My Top 3 Proxmox Server Builds for Performance and Efficiency
I have had so much fun the past few months building Proxmox servers based around Minisforum boards that have come out on the market as of recently, including the BD795M, BD795i SE, and the BD790i X3D. All of these boards have been really great, and ran perfectly in the home lab. I wanted to take a post and review my top 3 Proxmox server builds for performance and efficiency to put everything together into a single post to review my notes, thoughts, and pros, and cons. Let’s dive into my top 3 Proxmox server builds for performance and efficiency based on actual hardware I’ve used in my lab.
1. Minisforum BD795M with Ryzen 7945HX
If I had to pick my ultimate Proxmox build for 2025, this is it. It was the first of these builds that I built. It’s built around the Minisforum BD795M motherboard, which is a workstation-class Mini-ITX board that is combined with the AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX processor. It has 16 cores, 32 threads, so tons of processing power for anything you want to throw at it.
Read my full blog on this build here:
What makes this build stand out is how much horsepower you get in such a compact and efficient form factor. I loaded it with 128GB of DDR5 SODIMM memory using two 64GB Crucial sticks, and I’ve been blown away by how well it handles everything in Proxmox.
I really like that the BD795M motherboard has SATA ports, 2 M.2 slots, and good I/O connectivity.
Build specs
- Motherboard: Minisforum BD795M
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX (16 cores / 32 threads)
- RAM: 128GB DDR5 SODIMM (2x64GB Crucial)
- Storage: Dual Gen4 NVMe drives
- Networking: 2.5GbE ports onboard and I added a 10 gig card
- Cooling: Low-profile air cooler with great airflow (you have to add this with this motherboard)
- Case: Compact SFF case with good thermal performance
Why This Build Stands Out
This system doesn’t mess around. It has 16 cores and if you add the 128 GB of memory, it can run a Proxmox cluster without issue if you have multiples, or if you want to use nested virtualization and run nested hosts. You can also use it to experiment with nested Kubernetes or container scaling tests with the capacity that it has.
It has a PCI-e slot that I used for a 10 gig add-in card for 10 GbE connectivity which helps to complete the all-around good hardware for virtualization. For me this was my best all-around build. I like the M-ATX form factor that gives you SATA ports and extra room on the board.
Power Efficiency and Performance Tuning
One thing I tested heavily with this build was power optimization. With this motherboard and CPU combo, I found that disabling the Core Performance Boost (CBP) cut the power draw in half. So do keep this in mind when using this CPU for a home lab that will be running 24x7x365.
When CBP is turned off it capped the power draw at 66 watts and it wouldn’t go any higher than that. This is lower than my old Supermicro servers that had the relatively efficient Xeon-D processors. These would run around 90-100 watts.
Drawbacks
There are only a couple to mention. However, one of those is that you have to supply your own CPU cooler compared to the other two builds. Also, it is NVMe Gen 4 and not Gen 5. There is no 10 GbE built-in which would have been great.
Who This Build Is For
If you want a home lab server that’s small, quiet, and insanely powerful, this is the one I recommend. I think this board has the right components for Proxmox that most will want. The SATA ports are great on this build as you can separate out the boot drives from your VM storage and leave the (2) M.2 slots for virtual machine/container storage, and other really great I/O.
Keep in mind with this combination, you will need to provide the CPU cooler which is the only build in my list that requires that. The other two have the CPU cooler included. However, I like this aspect too as it gives us options on how you want to cool the CPU either with air or water, and various coolers, etc.
