Editorial, 21 Aug 2026. Specs from maker pages and recent street reports. We have not burned these units in. Affiliate tags are not live.
N100 vs N150 mini PC for Proxmox
Buy whichever of N100 or N150 is cheaper, in 16 GB, with a real Ethernet port you will use. Do not buy 8 GB.
The N150 is a mild Twin Lake refresh of the N100. Multi-core is close enough that price and NIC layout decide it. N350 (8 cores, still low watt) is the step up if you already know you will stack VMs, not just Home Assistant plus a couple of LXCs.
The short list
| Box | Why it shows up | Watch-outs |
|---|---|---|
| Beelink Mini S12 Pro (N100) | Most documented Proxmox / HA install path. Street often $130–170 for 16 GB / 500 GB class configs. | Many units are 1G, not 2.5G. Confirm the SKU. |
| Beelink Mini S13 (N150) | Same shape, newer chip. Buy if it is the same money as the S12 Pro. | Same 16 GB floor. |
| GMKtec G3 Plus (N150) | Often ships with 2.5GbE and room for 32 GB. Good when the NAS is already 2.5G. | Firmware and fan curves vary. Read the exact listing. |
| CWWK / Topton 4× 2.5GbE fanless | The box you want for OPNsense or a tiny router-on-a-stick plus Proxmox. | BIOS quality is the gamble. Confirm i226 NICs and VT-d. |
Rules
16 GB is the floor. Proxmox plus two VMs plus a handful of LXCs will eat 8 GB before the weekend is over. Enable VT-x and VT-d before you install. N100 iGPU passthrough is a headache. Quick Sync inside an LXC is the sane transcode path.
Wall power on these is usually high-single to mid-teens watts. That is the whole pitch versus a used 1U.
Sources
Beelink 2026 Prime Day post (Mini S12 / S12 Pro still named). GMKtec NucBox G3 Plus official (N150; sold out on fetch). CWWK (fanless 4-NIC class). Confirm the SKU and the NIC before you click. Street moves.