Labstack Pick

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Tool

Labstack Fit

Pick the job first. We score the catalog against that job using the same fields we already normalize — RAM ceiling, NICs, storage lanes, rough TDP, use-case tags. No synthetic benchmarks.

RAM ceiling and storage lanes first. iGPU is secondary unless you also transcode.

  1. 100
    Minisforum NAB6

    Intel i5-12450H / i7-12650H class mini-PC with dual LAN options for mixed HA and light hypervisor duty.

    • 64 GB RAM ceiling
    • Dual NVMe path
    • Dual NIC
    • CPU class suits a hypervisor
  2. 98
    GMKtec NucBox M7 Pro

    Ryzen 9 class GMKtec box aimed at dense Proxmox stacks and iGPU transcode without a full tower.

    • 96 GB RAM ceiling
    • Dual NVMe path
    • CPU class suits a hypervisor
  3. 98
    Minisforum UM790 Pro

    Ryzen 9 barebone mini-PC with OCulink option for GPU passthrough experiments and dense VMs.

    • 96 GB RAM ceiling
    • Dual NVMe path
    • CPU class suits a hypervisor
  4. 92
    Beelink SER8

    Newer Ryzen 7 mini-PC aimed at heavier VM stacks and iGPU media duties in a dense chassis.

    • 64 GB RAM ceiling
    • Dual NVMe path
    • CPU class suits a hypervisor
  5. 92
    Geekom Mini IT13

    13th-gen Intel mini-PC often shortlisted for Quick Sync Plex/Jellyfin and multi-VM Proxmox labs.

    • 64 GB RAM ceiling
    • Dual NVMe path
    • CPU class suits a hypervisor
  6. 90
    Minisforum MS-A1

    AMD AM5 mini workstation-style box popular in expandable Proxmox and TrueNAS Scale builds.

    • 96 GB RAM ceiling
    • Extra SATA lane helps local disks
    • CPU class suits a hypervisor
  7. 84
    Beelink SER5

    Compact AMD Ryzen mini-PC often used for Proxmox and Home Assistant with upgradeable SODIMM.

    • 64 GB RAM ceiling
    • Extra SATA lane helps local disks
    • CPU class suits a hypervisor
  8. 78
    Geekom A8

    Ryzen AI mini-PC candidate for quiet always-on homelab nodes with modern iGPU media assist.

    • 64 GB RAM ceiling
    • CPU class suits a hypervisor
  9. 68
    Geekom N305 Entry

    Intel N305 class mini-PC (typical configuration) — a practical step up for light Proxmox and smoother media workloads.

    • 32 GB RAM ceiling — tight for many VMs
    • Extra SATA lane helps local disks
    • N305 is fine for a light node
  10. 62
    Aoostar A5 N100

    Intel N100 dual-LAN mini-PC style build — a strong value pick for a clean HA-only setup (typical configuration).

    • 32 GB RAM ceiling — tight for many VMs
    • Dual NIC
    • N100 is a light node only
  11. 62
    Beelink EQ12

    Low-power Intel N100 box suited to quiet Home Assistant and light Proxmox nodes with dual 2.5GbE.

    • 32 GB RAM ceiling — tight for many VMs
    • Dual NIC
    • N100 is a light node only
  12. 62
    Beelink EQ14

    Twin-LAN Intel N305/N100 family box for quiet always-on labs that outgrow a single N100 node.

    • 32 GB RAM ceiling — tight for many VMs
    • Dual NIC
    • N100 is a light node only
  13. 60
    Geekom AE8 N100

    Geekom-style N100 mini-PC (typical configuration) — low power, smooth daily HA operation, expandable storage options.

    • 32 GB RAM ceiling — tight for many VMs
    • Extra SATA lane helps local disks
    • N100 is a light node only
  14. 54
    GMKtec G3 N100

    Budget Intel N100 mini-PC — quiet always-on Home Assistant starting point (typical configuration).

    • 32 GB RAM ceiling — tight for many VMs
    • Extra SATA lane helps local disks
    • N100 is a light node only
  15. 48
    Beelink EQ2 N100

    Beelink EQ2 N100 style mini-PC (typical configuration) — budget HA node with quiet idle and simple upgrades.

    • 32 GB RAM ceiling — tight for many VMs
    • N100 is a light node only
  16. 48
    Minisforum N100 Mini

    Minisforum N100 class mini-PC (typical configuration) — efficient always-on hardware for HA and small lab services.

    • 32 GB RAM ceiling — tight for many VMs
    • N100 is a light node only
  17. 34
    Aoostar R1

    Compact NAS-adjacent mini PC with multiple drive bays popular for Jellyfin libraries plus light VMs.

    • Low RAM ceiling for Proxmox
    • Extra SATA lane helps local disks
    • N100 is a light node only

How the score is built

Each job starts around 40 and moves up or down from public specs. Caps at 100. It is an editorial ranking, not a lab result — if a vendor page disagrees with our normalized fields, trust the vendor and tell us.

  • Proxmox — RAM ceiling, dual NVMe / SATA headroom, CPU class, dual NIC.
  • Home Assistant — low TDP when listed, dual LAN, N-series preference, HA use-case tag.
  • Plex / Jellyfin — iGPU / Quick Sync class, RAM for Arr stack, local cache lanes.
  • NAS — bay count hints, 10GbE vs 2.5GbE, storage-oriented tags.

Weights live in code (app/fit_score.py) so we cannot quietly change them per product.

What we would buy first Full mini-PC matrix