Low-Power Homelab: Building a 15W Server with N100 Mini PCs

Running a 24/7 homelab server used to mean accepting high electricity bills. A typical desktop PC running as a server can consume 100-200W continuously, costing hundreds of dollars per year in electricity. But what if you could run your entire homelab stack—Docker containers, virtual machines, media servers, and more—on just 15 watts?

Enter the Intel N100 processor. This low-power chip has revolutionized the mini PC market, offering desktop-class performance at a fraction of the power consumption. Combined with modern mini PC designs, you can build a silent, efficient homelab that costs less than $50 per year to run.

The Power Consumption Problem

Traditional Server Costs

A typical homelab setup might include:

• Desktop PC Server: 100-150W idle, 200W+ under load
• Annual Cost (at $0.12/kWh): $105-$157 idle, $210+ under load
• 24/7 Operation: Adds up quickly over years

The Mini PC Solution

Modern mini PCs with efficient processors like the N100:

• Idle Power: 8-12W
• Load Power: 15-20W
• Annual Cost: $8-$21 (at $0.12/kWh)
• Savings: $100-150+ per year compared to traditional servers

Over 5 years, that's $500-750 in electricity savings—often more than the cost of the hardware itself.

Understanding the Intel N100

The Intel N100 is part of Intel's Alder Lake-N series, designed specifically for low-power applications. Despite its efficiency focus, it's surprisingly capable.

N100 Specifications

• Architecture: Alder Lake (same as 12th/13th gen Core)
• Cores: 4 efficiency cores (no performance cores)
• Threads: 4
• Base Clock: 800 MHz
• Boost Clock: 3.4 GHz
• TDP: 6W (configurable)
• Integrated Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics (24 EUs)
• Memory Support: DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200, LPDDR5-4800
• PCIe: 9 lanes (PCIe 3.0)

Performance Characteristics

The N100 excels at:

• Lightweight workloads: Web servers, file servers, DNS
• Container hosting: Docker, Podman
• Media serving: Jellyfin, Plex (with hardware transcoding)
• Virtualization: Light VMs, Proxmox
• Network services: Pi-hole, AdGuard Home, VPNs

It struggles with:

• Heavy computation: Video encoding (software), large compilations
• High concurrency: Many simultaneous heavy tasks
• Gaming: Not designed for gaming workloads

N100 vs Raspberry Pi 5

The N100 offers significantly better performance for general homelab use, with x86 compatibility meaning you can run standard Linux distributions and Docker images without ARM compatibility concerns.

Choosing the Right Mini PC

Popular N100 Mini PC Options

Beelink Mini S12 Pro:

• N100, 16GB RAM, 500GB SSD
• Price: ~$200
• Good build quality, well-supported

Trigkey Green G4:

• N100, 16GB RAM, 500GB SSD
• Price: ~$180
• Similar to Beelink, good value

GMKtec NucBox G3:

• N100, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD
• Price: ~$190
• Compact design, good cooling

Generic Chinese Mini PCs:

• Various brands, similar specs
• Price: $100-150
• Quality varies, but often good value

What to Look For

RAM:

• Minimum: 8GB (for basic services)
• Recommended: 16GB (for comfortable virtualization)
• Maximum: 32GB (some models support this)

Storage:

• NVMe SSD slot (essential for performance)
• SATA port (optional, for additional storage)
• Avoid models with only eMMC storage

Connectivity:

• 2.5GbE Ethernet (some models have this)
• USB 3.0+ ports
• HDMI/DisplayPort outputs

Cooling:

• Passive or quiet active cooling
• Good thermal design (check reviews)

Operating System Options

Proxmox VE (Recommended)

Proxmox is a powerful virtualization platform perfect for homelabs:

Advantages:

• Full virtualization (KVM) and containers (LXC)
• Web-based management interface
• Built-in backup and replication
• Excellent for learning enterprise virtualization

Installation:

# Download Proxmox VE ISO
# Create bootable USB
# Boot mini PC from USB
# Follow installation wizard

# After installation, access web UI at:
# https://your-ip:8006

Resource Allocation:

• Proxmox overhead: ~1GB RAM, minimal CPU
• Leaves plenty for VMs and containers
• Can run 5-10 lightweight containers easily

Ubuntu Server

For a simpler, container-focused setup:

# Install Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS
# Install Docker
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

