Similiar to my post last year on interesting VMware Homelab Kits for 2022, I figured it was time to put together the 2023 edition, especially with some of the kits that I have come to learn about or ones that are planned for release later this year.
The list below is not an exhaustive by any means, but I did try to look for unique kits that folks may not be aware of and/or that include interesting capabilities or designs that would support VMware ESXi without issues and be able to run various other VMware products on top like vSAN, NSX, Aria and Tanzu.
While pricing is just one of the many factors in the hardware decision process, I did limit the scope to the base kit costing sub-$2,000 USD. I also wanted to make sure that the latest ESXi releases will install and run without any issues, which is typically governed by the model of the onboard network adapter. Therefore, any system that requires an additional USB network adapter to install ESXi is automatically excluded from the list. The size and form factor is also just as important and most of the kits below take up very little space or can easily be mobile, if needed.
If there are other new kits that have been released or planned for 2023 that you feel should make the list, be sure to leave a comment below.
ASRock Industrial NUCS BOX-1360P
If you are in the market for a small form factor kit like an Intel NUC with the latest Intel 13th Generation CPU, the NUCS BOX-1360P from ASRock Industrial is one of the few kits that is currently available on the market currently. From a design point of view, it is your typical 4x4 compact look and supports single storage device and onboard networking, which might be good for those just starting their VMware homelab journey. There is also the NUC BOX-1360P which is slightly larger but does include two 2.25GbE (i226) that would also work just as well, just depends if you need additional networking.
- CPU: Intel 13th Gen
- Memory: 64GB (DDR4)
- Storage: 1 x M.2 NVMe (2280)
- Network: 1 x 2.5GbE (i226)
- Dimensions: 110.0mm x 117.5mm x 38mm
- Availability: Yes
ASRock Industrial iBOX-1265UE
If you are in the market for small form factor kit with a fanless design, you might consider the iBOX-1265UE from ASRock Industrial. While the kit includes last years Intel 12th Generation CPU, it does include vPro support and the dual-onboard 2.5GbE is certainly a welcome feature along with up to three storage devices, ideal for ESXi installation (including ESX-OSDATA) and use with vSAN.
- CPU: Intel 12th Gen
- Memory: 64GB (DDR4)
- Storage: 2 x M.2 (2280) and 1 x SATA
- Network: 2 x 2.5GbE (i225)
- Dimensions: 171.8mm x 109.45mm x 50.05mm
- Availability: Yes
ASUS PL64
Here is another fanless kit with a pretty compact design, offering up simliar storage and networking capabilities that can easily power a vSphere or vSAN homelab setup. For those concern about extreme temperature or looking to put it through its paces, the system is also MIL-STD-810H certified.
- CPU: Intel 12th Gen
- Memory: 64GB (DDR4)
- Storage: 2 x M.2 NVMe (2280)
- Network: 1 x 1GbE (i219) and 1 x 2.5GbE (i226)
- Dimensions: 199.7mm x 119.7mm x 33.9 mm
- Availability: Yes
ASUS PN64-E1
The upcoming PN64-E1 is another kit from ASUS that will also support the latest Intel 13th Generation CPU and support DDR5 memory, which is slowly growing in adoption. In addition to the latest CPU and memory support, it will also include a Thunderbolt 4 port enabling additional networking and/or storage expansion which I have blogged about in the past here and here.
- CPU: Intel 13th Gen
- Memory: 64-96GB (DDR5)
- Storage: 2 x M.2 NVMe (2280) and 1 x SATA
- Network: 2 x 2.5GbE (i226)
- Dimensions: 120mm x 130mm x 58mm
- Availability: Yes
ChangWang CW56-58
I recently wrote about ESXi on CW56-58, as this is one of the very few AMD kits that have compatible onboard network adapters. The majority of AMD kits prefer to use Realtek network adapters and Realtek does not produce any drivers for use with ESXi. Not only do you get compatible networking with this kit, but you also get up to four 2.5GbE adapters giving you plenty of networking capabilities along with plenty if storage options whether you want to run VMFS and/or vSAN.
