Most efficient builds

Lowest measured idle draw. Reviewer and dataset measurements are ranked separately from community reports and vendor claims, so the comparison stays fair. Yearly cost at $0.15/kWh.

Mini PCs

  1. ASUS ExpertCenter PN42: 5.5 W ≈ $7.23/yr
  2. Minisforum UN100C: 6 W ≈ $7.88/yr
  3. CWWK / Topton N5105 4× 2.5GbE Firewall: 6.6 W ≈ $8.67/yr
  4. Beelink SER5 Pro: 6.8 W ≈ $8.94/yr
  5. Beelink Mini S12 Pro: 7 W ≈ $9.20/yr
  6. GMKtec NucBox G3: 7 W ≈ $9.20/yr
  7. Fujitsu Futro S920: 7.8 W ≈ $10.25/yr
  8. Dell Wyse 5060 Thin Client: 7.8 W ≈ $10.25/yr
  9. Trigkey Green G4: 8 W ≈ $10.51/yr
  10. GMKtec G5: 8 W ≈ $10.51/yr

NAS units

  1. TerraMaster F4-424 Pro (SSD-only): 6.7 W ≈ $8.80/yr
  2. Aoostar R7: 7.3 W ≈ $9.59/yr
  3. GMKtec NucBox G9: 14.4 W ≈ $18.92/yr
  4. Synology DS224+: 18.6 W ≈ $24.44/yr
  5. TerraMaster F4-424 Pro (4 HDDs): 23.8 W ≈ $31.27/yr
  6. QNAP TS-464 + 4x 22 TB WD Red Pro: 24.6 W ≈ $32.32/yr
  7. UGREEN NASync DXP4800 Plus: 26 W ≈ $34.16/yr
  8. UGREEN NASync DXP4800 Plus (4 HDDs spinning): 35 W ≈ $45.99/yr
  9. TerraMaster F4-424 Pro (owner test, 4 HDDs): 35 W ≈ $45.99/yr

Community-reported DIY builds

Owner and forum measurements (Reddit). Methods vary; check each source.

  1. DIY i3-13100 on Asus Pro H610T (fanless, DC-measured): 2.5 W DC-side community report
  2. Lenovo ThinkCentre M93p Tiny (Home Assistant OS): 11 W community report
  3. HP ProDesk 400 MT (i7-9700, 7 SSDs): 13 W community report
  4. Dell PowerEdge R210 II (1 SSD): 20 W community report
  5. DIY Unraid i5-4600 with 6 drives: 43 W community report

The HomelabWatts monthly

New measurements, the most efficient builds, and the occasional deal on frugal hardware. One email a month.

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