René Welches

TECH NOTES TO MYSELF

Expanding My Proxmox Cluster: Minisforum UM700 for $69

Adding a refurbished mini PC to my homelab cluster

The Deal of the Year

Last year I picked up a refurbished Minisforum UM700 mini PC Christmas deal, and the price was too good to pass up. Here’s what I paid:

Minisforum UM700 Refurbished

  • AMD Ryzen™ 7 3750H
  • Barebone (no RAM/storage)
  • Original price: $99.00
  • Christmas discount: -$30.00
  • Total: $75.13 USD inclduing taxes and free shipping

For ~ $75, I got a quad-core Ryzen 7 3750H (with SMT, so 8 threads) that’s perfect for expanding my Proxmox homelab.

Posted by Rene Welches on Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Starting My Homelab Journey

Building a Proxmox-based homelab with GMKtec NucBox M5 Ultra and setting up SSL certificates

Introduction

In the beginning there were two 16 GB DDR4 RAM sticks and a 1 TB M.2 SSD that were gathering dust. After researching mini PCs, I decided to purchase the GMKtec NucBox M5 Ultra as a bare-bones system. The AMD Ryzen 7 7730U processor provides plenty of power for virtualization, and the compact form factor makes it perfect for a home lab setup. I got it on Black Friday sale for $255.89. Surprisingly, there were no import taxes added to the $255.89. The PC arrived from China after about two weeks.

Posted by Rene Welches on Monday, December 8, 2025
Last Modified on Tuesday, January 6, 2026