- CPU: AMD Ryzen (5, 6 or 7)
- Memory: 64GB (DDR4)
- Storage: 3 x M.2 NVMe (2280) and 2 x SATA
- Network: 4 x 2.5GbE (i226)
- Dimensions: 168mm x 131.7mm x 63mm
- Availability: Direct or AliExpress
Fanless Software Router
Another interesting kit that is both fanless and offers up to six 2.5GbE network adapter is from a popular reseller in China called Topton. While the official name for this device is more of a description than an actual product name, as many of these generic kits from China are actually resold through different distributors. For those looking to do some serious networking with NSX and need the additional ports, this kit could fit the bill. There is also enough storage to setup vSAN but you will need to install ESXi via USB or simply create two VMFS volumes for storage.
- CPU: Intel 12th Gen
- Memory: 64GB (DDR4)
- Storage: 1 x M.2 NVMe (2280) and 1 x SATA
- Network: 6 x 2.5GbE (i226)
- Dimensions: 152mm x 145mm x 60mm
- Availability: Topton on AliExpress
iKOOLCORE R1
The R1 is probably the smallest x86 system you will find on the market that also packs four onboard 2.5GbE adapters, making this a very tiny and powerful kit. I had the opportunity to get my hands on the R1 earlier this month and wrote a full review which you can find here.
- CPU: Intel Pentium Silver N6005
- Memory: 16GB (LPDDR4)
- Storage: 1 x M.2 NVMe (2242)
- Network: 4 x 2.5GbE (i226)
- Dimensions: 75mm x 75mm x 48mm
- Availability: Yes
Intel NUC 13 Pro
The Intel NUC is another popular platform amongst the VMware Community and here is the latest edition with the new Intel 13th Gen Raptor Lake CPU, you can read my full review here.
- CPU: Intel 13th Gen
- Memory: 64GB (DDR4)
- Storage: 1 x M.2 NVMe (2280) and 1 x M.2 SATA (2242)
- Network: 1 x 2.5GbE (i226)
- Dimensions: 117mm x 112mm x 37mm
- Availability: Yes
Lenovo IdeaCentre Mini Gen 8
I know Lenovo has a few small form factor kits that have been quite popular in recent years. I recently learned about their upcoming IdeaCentre Mini G8 which caught my attention with the inclusion of a Thunderbolt 4 port, it really is nice to see Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 starting to take off with vendors beyond just Apple and Intel. Additionally, the G8 will include the latest Intel 13th Generation CPU but only support DDR4 memory, I was hoping that they might add support for DDR5 memory but I can understand that for users who upgrade, DDR4 SODIMM compatibility will be much broader. While there is only a single onboard 2.5GbE network adapter, it does support dual M.2 NVMe which can easily run vSAN or standard VMFS for storage. Lastly, the power supply is actually built into the unit similiar to that of Apple Mac Mini and the design certainly gives me those vibes.
- CPU: Intel 13th Gen
- Memory: 64GB (DDR4)
- Storage: 2 x M.2 NVMe (2280)
- Network: 1 x 2.5GbE
- Dimensions: 195.58mm x 190.5mm x 38.1mm
- Availability: Q2 2023
Lenovo ThinkStation P360 Ultra
The ThinkStation P360 Ultra is another interesting kit that really stands out in a number of different ways. This might be the only system that I am aware of that has a total of four SODIMM slots and can support up to 128GB of memory! It also includes two Thunderbolt 4 ports, which is quite generous, especially as a few of the kits above only have single port and this means more networking and/or storage expansion via Thunderbolt which I have blogged about in the past here and here. For those requiring heavy graphics processing, the P360 Ultra can be configured with a number of NVIDIA RTX graphics cards from A500, A2000, T100 or T400. Storage front, you get up three devices which is perfect for ESXi installation (including ESX-OSDATA) and vSAN and while the networking is not as rich as other kits, you can certain leverage the Thunderbolt 4 ports for further expansion or even add a mini-PCIe expansion card. The ServeTheHome (STH) folks also did a recent review which I highly recommend checking here out to learn more.
