Recommendation for 10G Mini PC

[Enquiries]

Hello, long story short since I already ran into the 900 character limit earlier.
Since I have to downsize my homelab because of moving into a new apartment next year I´d really appreciate your advice on a MiniPC.
I have a 10G mostly Flash Storage Main Server and 4 HDD Backup PCs, one of which remote. I am currently using a DIY PC with an i5 13500 and 10G Nic to manage everything in thsi network, from download linux isos to doing the backups. Unfortunately I need to sell this PC for a more powerefficient solution. For this Management PC I´m looking for a Mini PC that should be as powerefficient as possible in idle, yet it shoudl be powerful enough to handle everything I may throw at it, so something round about the performance of my current 13500 should be fine. It needs to have 10G built in or a way to add it, ideally copper instead of SFP+, also need s to be reliable.

[ed]

The key here is finding a mini PC that still has a PCIe slot (or OCuLink) so you can drop in your existing 10GBase-T NIC, since native 10G copper in compact machines is still rare.

1️⃣ Minisforum MS-01
• Comes with a Core i9-13900H or Xeon E-series mobile chip.
• Built-in PCIe slot to add your 10G NIC.
• Very quiet, compact, and extremely power-efficient at idle compared to your desktop.
• Reliable and built for homelab/pro use.
• Usually ~1200–1300 USD depending on config.
This is probably the cleanest drop-in replacement you’ll find.

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2️⃣ QNAP TBS-h574TX
• Technically a NAS, but with a powerful Intel Core i5 and PCIe slot.
• Supports 10G networking and doubles as a management server/NAS hybrid.
• More expensive (~1400–1500 USD) and less flexible OS-wise, but worth mentioning if you like the idea of ZFS and storage baked in.

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3️⃣ Alternative: Mini PC + USB 10G Adapter

If PCIe/OCuLink isn’t viable for you, you could look at a high-efficiency Ryzen or Intel NUC 13 Pro (Core i7 or Ryzen 7), and pair it with an external Thunderbolt-to-10GBase-T adapter.
• Not ideal for heavy 10G loads (latency can be higher), but works for management workloads and light file transfer.
• ~800–1000 USD + ~200 USD for the adapter.

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Why Not an Off-the-Shelf Embedded 10G?

Most embedded boxes with built-in 10G tend to either use SFP+ (not ideal for you) or be very underpowered and not comparable to your i5-13500.