Intel N100

Pros

• I think the N100 is a great processor to stick to for a starter (especially with low power consumption for 24/7 usage).
• While now 5-6 VMs and 10-20 containers on a N100 is just common for a selfhoster without very high loads.
• I am running jellyfin and immich on a silent and passive cooled n100 and don't know why I would need any more compute power.
• I already have 2 N100 which I'm generally happy with, but the extra performance of the i5 (or whatever I could buy) would be nice for Jellyfin / Immich.
• A single n100 is like 5x processing power of pi. Plus nvme is way faster, more reliable and cheaper to boot (per gb)

Cons

• You indicated the possibility of two simultaneous 4k transcodes; this is about the upper limit for an N100. So if I were you, I'd be looking for something with at least eight cores / threads.
• I’ve considered the Intel N100 and N150—they’re very efficient—but in Vietnam they’re mostly sold as mini PCs. ... n100 is essentially a mobile CPU, so there is no separate option available. Also, the efficiency of n100 NAS/mini PCs most...
• N100 is nice too but I read they have power draw issues mainly because the onboard hba and I3 will be better.
• I currently run ProxMox on an n100 and it’s technically even running windows 11 (painfully slow and not really usable) but if I wanna run a image with e.g. database, Webserver etc. that would definitely beat my Raspi 4b.
• The light to moderate gaming isn't going to happen on the N100, at least not with framerates that are considered playable.