# Install Docker Compose
sudo apt install docker-compose-plugin

Advantages:

• Simpler setup
• Lower overhead
• Great for Docker-only workloads
• Easy to manage

Unraid

If you need storage management:

• Excellent for NAS functionality
• Docker and VM support
• Easy storage pooling
• Web-based management

Considerations:

• Paid license ($59+)
• More resource overhead than Proxmox
• Best for storage-heavy use cases

Setting Up Proxmox on N100

Installation Steps

1. Download Proxmox VE ISO from proxmox.com

2. Create bootable USB using Balena Etcher or similar

3. Boot mini PC from USB

4. Follow installer:

   • Select target disk (NVMe SSD)
   • Set root password
   • Configure network
   • Complete installation

5. Access Web Interface:

   • Navigate to https://your-ip:8006
   • Login with root and your password

Initial Configuration

Update System:

# SSH into Proxmox
ssh root@your-ip

# Update package lists
apt update && apt upgrade -y

Configure Storage:

• Datacenter → Storage → Add
• Add local storage for VMs
• Configure backup storage if available

Create First Container:

• Create CT → Select template (Ubuntu, Debian, etc.)
• Allocate resources (512MB RAM, 1 CPU core)
• Install and configure

Service Deployment Examples

Docker on Proxmox LXC

Create an LXC container for Docker:

# Create privileged container
# Template: Ubuntu 22.04
# Resources: 2GB RAM, 2 CPU cores, 20GB disk

# In container:
apt update && apt install -y docker.io docker-compose
systemctl enable docker

Docker Compose Stack:

version: '3.8'

services:
  portainer:
    image: portainer/portainer-ce:latest
    ports:
      - "9000:9000"
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
      - portainer_data:/data
    restart: unless-stopped

  jellyfin:
    image: jellyfin/jellyfin:latest
    ports:
      - "8096:8096"
    volumes:
      - ./jellyfin:/config
      - /mnt/media:/media:ro
    devices:
      - /dev/dri:/dev/dri
    restart: unless-stopped

  pihole:
    image: pihole/pihole:latest
    ports:
      - "53:53/tcp"
      - "53:53/udp"
      - "80:80"
    environment:
      - TZ=America/New_York
      - WEBPASSWORD=yourpassword
    volumes:
      - ./pihole:/etc/pihole
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  portainer_data:

Media Server Setup

Jellyfin with hardware transcoding:

# Verify GPU is available
ls -la /dev/dri/

# Should show: card0, renderD128

# In Jellyfin container, enable:
# Hardware acceleration: VAAPI
# Device: /dev/dri/renderD128

The N100's integrated graphics can handle 1-2 simultaneous 1080p transcodes, perfect for small households.

Network Services

Pi-hole / AdGuard Home:

• Minimal resources (512MB RAM)
• Perfect for N100
• Can handle entire network

VPN Server (WireGuard):

• Very efficient
• Low CPU usage
• Great for remote access

Reverse Proxy (Traefik/Nginx):

• Lightweight
• Handles routing for all services
• Essential for multi-service setup

Power Consumption Measurements

Idle Power

Typical N100 Mini PC:

• Idle (desktop): 8-10W
• Idle (headless server): 6-8W
• With SSD and RAM populated: +1-2W

Load Power

Light Load (few containers):

• 10-12W

Medium Load (media transcoding):

• 15-18W

Heavy Load (all cores maxed):

• 20-25W (rare, thermal throttling may occur)

Real-World Example

Setup:

• Beelink Mini S12 Pro (N100, 16GB, 500GB SSD)
• Proxmox with 8 LXC containers
• Services: Jellyfin, Pi-hole, WireGuard, Traefik, Portainer, etc.

Measurements:

• Idle: 9W
• Normal operation: 11-13W
• Media transcoding: 16W
• Average: ~12W

Annual Cost (at $0.12/kWh):

• 12W × 24h × 365d = 105 kWh
• 105 kWh × $0.12 = $12.60/year

Compare to a 100W desktop server: $105/year - savings of $92.40/year

Performance Benchmarks

CPU Performance

Cinebench R23:

• Single-core: ~800-900 points
• Multi-core: ~2500-2800 points

Real-World Tasks:

• Docker container startup: Less than 2 seconds
• Web server response: Excellent
• File operations: Fast (with NVMe)
• Media transcoding: 1-2 streams (1080p)

