Personally I would get a used Dell Optiplex / Lenovo ThinkCentre / HP EliteDesk. Either the "mini" / "micro" if you really want small. I am a fan of the SFF (Small Form Factor) size and the Dell Optiplex models. In particular the 70XX versions that offer Intel AMT / vPro for remote management.
replyI run a Proxmox server on my Dell Optiplex SFF 7070. With the SFF size you can add two low-profile PCIe cards, if desired. In my case I added a 10Gbit NIC.
The reason I would go with a used Dell / Lenovo / HP is that these tend to be well-built machines that run for years and years 24/7 in offices and proven to work well.
Or a used tower form factor PowerEdge if you want a little bigger, but still designed to be quiet in an office environment.
replyI picked Beelink a couple years ago. It didn’t last long. I can’t simply reboot it. I have to unplug it, wait 5 minutes, plug it in, and then boot it. It turns OS installs and even system updates into such a hassle that it’s not even worth using anymore. I wanted to run it headless and just connect remotely, and that doesn’t really work well with this issue, as I need regular physical access.
replyI assume it’s a bad capacitor or something. I tried changing out the power adapter, but that didn’t help.
I don’t see myself ever buying another Beelink.