Used HP ProLiant for Home Server

Quick Recommendation

The HP ProLiant DL360 Gen10 is the best used enterprise server for most homelabs. 1U rack-mount, dual Xeon sockets, up to 1.5TB DDR4, iLO remote management, and prices starting around $200-400 on eBay. The trade-off: enterprise servers are loud and power-hungry compared to mini PCs. Only buy one if you need the compute density, ECC RAM, or iLO remote management.

Why Buy Used Enterprise Hardware?

Used enterprise servers offer extreme value:

8-24 cores / 16-48 threads for $200-500 (new equivalent: $1,000+)
ECC RAM for data integrity (critical for ZFS pools)
iLO/iDRAC remote management — full KVM and power control from any browser
Dual power supplies with hot-swap capability
Redundant everything — fans, drives, NICs, PSUs
Built for 24/7 operation in datacenter environments

The downside: noise, power consumption, and size. A DL360 Gen10 idles at 80-150W and sounds like a hairdryer under load. Plan accordingly.

Which ProLiant Generation to Buy

Generation	Year	CPU	RAM Type	iLO	Price Range	Recommendation
Gen8	2012	Xeon E5 v1/v2	DDR3	iLO 4	$50-150	Avoid (old, power hungry)
Gen9	2014	Xeon E5 v3/v4	DDR4	iLO 4	$100-250	Budget option only
Gen10	2017	Xeon Scalable (1st/2nd gen)	DDR4	iLO 5	$200-500	Best value (recommended)
Gen10 Plus	2020	Xeon Scalable (3rd gen)	DDR4	iLO 5	$400-800	Premium option
Gen11	2022	Xeon Scalable (4th gen)	DDR5	iLO 6	$800+	Too new/expensive for homelab

Buy Gen10. It hits the sweet spot: DDR4 RAM (cheap and available), modern iLO 5, PCIe Gen3, reasonable power efficiency, and prices that have dropped to homelab-friendly levels. Gen9 is acceptable for tight budgets but uses more power per core.

Avoid Gen8. DDR3 RAM is increasingly expensive, the CPUs are power-inefficient by modern standards, and the platform is 13 years old. The electricity savings of a Gen10 pay for the price difference within a year.

ProLiant Models Compared

Rack-Mount Servers

Model	Form Factor	Drive Bays	Max CPUs	Max RAM	Use Case
DL360 Gen10	1U	4-10 SFF (2.5”)	2x Xeon	1.5TB DDR4	Compute-dense, most versatile
DL380 Gen10	2U	8-24 SFF or 12 LFF (3.5”)	2x Xeon	1.5TB DDR4	Storage-heavy (NAS, media server)
DL20 Gen10	1U	2-4 SFF	1x Xeon E-2200	64GB DDR4	Small/quiet, lower power

Tower Servers

Model	Form Factor	Drive Bays	Max CPUs	Max RAM	Use Case
ML110 Gen10	Tower	4-8 LFF	1x Xeon	192GB DDR4	Quiet(er) homelab, closet install
ML350 Gen10	Tower	8-24 SFF/LFF	2x Xeon	1.5TB DDR4	Full-featured tower server

Best Choices

For most homelabs: DL360 Gen10. Compact 1U, dual socket, plenty of RAM and PCIe slots. Runs Proxmox, TrueNAS, or bare Docker beautifully. $200-400 on eBay with a single CPU and 32-64GB RAM.

For storage-heavy setups: DL380 Gen10. The 2U chassis fits 12 LFF (3.5”) drives for massive storage arrays. Ideal as a TrueNAS server. $250-500 on eBay.

For noise-sensitive environments: DL20 Gen10 or ML110 Gen10. The DL20 uses a single lower-TDP Xeon E-2200 series and is the quietest rack-mount option. The ML110 tower design disperses fan noise better than rack servers.

