--- title: I turned a $80 Dell Vostro into a Proxmox server that... description: A home lab enthusiast shares their journey from using a NAS for everything, to enterprise rack servers, to finally settling on cheap used business PCs (Dell... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/i-turned-a-80-dell-vostro-into-a-proxmox-server-that-outperformed-my-nas-setup-ioebtafqp twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: I turned a $80 Dell Vostro into a Proxmox server that outperformed my NAS setup | daily.dev og:description: A home lab enthusiast shares their journey from using a NAS for everything, to enterprise rack servers, to finally settling on cheap used business PCs (Dell... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/i-turned-a-80-dell-vostro-into-a-proxmox-server-that-outperformed-my-nas-setup-ioebtafqp og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/ioEBtaFqP.png og:image:alt: I turned a $80 Dell Vostro into a Proxmox server that outperformed my NAS setup og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # I turned a $80 Dell Vostro into a Proxmox server that outperformed my NAS setup **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 3 min read · 1 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A home lab enthusiast shares their journey from using a NAS for everything, to enterprise rack servers, to finally settling on cheap used business PCs (Dell Vostro and Fujitsu Esprimo) running Proxmox. Two Intel Core i5-7400 machines purchased for ~$70 each are clustered together, offering low power draw (65W under load), affordability, and upgradeability. The setup outperforms the previous NAS-based approach for running VMs and LXC containers, with plans to upgrade CPUs to i7-7700 for more performance. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How much power does an Intel Core i5-7400 based Proxmox node draw under load? A Dell Vostro 3268 and Fujitsu Esprimo D556 E85+, both equipped with an Intel Core i5-7400 quad-core CPU (no hyperthreading, boosts to 3.5 GHz), draw just 65W when hit hard. This low power draw makes them suitable for running a few VMs and LXC containers continuously without the noise, heat, or cost of enterprise rack servers. _daily.dev surfaces practical home lab builds for anyone sizing a low power Proxmox node._ ### Why should I separate NAS storage from a Proxmox hypervisor instead of running everything on one NAS box? NAS enclosures are built for storage, not for running many containers simultaneously, so they get bogged down when multiple clients hit them with data requests while also handling transcoding or other self-hosted processing. Separating storage from compute lets a NAS handle files while a dedicated Proxmox cluster handles VMs and containers without contention. _Readers weighing NAS versus a separate hypervisor can compare real setups on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Your first home lab shouldn't be a NAS — here's why a used business PC does it better](https://daily.dev/posts/your-first-home-lab-shouldn-t-be-a-nas-here-s-why-a-used-business-pc-does-it-better-qmjuqrimk) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [I replaced enterprise gear with a $50 compact PC, and my power bill thanked me](https://daily.dev/posts/i-replaced-enterprise-gear-with-a-50-compact-pc-and-my-power-bill-thanked-me-vki77qudz) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [I rebuilt my home servers from scratch, and this is the OS setup I wish I'd started with](https://daily.dev/posts/i-rebuilt-my-home-servers-from-scratch-and-this-is-the-os-setup-i-wish-i-d-started-with-sm4o4gxgw) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#infrastructure](https://daily.dev/tags/infrastructure), [#self-hosting](https://daily.dev/tags/self-hosting), [#homelab](https://daily.dev/tags/homelab), [#proxmox](https://daily.dev/tags/proxmox) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/i-turned-a-80-dell-vostro-into-a-proxmox-server-that-outperformed-my-nas-setup-ioebtafqp) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"I turned a $80 Dell Vostro into a Proxmox server that outperformed my NAS setup","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-turned-a-80-dell-vostro-into-a-proxmox-server-that-outperformed-my-nas-setup-ioebtafqp","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-turned-a-80-dell-vostro-into-a-proxmox-server-that-outperformed-my-nas-setup-ioebtafqp"},"datePublished":"2026-07-09T12:03:00.349Z","dateModified":"2026-09-14T08:13:53.897Z","description":"A home lab enthusiast shares their journey from using a NAS for everything, to enterprise rack servers, to finally settling on cheap used business PCs (Dell...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/d402fa6c698543b594bce7ce1f732231?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/d402fa6c698543b594bce7ce1f732231?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"XDA Developers","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"XDA Developers","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--kCg6yyAP--/f_auto,q_auto/v1774964407/logos/xda-developers?_a=BAMAMiWQ0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-turned-a-80-dell-vostro-into-a-proxmox-server-that-outperformed-my-nas-setup-ioebtafqp","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":1},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"infrastructure,self-hosting,homelab,proxmox","timeRequired":"PT3M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"XDA Developers","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"I turned a $80 Dell Vostro into a Proxmox server that outperformed my NAS setup"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-turned-a-80-dell-vostro-into-a-proxmox-server-that-outperformed-my-nas-setup-ioebtafqp#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How much power does an Intel Core i5-7400 based Proxmox node draw under load?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"A Dell Vostro 3268 and Fujitsu Esprimo D556 E85+, both equipped with an Intel Core i5-7400 quad-core CPU (no hyperthreading, boosts to 3.5 GHz), draw just 65W when hit hard. 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