Proxmox Home Server Build 2025: Ryzen 9 7945HX 96GB and 10GbE

I have been intrigued with entertaining building my next Proxmox host in the home lab as opposed to simply buying a pre-built mini PC. Minisforum sent me one of their new motherboards, the BD795M with the AMD Ryzen 9 7945 HX processor. One thing that excites me about this combo is the Ryzen 9 with 16 uniform cores and 32 threads of processing power. Also, the combo motherboard and CPU helps to take the guess work out of pairing the CPU with a motherboard and comes in a nice neat package. Let’s take a look at my Proxmox Home Server Build 2025 and see what components I chose and why.

Why Proxmox?

This is becoming an easier question to answer for many. VMware just quite frankly is becoming less and less attractive or desirable in the home lab. The reason being that Broadcom has very much stifled ones getting their hands on the software any more. They have killed off ESXi free and VMUG now has the requirement to get certified before you can gain access to the bits to download.

Will this build run VMware?

Yes it should. There is nothing about the build that would make it Proxmox specific. I like that the build gives you options. The main thing for the build is we are using the Intel 10 GbE network adapter, which should have drivers for VMware ESXi.

So, if things straighten up with VMware in the future with easier licensing and other benefits possibly returning with VMUG, this build should give you the flexibility to install a different hypervisor in the future if you so desire. However, I am betting on Proxmox doing everything most will need to do in the home lab environment, especially if you are making full use of containers and Kubernetes running apps and other services that you may previously ran inside virtual machines.

Take a look at my recent post covering the best hypervisor in 2025: Best Hypervisor in 2025: It depends on your pain tolerance.

Why Build instead of buy mini PCs?

You might want to know, why would I buidl a Proxmox server instead of just buy mini PCs? As you all know if you follow my website and YouTube channel, I am a huge fan of mini PCs and this is what is running my home lab today.

However, building your own server, especially with a combo like this offered from Minisforum offers some benefits. With a full 2-U rack case, even with the short depth, you have the ability to install more storage and devices in your server case compared to a mini PC. While the Minisforum MS-01 and the forthcoming MS-A2 have a full PCI-e slot, there are challenges with the very small form factor that will present challenges with getting certain cards in there. With the full 2-U case, you won’t have those same challenges.

I also think the heat dissapation in a bigger case is better and will likely prolong your hardware in the build vs similar hardware in a very small and tight space of a mini PC form factor. However, either way you go, I don’t think you will go wrong as each will provide a tremendously powerful platform to run your home lab.

The Minisforum BD795M motherboard and CPU combo

As mentioned at the outset, the Minisforum BD795M from Minisforum is forming the base of my Proxmox home server build. It sports:

• AMD RYZEN 9 7945HX processor
  • Mobile on desktop board offers 30% cost savings according to Minisforum
• Radeon 610M integrated graphics
• M-ATX form factor (240X220X1.6MM)
• Dual channel DDR5-5200MT/s (96 GB capacity)
• Metal reinforced PCI-e slot for high-end graphics if you want – this is what we will use for the 10 GbE card and 25 GbE cards are also easy to install in this configuration as an upgrade
• M.2 2230 key-e slot for wifi module if you want
• 2 x M.2 2280 NVMe SSD slots (PCIe4.0x4) with up to 4TB
• Dual Sata 3.0 ports – this will be handy to run external other hard drives ;such as SATA SSDs like we are going to do with the boot drive in this build.

Take a look at the pics below of the motherboard

There are several advantages noted by Minisforum with this mobo and CPU combo. Note the following:

• Low power consumption
• Low heat output
• Low noise
• High cost-performance (30% cost savings)
• Onboard CPU (better integration, compatibility, and app scenarios)

You can the Amazon link here for the Minisforum BD795M motherboard combo. it is currently $479.90, but keep in mind it is the motherboard AND CPU: https://amzn.to/3PQXFa8.

Why choose a mobo/CPU combo like this?

One of the things I really like about going this route as opposed to choosing your own motherboard and CPU combination is that it minimizes the risk and frustration of a new home server build.

Choosing your own motherboard and CPU has advantages in that it gives you lots of options, but the disadvantages are the same as the advantages (it gives you lots of options). Options can lead to mistakes being made and the wrong or inc9ompatible choices being made.