What to Buy on eBay

Shopping Checklist

When buying used ProLiant servers, verify these before purchasing:

Generation: Gen10 minimum. Confirm by model number (e.g., DL360 Gen10, P19777-B21)
CPU included: Some listings are barebones (no CPU). Confirm at least one Xeon is installed
RAM included: Get at least 32GB. 64-128GB is cheap — negotiate for more
Drive caddies included: Servers often ship without drive trays. HP caddies cost $10-15 each separately. Confirm they’re included
iLO license: Standard iLO is free. iLO Advanced enables remote console and virtual media — some used servers include it activated
Power supply count: Dual PSU is standard. Confirm both are included
Rails: Rack rails are expensive new ($50-100). Ask if included

Typical Pricing (eBay, Feb 2026)

Configuration	DL360 Gen10	DL380 Gen10
Barebones (no CPU/RAM/drives)	$100-150	$120-180
1x Xeon Silver 4110 + 32GB	$200-300	$250-350
2x Xeon Silver 4114 + 64GB	$300-450	$350-500
2x Xeon Gold 6130 + 128GB	$400-600	$450-650

Add $50-100 for drives (used enterprise SSDs) or use your own.

Recommended CPU Choices

CPU	Cores/Threads	Base/Boost	TDP	Price (used)	Notes
Silver 4110	8C/16T	2.1/3.0 GHz	85W	$10-20	Budget option, adequate
Silver 4114	10C/20T	2.2/3.0 GHz	85W	$15-25	Sweet spot for single CPU
Silver 4116	12C/24T	2.1/3.0 GHz	85W	$20-35	Great multi-threaded perf
Gold 6130	16C/32T	2.1/3.7 GHz	125W	$30-50	Power user, dual socket
Gold 6132	14C/28T	2.6/3.7 GHz	140W	$40-60	Higher clocks, good single-thread

Used Xeon Scalable CPUs are incredibly cheap. A 16-core Gold 6130 costs less than a takeout meal.

Power Consumption

This is the biggest drawback of enterprise servers for home use.

Configuration	Idle	Moderate Load	Full Load	Annual Cost ($0.12/kWh)
DL360 Gen10 (1x Silver 4110, 32GB)	80-100W	120-160W	200-250W	$84-105/yr idle
DL360 Gen10 (2x Silver 4114, 64GB)	110-140W	180-240W	300-400W	$116-147/yr idle
DL380 Gen10 (1x Silver, 4 drives)	100-130W	160-200W	250-350W	$105-137/yr idle
DL380 Gen10 (2x Gold, 12 drives)	160-200W	250-350W	500-600W	$168-210/yr idle

Compare to alternatives:

Hardware	Idle	Annual Cost
Intel N100 mini PC	6-8W	$6-8
Intel N305 mini PC	9-11W	$9-12
Synology DS923+ (4 drives)	30-40W	$32-42
DL360 Gen10 (1 CPU)	80-100W	$84-105

An enterprise server costs $75-100/year MORE in electricity than a mini PC. Over 3 years, that’s $225-300 — enough to buy a mini PC. Factor this into your decision.

Noise

Enterprise servers are designed for datacenters, not living rooms. Expect:

Boot/POST: Very loud (all fans spin to max for 30-60 seconds)
Idle: 35-50 dBA for rack servers (comparable to a loud fridge or desk fan)
Load: 50-65+ dBA (you’ll hear it through walls)

Noise mitigation:

Place in a basement, garage, closet, or utility room
A server rack with acoustic foam panels helps
Fan speed can be adjusted on some models via iLO (at your own risk — don’t let CPUs overheat)
The DL20 Gen10 and ML-series towers are the quietest ProLiant options
Consider replacing fans with Noctua equivalents (common homelab mod, voids warranty)

iLO Remote Management

iLO (Integrated Lights-Out) is HP’s out-of-band management system. It’s one of the strongest reasons to buy enterprise hardware:

Remote KVM console — see the server’s display from any browser, including BIOS/boot screens
Remote power control — power on, off, reset without physical access
Virtual media — mount ISOs remotely to install an OS without a USB drive
Hardware monitoring — CPU temp, fan speed, PSU status, drive health
Alerts — email notifications for hardware failures

iLO has its own dedicated Ethernet port and runs even when the server is powered off (standby power).

iLO Standard (free) gives you remote power control and hardware monitoring. iLO Advanced (included on many used servers) adds remote console and virtual media.