- CPU: Intel 12th Gen
- Memory: 64GB (DDR5)
- Storage: 2 x M.2 NVMe (2280) and 1 x SATA
- Network: 1 x 1GbE and 1 x 2.5GbE
- Dimensions: 195.58mm x 190.5mm x 38.1mm
- Availability: Yes
R86S-G3
I came to learn about the R862-G3 from the folks over at ServeTheHome (STH) who also did a review, which you can find here. While the CPU and memory may not be as powerful as other kits, what makes this system standout is the small form factor and the available networking which includes three 2.5GbE ethernet and two 10GbE SPF+ onboard ports. One thing to be aware of is that the the ConnectX-3 is no long compatible with ESXi 8.0 and so while you can install ESXi, you will need to passthrough those adapters to a VM if you wish to make use of them or you can install ESXi 7.0 where they are still supported with inbox drivers.
- CPU: Intel Pentium Silver N6005
- Memory: 16GB DDR4
- Storage: 1 x M.2 NVMe (2280)
- Network: 3 x 2.5GbE (i225) and 2 x 10GbE SPF+ (ConnectX-3)
- Dimensions: 119 mm x 79mm x 41mm
- Availability: Electric Mii Store on AliExpress
ASRock has a number of mini PCs that would suit ESXi well. The specs you posted are actually for the "NUCS BOX-1360P", which is a slimmed-down version of the "NUC BOX-1360P". The larger model actually has two Intel 2.5 GbE NICs, which makes it perfect for virtualized pfSense.
The highlighted item is actually for the NUCS BOX and NOT the NUC BOX but didn't realize that other system had "NUC" in the name as well. Let me fix the header, this was more of a starter-type kit and yes, ASRock has a TON of options and both NUC/NUCS would work as they both use i226 2.5GbE
I've been looking at the MINISFORUM UM690; Ryzen 9 with Intel NIC. Haven't seen any ESXi reviews posted yet though.
I’m aware of Minisforum, Beelink and few others lesser know brands, but some of these have gotten very negative reviews for the lack of support/customer service, so I’ve opted to leave them out as I wanted to make sure folks had a good experience. Assuming they’ve got compatible NICs, ESXi will work. Definitely do you research for any vendor that you decide on
No where in your post do you mention support for ECC ram. Do you not consider that a requirement or at minimum a recommended feature even in a lab environment?
While ECC can be important for production grade workloads, it ends up being too closely for the large majority. Not saying there aren't folks who might want ECC, but pricing is typically a huge factor and the large majority of folks who run a VMware-based homelab do NOT have a need for ECC, especially with the cost associated with it. If you're looking for kits that are ECC capable, then you're going to really be looking at systems on VMware HCL https://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php
There are some kits from Supermicro that can fit the bill as well, but certainly checkout resources over at https://vmwa.re/homelab which includes a community contributed list of build-of-material (BOM) and see if anything might be of interests but rarely, do I get anyone asking for ECC-capable kits 🙂
Are you aware of any of these NUC type systems that can accommodate 128Gb Ram with 4 ram slots?
No, the only kit that I've ever seen support up to 4 x SODIMM is the Lenovo kit listed above. I'm hopeful that when the new non-binary 24GB/48GB SODIMM will be available, we'll be able to reach up to 96GB w/2 DIMM
Noted that the summary for the Lenovo ThinkStation P360 Ultra lists 64Gb RAM. Assuming that's just an omission, and not some compatibility issue with ESXi and the Lenovo?
That’s correct. In fact, I didn’t even know it was 128GB capable until watching STH video review, guess the extra SODIMM is consider “optional”
Look at the SuperMicro SYS-E300-9D-4CN8TP. It supports up to 512GB of RAM.
Hi can you possibly rate / ranks these?
No, nor do I have a particular preference as this will ultimately depend on your needs and requirements. These are purely presented as kits that will work with latest releases of ESXi, but I do expect readers to do their homework to see if these or other systems will meet your needs
I'm a big fan of the SuperMicro SYS-E300-9D-4CN8TP. ESXi 7 runs fine right out of the box and the HCL shows compatibility through ESXi 8.