Also, with the CPU already preinstalled in the motherboard, you eliminate any chance of damage to the CPU during installation which is a huge bonus in my opinion.

Out of all the components that you can buy, the motherboard and CPU combination may arguably be the most important, since this is the foundation of your build.

What am I planning on using for the rest of the build?

Let’s look at the rest of the components for the build and what I plan on using to build out the server for a Proxmox home lab node.

• Case
• Power supply
• RAM
• CPU cooler
• 10 GbE card

Case

Looking at cases that would support the M-ATX board, I settled on this case from RackChoice. The product information is the following: RackChoice 2U Micro ATX Compact Rackmount 2 x 5.25 Chassis Support ATX PS2 PSU with 120mm Fan on top, USB3.0 with 2.0 Adapter. It is available now on Amazon for $99. Also, the reviews look good. It is currently $99 on Amazon.

I like this case look as well since it seems like it looks very similar to the styling of the Minisforum MS-01 which is running my VMware vSphere cluster.

You can use my Amazon link here: https://amzn.to/3CeIW5H

Power supply

For the power supply of the build, I chose the Cooler Master MWE Gold 850 V2 Full Modular, 850W, 80+ Gold Efficiency, 2 EPS Connectors, 120mm HDB Fan, Semi-fanless Operation, 5 Year Warranty PSU. It is currently $99 on Amazon.

You can buy this on Amazon from the link here: https://amzn.to/4aFXhET.

CPU cooler

I chose the Noctua NH-L9i-17xx, Premium Low-Profile CPU Cooler for Intel LGA1700 and LGA1851, Premium Low-Profile CPU Cooler for AMD AM5 (Brown). The LGA1700 type cooler is the one that Minisforum requires for the BD750M motherboard.

You can get this on the Amazon link here: https://amzn.to/4hAKIwG.

RAM

I opted for the Crucial 96GB kit of DDR5 SODIMM memory. You can purchase this using the link: https://amzn.to/40w3ONQ. It is currently $314.66 which is fairly expensive. However, you can opt for the 64 GB kit as well which isn’t as expensive here: https://amzn.to/3WzjQ8k.

10 GbE network card

For the network card, I am using the model here: 10Gb SFP+ PCI-E Network Card NIC, with Intel 82599ES Chip, Dual SFP+ Ports.

It is currently $47.99 on Amazon and you can buy it from the link here: https://amzn.to/4jv05ZA.

Boot drive

For the boot drive, I chose the ultra cheap Kingston 240 GB drive: Kingston 240GB A400 SATA 3 2.5″ Internal SSD SA400S37/240G. I have used these little drives before. They are super cheap and they hold up decently.

You can buy this for $24.99 on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/4hv6sKG.

Data drive

For the data drive, I am using the trusty Samsung EVO 990 Pro NVMe drive at 2 TB. The 4TB variant is out as well and I have seen some pretty amazing deals on this from time to time. So, do keep your eyes open.

SAMSUNG 990 PRO SSD NVMe M.2 PCIe Gen4, M.2 2280 Internal Solid State Hard Drive, Seq. Read Speeds Up to 7,450 MB/s for High End Computing, Gaming, and Heavy Duty Workstations, MZ-V9P2T0B/AM

You can purchase the 2TB model here for $179.96: https://amzn.to/40OwtiA.

Other items you may need

If you are like me, you may have build items laying around from previous components, such as case fans. However, if not, keep in mind you will likely want to add case fans and any other components that you want/need to add for your specific build that we haven’t mentioned here.

When I looked, these, Arctic P8 80mm case fans were the overall pick on Amazon. You can buy these here: https://amzn.to/40wq2iE .

Build links altogether

The links above and the ones I have cited below are Amazon affiliate links which I will earn a small commission on. Feel free to use these links to purchase.

• Minisforum BD795M – https://amzn.to/3PQXFa8
• 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
• Case fans: https://amzn.to/40wq2iE

Forum thread

I am also starting a VHT forum thread here: Proxmox Home Lab Server with Minisforum BD795M, where I am documenting my experiences with this Proxmox home server build. I will continue to add to the thread post as I get all the components in and put everything together. Let me know in the comments if you are interested in doing something similar this year with a Proxmox server build, instead of running a mini PC, or a combination of both.