What Can You Run on a ProLiant?

An HP ProLiant Gen10 with dual Xeons and 128GB RAM is a legitimate datacenter-class machine. You can run:

Proxmox with dozens of VMs and hundreds of containers
TrueNAS with a massive ZFS pool (DL380 with 12 drives)
Kubernetes cluster (single node or multi-node with VMs)
Full CI/CD pipeline (GitLab, Jenkins, artifact storage)
Multiple media servers (Plex, Jellyfin) with software transcoding
Database servers (PostgreSQL, MySQL) with ECC-protected memory
Anything a mini PC can run — but with 10x the headroom

ProLiant vs Other Used Enterprise Servers

Server	Pros	Cons	Price
HP ProLiant DL360/380	iLO, huge used market, well documented	Loud, power hungry	$200-500
Dell PowerEdge R630/R730	iDRAC, equally good, slightly cheaper	Similar noise/power	$150-450
Dell OptiPlex Micro	Quiet, low power, desktop-class	No ECC, limited expansion	$100-300
Lenovo ThinkCentre	Quiet, low power, compact	No ECC, limited expansion	$100-250

HP ProLiant vs Dell PowerEdge is largely personal preference. Both have excellent remote management (iLO vs iDRAC), similar pricing, and equivalent performance. Buy whichever has a better deal in your market.

ProLiant vs mini PC/desktop is a fundamentally different choice. Enterprise servers are for when you genuinely need 16+ cores, 128GB+ RAM, ECC memory, or 8+ drive bays. If a mini PC handles your workload, it’s the better choice due to power and noise.

Who Should Buy a Used ProLiant

Buy a ProLiant if:

You need 64GB+ RAM with ECC (ZFS, databases, many VMs)
You’re running Proxmox with 10+ VMs
You need 8+ drive bays for a TrueNAS storage server
Remote management (iLO) is important (server in a remote location)
You want enterprise-grade redundancy (dual PSU, hot-swap drives)
You have a basement, garage, or closet to absorb the noise

Skip the ProLiant if:

Your workload fits in 16-32GB RAM (use a mini PC)
Noise is a dealbreaker (use a fanless mini PC or silent build)
Power costs concern you (use a low-power server)
You only need file storage (use a NAS)
You’re starting your homelab (start with a mini PC, upgrade later if needed)

FAQ

Which generation should I buy?

Gen10. It uses DDR4 (cheap), has modern iLO 5, and prices have dropped into the $200-500 range. Gen9 is acceptable for tight budgets. Gen8 and older are not worth the electricity.

How loud are these servers really?

At idle, a DL360 Gen10 is 35-50 dBA — roughly a loud air conditioner. Under load, 50-65 dBA. You will not want this in a bedroom or living room. Basement, garage, or dedicated closet with the door closed.

Can I use desktop drives in a ProLiant?

Yes, but use drive caddies designed for the server (HP SmartDrive caddies). Desktop drives work physically but lack TLER — see our NAS vs desktop drives guide. Enterprise SSDs (used Intel DC S3610/S4610, Samsung PM883) are cheap on eBay and ideal.

Is the iLO license worth paying for?

If your server came without iLO Advanced, you can buy a license for ~$30-50 (used keys on eBay). It’s worth it for the remote KVM console alone — being able to install an OS remotely without connecting a monitor is invaluable.

How much electricity will this cost me?

A single-CPU DL360 Gen10 idles at ~80-100W. At $0.12/kWh, that’s $84-105/year. A dual-CPU config idles at ~110-140W ($116-147/year). Budget $8-12/month for electricity.