Build of materials
Build components: (amazon affiliate links that I earn a small commission on)
- Minisforum BD795M – https://amzn.to/4i2VEDH
- RackChoice 2U Micro ATX Compact – https://amzn.to/3CeIW5H
- Cooler Master MWE Gold 850 V2 – https://amzn.to/4aFXhET
- Noctua NH-L9i-17xx, Premium Low-Profile CPU Cooler – https://amzn.to/4hAKIwG
- Crucial 96GB kit of DDR5 SODIMM memory kit – https://amzn.to/40w3ONQ
- Intel X520-DA2 10 GbE network adapter – https://amzn.to/4jv05ZA
- Kingston 240 GB drive for boot – https://amzn.to/4hv6sKG
- Samsung EVO 990 Pro 2TB – https://amzn.to/40OwtiA
- MX-4 Thermal paste – https://amzn.to/4hs5WgL
- Case fans: https://amzn.to/40wq2iE
2. Minisforum BD795i SE with Ryzen 9 7945HX Mini PC
If there’s one build that surprised me with its punch-per-watt performance, it’s the Minisforum BD795i SE mini PC. This compact powerhouse is based on the AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX processor—16 cores, 32 threads of Zen 4 architecture in a mobile package. Despite the mobile designation, it’s anything but weak.
Read my full blog covering this build here:
Build specs
- 128 GB of DDR5 SODIMM memory: Using SODIMM DDR5, I outfitted this build with 128GB of memory, plenty for heavy Proxmox workloads and nested virtualization. Also, you can combine this with Intel Optane for your swap storage and it will be insanely powerful.
- 10GbE networking: Native support for 10GbE makes this perfect for modern labs with fast storage and VM migration needs.
- Core Performance Boost toggle: Disabling CPB in the BIOS will cut the power draw in half with negligible impact on background tasks. This is huge for 24/7 home lab setups.
- NVMe support: Dual Gen4 NVMe slots offer fast storage access with plenty of flexibility for ZFS, LVM-Thin, or Ceph deployments.
Ideal Use Case
This build has performed extremely well. If you want a near-silent mini PC/server that has the performance of a desktop with enough horsepower for very bursty workloads, this may be it. This form factor is smaller than the mini-ATX layout of the BD795M motherboard, so you can potentially fit it in an even smaller case. This build shines for users wanting a near-silent mini server with desktop-class performance. It’s especially It is great for many home lab workloads, including Kubernetes nodes, Docker Swarm stacks, or multiple VMs.
Drawbacks
There’s no SATA ports and no ECC memory support. Also, thermals can creep up under extended full load if not cooled properly. But with this build, Minisforum includes the CPU cooler which I found to do a really decent job of keeping things cool.
Who This Build Is For
You’re deep into home labbing. You’re running Proxmox clusters, experimenting with GPU passthrough, and perhaps even building SaaS-like environments. This is the “no compromise” server build in a home-friendly package.
Build of materials
Build components: (amazon affiliate links that I earn a small commission on)
- Minisforum BD795i SE mini-ITX motherboard – https://amzn.to/4ilUC68
- RackChoice 2U Micro ATX Compact Rackmount – https://amzn.to/3CeIW5H
- Coolermaster MWE Gold 850 – https://amzn.to/4aFXhET
- Crucial 128 GB 5600MT/sec RAM – https://amzn.to/4i5g5zN
- 240 GB Kingston SATA hard drive – https://amzn.to/4hv6sKG
- Intel x520 10GbE adapter – https://amzn.to/4jv05ZA
- Samsung EVO 990 Pro – https://amzn.to/40OwtiA
- Artic P12 slim fan – https://amzn.to/3DwwnmD
3. Minisforum BD790i X3D with 7945X3D Gaming and Labbing
This one is built around the Minisforum BD790i X3D motherboard paired with the AMD Ryzen 9 7945X3D processor. It’s a 16-core, 32-thread chip with AMD’s 3D V-Cache, and it delivers a great balance between performance, power efficiency, and gaming capability.
Read my full blog covering this build here:
I went all-in with 128GB of DDR5 memory, using two 64GB Crucial SODIMMs, which max out the board. For the case, I chose the Thermaltake Tower 200, which not only looks great but fits the Mini-ITX board nicely and has good airflow.