Somewhat related to this post... I've read numerous reports of issues with some i225 and i226 NICs. Most people reporting issues are running Windows or Linux, but do you know if these issues persist under ESXi? Any first-hand experience working with these NICs?
Those issues do NOT affect ESXi, they’re limited to EEE which we don’t enable within the driver as this was something I was curious myself
That's reassuring--thank you!
with respect to NSX, is there anything to look out for regarding hardware requirements other than extra nics? would those requirements rule out any of these boxes?
Depends on your use of NSX … it can be resource intensive on CPU for initial deploy. You’ll definitely need a few systems if you plan on deploying NSX, especially in highly available config w/managers + edges. You’ll want to look at NSX requirements and what you intend to do to decide in type of kit you may want
Hello,
Do you know for sure if Fanless Software Router from Topton (in your list) is supporting ESXI 8.0 and all the network ports are seen correctly? I asked Topton this and they responded just "no".
Yes, because it uses Intel i226, which is commonly used in Intel NUC and other Intel platforms. I'm sure Topton and other smaller vendors do not bother testing ESXi, so I'd expect a no from them 🙂
ok, thanks man.
Do you have a post or comments on licensing for home user? Any free versions? I need to run a linux VM and a W10 VM, that is all. Have 4TB raid 1, 16GB ram, intel xeon.
Wouldn't ThinkStation P360 Ultra support up to 192gb of RAM due to the non-binary 48gb sodimms that were introduced to the market? It sounds crazy to have a 8core, 192gb ram, and (potentially) 8tb of nvme inside a 4L chasse. How things have changed!
Hello William,
Thank you for being a great community insider.
I recently just bought this https://www.microcenter.com/product/667350/powerspec-g716-gaming-pc, where I upgraded the RAM to 64GB, and added 4TB of SSD. Turned out, the NIC was not supported since it is realtek. I was wondering if ordering an Intel and swap with realtek will be a good approach, or you think I should get a whole separate device for this purpose? I am thinking of deploying Esxi 8.0 in it, and run close to 100 VMs.
Your recommended will be most valuable.
Thank you again!
Franck Kengne
If you don’t intend to use iGPU … then replacing NIC w/supported would be easiest. If you want to use iGPU, I’d recommend Intel kit and ensure you have supported NIC. AMD kits can be finicky on iGPU and the consumer kits tend to prefer RTL NIC, especially onboard where you can’t really use them
I found Nvidia Tesla P4 accelerators on eBay for $80, which are listed on Nvidia's HCL for ESXi 8 vGPU and have a 50-70 W TDP, so they fit well into the home lab scenario despite low performance compared to the 250W cheap options.
I'm considering setting up a reasonably quiet and compact vGPU lab with these, although I'm probably going to struggle with the P4's "passive" cooling which normally relies on a 2U case fans forcing the air through the sink.
For software:
- 2 Windows 11 Pro Retail VMs for individual use
- ESXi Free
- A virtual GPU more advanced than VMware's 3D video adapter
- Nvidia vGPU license
- RDP and/or VMware Console (so no Horizon)
Any recommendations for motherboards or cases? Where can I seek advice? There are T4 labs (T4 is very similar to earlier P4 and to later A2) but they are all using server platforms.
I know this is an older post but I'm about to start looking for a SFF that has an iGPU that can be passed through. Of these kits, do you know if it's possible to pass through the Intel iGPU? I'd rather use ESXi so I can deploy other VMs and pass the iGPU to an Ubuntu VM for transcoding.
hello, anybody tried NUC 13 Extreme i9?
It'll work but given the NUC 13 Extreme is desktop form factor, it probably isn't as popular as other smaller form factor kits
Any chance for an updated post for 2024?
Hi, for the "Fanless Software Router" is there a way for ESXi to report 12 CPUs?
Have hyperthreading enabled but only shows 10.
Manufacturer CWWK
Model CW-MBX-AD12R200
CPU 10 CPUs x 13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1355U
CPU Specifications
Total Cores 10
# of Performance-cores 2
# of Efficient-cores 8
Total Threads 12
Please read https://williamlam.com/2024/01/experimenting-with-esxi-cpu-affinity-and-intel-hybrid-cpu-cores.html