual Ethernet are the relevant configuration features; the built-in supply avoids a separate power brick.

The purchasing constraint is the 24 GB onboard LPDDR5. Do not order SO-DIMMs expecting to upgrade this configuration later. Estimate the host’s memory, application working sets and room for growth before choosing it. If the memory requirement is already close to the installed amount, buy an upgradeable platform instead of hoping the workload stays small.

Choose the software boundary separately. Our Proxmox vs bare-metal Docker guide explains when a Linux application host is enough and when separate guest operating systems justify a hypervisor. Extra layers do not become necessary merely because the box can run them.

Proxmox node: Minisforum for memory growth

Choose the UM760 Slim for its two DDR5 SO-DIMM slots and published 96 GB maximum. The selected configuration contains 16 GB; follow supported module population requirements when expanding it. Before assigning graphics to a guest, use the Proxmox GPU passthrough checklist to plan device ownership and recovery.

The checked UM760 offer includes 16 GB, so plan for a supported replacement population if you want more.

Plan RAM for the host as well as guests. Proxmox’s hardware requirements require CPU and motherboard virtualisation support for x86 KVM. They do not certify this particular mini PC. Confirm firmware options and the intended Linux drivers rather than treating the Ryzen badge as a completed compatibility check.

Its single 2.5 GbE port is the obvious trade-off. It can fit a node needing one wired connection; it does not meet a requirement for two physical NICs without additional hardware and its own support checks. Decide that before paying for the larger RAM ceiling.

Check the exact memory types and supported population before ordering an upgrade. A large capacity figure is not evidence of ECC. If correction is a requirement, use the ECC RAM buying and platform guide before committing to a machine.

Dual-NIC and small NAS needs: the GMKtec trade-off

Choose the GMKtec G11 Plus for two 2.5 GbE ports and replaceable RAM when the 32 GB RAM ceiling is sufficient. Its four-core, eight-thread 3500U is not a reason to assume it beats either six-core option. Want a dedicated enclosure instead? Compare the UGREEN DXP2800 and Synology DS225+ before choosing the host.

Likewise, two NICs do not automatically double a file transfer’s speed. Port specifications and application throughput are different evidence.

For a small NAS, all three are candidates for an SSD-based lab, with different memory and networking limits. Plan which socket holds boot storage, where data lives and how recovery works. A socket occupied by the supplied drive is not another free expansion slot. Inspect the delivered layout before ordering additional SSDs.

If the requirement is a bank of 3.5-inch hard drives, start with suitable drive bays and power arrangements instead of choosing one of these boxes by CPU alone. An external enclosure is another component and reporting path to validate. Our RAID, snapshots and backups guide explains why redundancy inside the chosen layout still needs an independent recovery copy.

Light local AI: fit the model and software first

The UM760 Slim is the starting pick here for light CPU-served model experiments when RAM growth matters. Reserve memory for the operating system, model weights, context and concurrent work. Check model fit against the RAM left after those workloads, then measure response speed with your chosen software.

All three selected machines use integrated graphics. Their system memory is not a discrete GPU’s dedicated VRAM allocation. Ollama’s hardware documentation ties acceleration to the supported hardware, backend and driver. Confirm the exact path before buying for GPU offload; an “AI PC” label does not settle it.

Use our Ollama context and VRAM guide to separate model size, context and parallel-request memory. For a purchasing requirement built around dedicated GPU memory or demonstrated token throughput, choose hardware with that evidence rather than extrapolating from these RAM figures.

Power ratings are not a monthly bill

An 85 W PSU is not an 85 W idle reading. A processor TDP, a vendor performance mode and an adapter’s output specification also measure different things. None of the table’s power entries supplies the average wall consumption needed for an electricity estimate.

The UM760’s reviewed specification says an included 19 V adapter but does not state its wattage. Do not fill the gap using the page’s separate performance claim or USB4 input range. Confirm the supplied adapter if power hardware is part of the purchase requirement.

The monthly running-cost guide starts with measured average wall draw and your tariff. Apply that method to the complete configuration, including any separate storage or network equipment within the measurement boundary. Measure the finished configuration before claiming an electricity saving.

For a Home Assistant host, choose the radio separately from the computer. Our ten-device starter kit takes you from the host and radio to sensors, motion lighting and phone alerts. Our Zigbee and Thread coordinator buying guide compares direct USB with wired Ethernet/PoE placement and explains why Thread needs its own supported path.

Putting the mini PC beside a switch, NAS and UPS? Choose a small rack or shelf around their actual dimensions. A shallow 10-inch rack suits compact boxes; desktop equipment can be easier to organise on adjustable shelving.

A spare 10Gbps USB data port can add a faster wired path without opening the case. The 5GbE USB adapter guide explains the host, driver and switch requirements; a 2.5GbE switch still limits that connection to 2.5G.

Check the delivered configuration before keeping it

Match the label, reported CPU, installed RAM and SSD to the exact order. Mini-PC listings often offer several configurations, so match the whole configuration rather than the chassis name. Keep the invoice and compatibility answers with the record.

Within the agreed return terms, check the intended operating system, NIC and storage reporting, firmware settings, cold start, reboot and actual workload. Use a recovery copy before changing the supplied installation. Keep the observations specific to the tested configuration rather than translating a successful boot into a general reliability claim.

Buy the Beelink when fixed RAM fits, the Minisforum for the higher memory ceiling, or the GMKtec for dual NICs with replaceable RAM. Leave room in the budget for the upgrades and independent backup the chosen role actually needs.

For a local video recorder, pair your host with a PoE camera chosen for Frigate. The camera guide walks you through the lens, night lighting and separate detect/record streams.

For Frigate on the N150, start with the Intel graphics route described above. Keep the AMD picks for their Docker, memory-growth and networking roles.

If your existing mini PC needs a faster wired link and has no expansion slot, the 2.5GbE USB adapter guide helps you choose a connector and validate the Linux path.

For BIOS access when the host OS is unavailable, compare Comet, JetKVM and PiKVM. Match the active HDMI/USB path and the mini PC’s actual power-control options.

Once the host is running, add a useful everyday device: our Brother printer guide compares network laser picks and brings local toner/status readings into Home Assistant.

A fast NIC deserves a matching connection: the 2.5GbE switch guide helps you link mini PCs and a NAS, with separate picks for plug-in simplicity, VLANs and PoE.

Buying specifically for larger language models? The local-LLM hardware guide compares a 128GB Ryzen AI Max+ 395 machine with a dedicated NVIDIA desktop, so memory capacity and backend support lead the decision.

Give the box a comfortable place to work: our homelab desk setup guide covers the monitor arm, two-machine KVM, laptop dock and tidy power around it.