Mini PC NAS pre-buy scorecard

Answer seven checks before checkout. The score runs locally in your browser and does not store or send your choices.

Workload Light services Home Assistant, DNS, a few containers, one light VM. NAS plus services File storage plus containers, media, or small VMs. Many VMs Several always-on VMs or CPU-heavy experiments.

RAM 32 GB or more Comfortable beginner target for NAS plus services. 16 GB Usable for light hosts, tight for NAS plus many services. Unknown or soldered low Risky if the workload grows.

NIC Known Intel NIC Exact model is documented and Linux-friendly. Known Realtek NIC Exact model is known, but should be tested. Unknown NIC Listing only says 2.5G or 10G without model.

Storage ownership Proxmox owns disks Simple first build with VM disks and backups separated. NAS VM owns disks Possible, but disk ownership must be explicit. Unclear owner Proxmox and a NAS VM may both depend on the same disks.

Backup target Outside the mini PC External NAS, another host, PBS, or rotation target. Same room, separate disk Better than nothing, but still a shared-location risk. No backup yet High risk for any NAS or important service.

Passthrough None for first build Simplest path while learning Proxmox. USB device only Manageable if the physical port and rollback are documented. HBA or GPU passthrough Needs IOMMU, isolation, boot separation, and rollback.

Cooling/noise Known quiet placement Box can live where it will run and sustain load. Small chassis unknown Needs a sustained test after install. Hot or noisy location May be the wrong hardware class.

Risk read

Low risk

This looks like a beginner-friendly Proxmox mini PC NAS path. Keep the plan boring and run one restore test before trusting data.

Main checks

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How to use the result

Low risk means the build is reasonable to research further. Medium risk means one or two details need proof before buying. High risk means the purchase should pause until the storage, NIC, backup, passthrough, or cooling plan is clearer.

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