Low-power used mini PCs for a 24/7 home server (measured idle)
A server that runs all day spends most of its time idle, so idle draw decides the running cost. Each reading below is linked to its source and configuration; drives, BIOS settings and OS change the figure.
Criteria: A cited third-party or community wall-meter idle reading whose upper bound is 15 W or less. Models without a published measurement are not listed (not measured is not the same as high). 11 of our models match. Data last reviewed 2026-09-25.
| Model | Year | CPU generations | Why it matches |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lenovo ThinkCentre M720q Tiny | 2018 | 8th gen (Coffee Lake) / 9th gen (Coffee Lake Refresh) | 11–14 W idle (ServeTheHome; Dual-core Pentium Gold G5400T (an i5-8500T config draws somewhat more)) |
| Lenovo ThinkCentre M75q-1 Tiny | 2019 | Ryzen 3000 (Picasso) | about 11 W idle (ServeTheHome; Ryzen 5 PRO 3400GE) |
| HP EliteDesk 705 G4 Mini | 2018 | Ryzen 2000 (Raven Ridge) | 11–14 W idle (ServeTheHome; Quad-core Ryzen PRO APU) |
| HP EliteDesk 800 G4 Mini | 2018 | 8th gen (Coffee Lake) | 11–12 W idle (ServeTheHome; Six-core Core i5-8500T) |
| Dell OptiPlex 3050 Micro | 2017 | 7th gen (Kaby Lake) / 6th gen (Skylake) | 11–14 W idle (ServeTheHome; Quad-core Core i5-7500T) |
| Lenovo ThinkCentre M710q Tiny (verify) | 2017 | 7th gen (Kaby Lake) / 6th gen (Skylake) | 11–13 W idle (ServeTheHome; Quad-core Core i5-7500T) |
| HP EliteDesk 800 G2 Mini (verify) | 2016 | 6th gen (Skylake) | 11–14 W idle (ServeTheHome; Quad-core Core i5-6500T) |
| Lenovo ThinkCentre M75q Gen 2 Tiny | 2020 | Ryzen 4000 (Renoir) | about 12 W idle (ServeTheHome; Ryzen PRO 4000-series APU) |
| Lenovo ThinkCentre M920q Tiny | 2018 | 8th gen (Coffee Lake) / 9th gen (Coffee Lake Refresh) | 12–15 W idle (ServeTheHome; Quad/six-core 8th-gen T-series CPU) |
| HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Mini (verify) | 2017 | 6th gen (Skylake) / 7th gen (Kaby Lake) | about 12 W idle (ServeTheHome; Quad-core Core i5-7500T, 65 W adapter) |
| Dell OptiPlex 7070 Micro | 2019 | 9th gen (Coffee Lake Refresh) | about 13 W idle (ServeTheHome; Six-core Core i5-9500T ("just over 13 W")) |
Guides
Related lists
Something wrong or missing? Send a correction. Lists are built from each model's documented specs; models marked "verify" have fields we could not confirm from an official document.