Oddbean new post about login | logout @f3c33fcb may I ask general purpose? as in just for storage, to run some specific server software etc, can it be linux? Because depending on the use a small NAS might do the trick, and they are usually more power efficient.
@eb948c00 it can be Linux, I was looking into something to replace Google drive and photos, I figured a mini PC would be better because web/server stuff isn't my forte
@f3c33fcb in that case a Synology NAS would be a good replacement, their OS has a google drive/photos alike software. Price wise it can get expensive depending on how many disk bays you end up, you can start with 1, but ideally go at least for 2 for raid redundancy. Let me know if you have more questions, I have one of these for like 7years, it's been great. https://www.synology.com/en-global/dsm/feature/photos
@eb948c00 @f3c33fcb Synology is certainly easiest for plug & play, but as mentioned it does come with a price point. Alternatively a 2nd hand mac mini (or maybe an old laptop) with external drives as needed, running something like TrueNAS Core is an effective, flexible, and similarly low power solution. If you have the budget and just need the problem to go away, the Synology option is still likely the option you want.