

The cheapest PCs are ones that didn’t make the cut for Windows 11, so I’d look for 6th or 7th Gen. RAM is cheaper as well. Then you can build something cheap, and iterate from there.
For a beginner, check out Unraid. It’ll do 99% of what you want without being a hassle.







I think the sizes shown are probably biggest specimen. Black bears can get pretty big, but I’ve never encountered one that was taller than me.