I would like to share my (positive) experience
I've been using Raspberry Pi 4 (4GB) under FreeBSD 13 during several years as my home server (heating management) and as a backup destination for my cloud server (ZFS replication). One day the computer (together with my router) was killed by a strong thunderstorm. I wanted to replace it with the same one, but I was surprised by the price, reached 200+ Euros. So, I decided to search for an alternative solution.
After long searching, I focused on x86 mini PCs, and finally I ordered Dell Wyse 5060 Thin Client (second hand on Ebay, 50 Euros). It is really an excellent solution for someone who needs a low consuming home server under FreeBSD. All the hardware (even GPU and audio card!) works out-of-the-box under FreeBSD 13.1. My probe is here: https://bsd-hardware.info/?probe=c233fa7d25
The power consumption in idle state is about 7W, during a stress test it reaches 20W maximum (I measured it myself). Installing a 'normal' 2.5' SSD takes 10 minutes (a special cable is needed, but I've got it with the PC from a seller). And I could add 4GB of RAM into a free slot (it takes 15 minutes), so I have 8GB of RAM now.
The results of benchmarks are as follows:
Ubench CPU: 613243
Ubench RAM: 1015217
Ubench Average: 814230
Glmark2: 1007
The Enlightenment DE runs smoothly, I can see HD Youtube videos in Firefox without problems.
I've been using Raspberry Pi 4 (4GB) under FreeBSD 13 during several years as my home server (heating management) and as a backup destination for my cloud server (ZFS replication). One day the computer (together with my router) was killed by a strong thunderstorm. I wanted to replace it with the same one, but I was surprised by the price, reached 200+ Euros. So, I decided to search for an alternative solution.
After long searching, I focused on x86 mini PCs, and finally I ordered Dell Wyse 5060 Thin Client (second hand on Ebay, 50 Euros). It is really an excellent solution for someone who needs a low consuming home server under FreeBSD. All the hardware (even GPU and audio card!) works out-of-the-box under FreeBSD 13.1. My probe is here: https://bsd-hardware.info/?probe=c233fa7d25
The power consumption in idle state is about 7W, during a stress test it reaches 20W maximum (I measured it myself). Installing a 'normal' 2.5' SSD takes 10 minutes (a special cable is needed, but I've got it with the PC from a seller). And I could add 4GB of RAM into a free slot (it takes 15 minutes), so I have 8GB of RAM now.
The results of benchmarks are as follows:
Ubench CPU: 613243
Ubench RAM: 1015217
Ubench Average: 814230
Glmark2: 1007
The Enlightenment DE runs smoothly, I can see HD Youtube videos in Firefox without problems.