New hardware required: Best choice in 2021?

Hi all,

I know that there are already a lot of topics with this question but a lot of them are more or less outdated.

I am running my basic HA installation on a Pi2 today with disabled recorder , logging etc to reduce the stress on the SD card. As i have just a small installtion with lights, media players, door and temperature sensors at the moment and it is fine so far.
But i know that i will start to get performance issues in the future due to the fact that i am planning new integrations with motionEye etc.

So I have to buy a new hardware for my installation. I have tried to find out the best option for me but…

Options:

  1. Rpi4 / 8 GB, 128 GB or 256 GB M2 SSD in a Argon M2 case
    Costs: 160€
    The existing topics are pointing on boot problems with adapters or termal issues. This should be sorted with the above configuration? If so, any other show stopper?

  2. Synology disc station
    Costs: depends on model.
    The existing topics are pointing on the small memory which can cause problems if you run integrations with cameras etc.
    Any experiences?

Mini Pc like intel nuc
Costs: Depends on the model (300-800€)
Sure this will be the “biggest solution” with the biggest price range.
Which configuration makes sense with one eye on the price-performance ratio and the used case (especially compared to the Rpi4 configuration)

Mabey someone of you can help me to solve this mystery :wink:

I’ve bought old laptop, put proxmox on it and put HassOS on top of proxmox.
Power saving disabled, battery lasts for a while.
Also, HDD better handles constant writes than SSD, should endure for longer.
Cost of used one ThinkPad T430 was around 200E.