Memory Performance

With 16GB RAM, you can comfortably run:

• 5-10 Docker containers
• 2-3 lightweight VMs
• Multiple network services
• Media server with transcoding

Storage Performance

NVMe SSDs in these mini PCs typically achieve:

• Read: 500-2000 MB/s (depending on drive)
• Write: 400-1500 MB/s
• Much faster than Raspberry Pi's microSD

Optimization Tips

Power Management

Linux Power Settings:

# Set CPU governor to powersave (when idle)
echo powersave | sudo tee /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu*/cpufreq/scaling_governor

# Or use balanced (better performance)
echo ondemand | sudo tee /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu*/cpufreq/scaling_governor

Disable Unused Services:

• Remove desktop environments if running headless
• Disable unnecessary systemd services
• Use minimal base installations

Thermal Management

Monitor Temperatures:

# Install sensors
sudo apt install lm-sensors
sensors

# Watch temperatures
watch -n 1 sensors

Cooling Considerations:

• Most mini PCs have adequate cooling
• Ensure good ventilation
• Consider external fan if running hot
• Thermal throttling occurs around 80-90°C

Resource Allocation

Container Sizing:

• Start with minimal resources
• Monitor usage and adjust
• Over-provisioning wastes resources
• Use Proxmox resource limits

Limitations and Considerations

What N100 Can't Do

Heavy Workloads:

• Large video encoding projects
• Complex data processing
• High-concurrency web applications
• Multiple simultaneous heavy VMs

Gaming:

• Not designed for gaming
• Integrated graphics are basic
• Better options exist for gaming servers

When to Consider Alternatives

Upgrade if you need:

• More than 2-3 simultaneous media transcodes
• Heavy computational workloads
• More than 32GB RAM
• PCIe expansion cards
• Multiple VMs with high resource needs

Consider:

• Intel N305 (8 cores, more performance)
• AMD Ryzen mini PCs (better multi-core)
• Traditional desktop/server hardware

Cost Analysis

Initial Investment

N100 Mini PC Setup:

• Mini PC (16GB, 500GB): $180-200
• Additional storage (optional): $50-100
• Total: $230-300

Operating Costs

Electricity (5 years, $0.12/kWh):

• N100: ~$63
• Traditional 100W server: ~$525
• Savings: $462

Total Cost of Ownership (5 years)

• N100: $293-363
• Traditional Server: $625-725
• Savings: $332-432

The N100 pays for itself in electricity savings within 2-3 years.

Real-World Homelab Examples

Example 1: Basic Services Stack

Services:

• Pi-hole (DNS filtering)
• WireGuard (VPN)
• Portainer (Docker management)
• Traefik (reverse proxy)
• Jellyfin (media server, occasional use)

Resources:

• RAM usage: ~4GB
• CPU usage: Less than 10% average
• Power: ~10W average

Example 2: Development Environment

Services:

• GitLab (code hosting)
• Jenkins (CI/CD)
• PostgreSQL (database)
• Redis (cache)
• Multiple development containers

Resources:

• RAM usage: ~12GB
• CPU usage: 20-40% average
• Power: ~13W average

Example 3: Media-Centric Setup

Services:

• Jellyfin (media server)
• Radarr/Sonarr (media management)
• qBittorrent (downloads)
• Prowlarr (indexer)
• Pi-hole

Resources:

• RAM usage: ~8GB
• CPU usage: 15-30% (higher during transcoding)
• Power: ~14W average, 18W during transcoding

Conclusion

The Intel N100 represents a sweet spot for homelab enthusiasts who want capable hardware without the power consumption penalty. These mini PCs can replace traditional servers for most homelab use cases while consuming 85-90% less power.

Whether you're running a few Docker containers or a full Proxmox virtualization setup, an N100 mini PC offers:

• Low power consumption: 8-15W typical
• Good performance: Handles most homelab workloads
• Silent operation: Fanless or near-silent designs
• Small footprint: Fits anywhere
• Cost effective: Saves money on electricity

For many homelabbers, an N100 mini PC is the perfect balance of performance, efficiency, and cost. It's not the most powerful option, but for 90% of homelab use cases, it's more than enough—and the electricity savings make it an excellent investment.

For more detailed comparisons and benchmarks, check out Jeff Geerling's N100 analysis and XDA Developers' silent home server build.