Build specs
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7945X3D
- Motherboard: Minisforum BD790i X3D
- RAM: 128GB DDR5 (2x64GB Crucial SODIMM)
- GPU: ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5070 12GB GDDR7 OC
- Storage:
- Boot: Predator 1TB Gen4 NVMe
- VMs: Samsung EVO 990 Pro 4TB Gen4 NVMe
- PSU: Cooler Master MWE Gold 850 V2 Full Modular
- Cooling: Stock cooler with Arctic P12 Slim fan upgrade
- Case: Thermaltake Tower 200
Ideal use case
This build is powerful enough to handle anything I throw at it. You can use it for gaming, virtualization, content creation, and nested labs. If you outfit it with the 128 GB of RAM you can run plenty of VMs and containers. So, it is well-suited as a dual-purpose workstation/server that can handle just about anything you want to do with it. Also, it supports Gen 5 NVMe, which the other two boards do not.
Who this build is for
If you want to go with workstation flair, you can go with an aesthetically pleasing case to make it more visually impressive. You can also use it for Proxmox and self-hosting workflows. With this build, you can do GPU passthrough as well if you want. So, it really checks all the boxes for a “best of both worlds” Proxmox server.
Drawbacks
One of the main drawbacks with this board is the price. It is considerably more expensive than the other two boards. It also does not have SATA ports so you are limited to the M.2 slots for boot and running VMs or other storage. You can install a card in the PCI-e slot to add SATA connectivity. However, this would be wasting the PCI-e slot, IMHO. You could buy a riser card to run multiple cards in the slot. However, this would probably not work due to the size of GPUs if you were going to run a GPU in this board.
Build of materials
Build components: (amazon affiliate links that I earn a small commission on)
- Thermaltake Tower 200: https://amzn.to/3XJAS4i
- Minisforum BD790i X3D: https://amzn.to/3FTM1tk
- Corsair 850 Watt power supply: https://amzn.to/420229J
- Crucial 128 GB RAM kit: https://amzn.to/4jbm3jc
- Artic P12 Slim: https://amzn.to/42bVHa0
- GeForce RTX 5070: https://amzn.to/4llAa7G
- Predator 1TB boot drive: https://amzn.to/4jhTW1U
- Samsung 990 Pro 4TB VM storage: https://amzn.to/422LQog
Wrapping up
Each of these builds brought something different to the table. The BD795M gave me maximum performance and flexibility, IMHO. It had just the right balance between what I wanted/needed. The BD795i SE impressed me with how much power you can get in such a small, efficient package. And the BD790i X3D is a graphics powerhouse with serious gaming or virtualization performance. Depending on what you are needing and looking to achieve with a Proxmox home server build, any of these boards will be great choices. However, do note the drawbacks for each one and make a decision based on what you would like to achieve.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the pros and cons of each build:
| Build | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| BD795M (Ryzen 9 7945HX) | – Full 128GB RAM works (unofficially) – Dual M.2 + SATA ports – PCIe slot for 10GbE – Excellent for nested labs | – Requires separate CPU cooler – Slightly larger case needed – No ECC memory support – No onboard 10 GbE |
| BD795i SE (Ryzen 9 7945HX Mini PC) | – Compact and near-silent – PCI-e slot for add-in cards like 10 GbE card – Official 96GB RAM (unofficially supports 128GB) – Included CPU cooler | – No SATA ports – Limited thermals under load – No ECC memory support – No onboard 10 GbE |
| BD790i X3D (Ryzen 9 7945X3D) | – High performance with 3D V-Cache – Great airflow and aesthetics (with right case) – GPU passthrough ready – 128GB RAM support (unofficially) – Gen 5 NVMe support | – Limited to two M.2 drives – No onboard 10GbE – Higher cost than other two boards, especially if you don’t need the V-Cache |
Let me know if you have tried one of these combinations in your own lab. All-in-all, the three builds are all great in themselves and I like each one of them and haven’t ran into any issues so far.
