I have an old Xbox One X (the 1tb model) that I would love to turn into a Linux box to do self hosting. While I do my best to find tutorials online for installing Linux, I was hoping I could pick y’all’s brains on your experiences for upgrading:
- Best hard drives to use (internal and/or USB3)?
- Can the RAM be upgraded?
- Can the Bluray be replaced with a hard drive?
- Anything else I’m missing and don’t know to ask about?
Thanks!


A lot of people start with old Dell Optiplexes for self hosting because businesses dump them on the market cheap when they get old. But an old PC will work just fine as a server. I think the 7040 is a good buy, you could maybe go even older. I have a computer with a Haswell era cpu still being useful.
You can find the nicest CPU they’ll take for a couple bucks on eBay too.
Picked up a 7020 with the i7-4790 for $125 + an additional $50 USD for 32 GB RAM. I’m running 52 containers on it, and it doesn’t break a sweat. Plus, it costs about $8 USD in electricity. Winner Winner Chicken Dinner.
I’ve got a pair of those in my basement closet just waiting for something to do. The 4790 will always have a special place in my heart 😂
I was actually pleasantly surprised. I had two Dell T320, which are good too, but put out a lot of heat, and cost about $40 USD/month to run. So I decommissioned one, and am now looking to purchase an additional 7020 and decommission the other T320. Don’t know what to do with the T320s tho. Nobody on ebay would be willing to pay what it cost to ship a boat anchor. The money I’ll save in electricity costs will more than cover the price of admission.