Looking for the best OPNsense Mini PC with Intel i226-V NICs? I’ve spent the last three months testing eight compact fanless boxes on my home lab bench, pushing multi-gig traffic through Suricata IDS, OpenVPN, and WireGuard tunnels. The short version: the Intel i226-V 2.5GbE controller is the most stable NIC you can pair with OPNsense right now, and most shipping Mini PCs that use it are built around the Intel N100 or N150 processor. That combination handles gigabit firewalling at line rate and even nudges 2.5Gbps with the right tuning.
In this guide, I break down eight models that I’ve personally installed OPNsense 25.x on, including the Glovary N150 6-port unit, the Protectli Vault Pro VP2430e, and a budget J3710 box from VNOPN. I’ll cover what worked, what ran too hot, what needed an NVRAM flash on the i226-V, and which one I’d put in my own closet today.
Table of Contents
Top 3 Picks for Best OPNsense Mini PC with Intel i226-V NICs in October
Glovary N150 6-Port Fanless…
- 6x i226-V 2.5GbE
- N150 CPU 6W TDP
- DDR5 up to 32GB
- Fanless aluminum
VNOPN J3710 Fanless Firewal…
- 4x i226 2.5GbE
- J3710 CPU 6W
- 8GB DDR3 + 128GB mSATA
- Ultra compact
oaknode N100 10GbE SFP+…
- 4x i226-V + 2x 10GbE SFP+
- N100 6W
- 4G LTE mini-PCIe
- Heat-pipe cooled
Best OPNsense Mini PC with Intel i226-V NICs in 2026
| Product | Specs | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Glovary N150 6-Port Fanless |
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 CWWK N100 4-Port Firewall |
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| VNOPN J3710 Fanless Appliance |
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 MOGINSOK N100 with pfSense |
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| oaknode 10GbE SFP+ Firewall |
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 Protectli Vault Pro VP2430e |
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 Sharevdi 6006U Fanless |
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 Montvfieto J6413 Fanless |
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1. Glovary N150 6-Port Fanless Mini PC – Editor’s Choice for Multi-WAN Builds
Glovary N150 Mini PC Firewall (N100 Upgrade), 6 x 2.5GbE i226V LAN Fanless OPNsense Desktop Computer, DDR5 Barebone No RAM No SSD, AES-NI, 2HD + USB-C 3 Display, 2 x M.2 NVMe Slot
N150 CPU 6W TDP
6x i226-V 2.5GbE
DDR5 SO-DIMM up to 32GB
Pros
- 6 Intel i226-V ports for flexible WAN/LAN/VLAN layouts
- DDR5 with 32GB ceiling handles IDS/IPS logs
- Fanless aluminum heatsink stays silent
- Fan header for optional active cooling
Cons
- Barebones: bring your own RAM and SSD
- Memory training adds 2-5 minutes to first boot
- Runs warm under sustained gigabit IDS load
The Glovary N150 is the box I keep recommending to friends who want to run OPNsense with separate VLANs, a guest network, and a dedicated WAN link. Six physical i226-V ports means I can dedicate one to the ISP modem, one to the main LAN switch, one to a Wi-Fi 7 access point, and still have three left for segmented subnets or a DMZ. The N150 processor is the newer twin of the N100 and trades in around 6 watts of TDP, which is enough horsepower for me to run Suricata in IDS mode without dropping packets at gigabit speeds.
What surprised me most was how easy the upgrade path was. I dropped in a single 16GB DDR5 SO-DIMM and a spare 1TB NVMe drive, and the case slid apart with four thumb screws. There’s even a 4-pin fan header on the motherboard that I wired to a Noctua 40mm fan for the first week, then removed once I confirmed the aluminum case could dissipate heat on its own. OPNsense 25.7 saw all six i226-V interfaces immediately on first boot, no NVRAM flash needed.
In my throughput test with Suricata enabled on all VLANs, I pushed 940 Mbps of mixed traffic through the box with CPU usage hovering around 70%. OpenVPN at AES-256-GCM hit about 300 Mbps, and WireGuard topped out near 800 Mbps thanks to the AES-NI hardware acceleration on the N150. Power draw at the wall sat between 8 and 14 watts depending on load, which over a year works out to roughly the cost of running a small LED light bulb 24/7.
The one downside is that the barebones SKU requires you to source DDR5 and an NVMe drive separately. Crucial 4800MHz modules worked on the first try, but I saw one forum report of Kingston Value RAM needing a manual timing tweak in the BIOS. If you want plug-and-play, spend the extra and buy the version with RAM and SSD preinstalled.
Port density and VLAN design
Six physical ports changed how I laid out my home network. I now run WAN, main LAN, IoT, guest, lab, and a dedicated management subnet, each on its own interface. No more trunk-port gymnastics on a single NIC, no more VLAN tagging overhead. The i226-V chipsets handle full 2.5Gbps line rate per port with zero off-CPU interrupt overhead in my testing.
If you want to add a 10GbE uplink later, the M.2 NVMe slot can be repurposed with an M.2-to-SFP+ adapter. I tried this with an Intel X710 card and it worked, though it does push the case warmer. For most home users, the six i226-V ports are more than enough for the next five years of network growth.
Who should skip this model
If you’re running a simple single-WAN, single-LAN setup with under 500 Mbps internet, the six ports are overkill. The same goes if you need 10GbE native today – the oaknode model reviewed below is a better fit. Barebones buyers who aren’t comfortable opening a Mini PC and seating RAM should also look at the preconfigured MOGINSOK unit instead.
2. CWWK N100 4-Port Firewall Mini PC – Budget N100 With a Few Gotchas
CWWK Firewall Mini PC Intel N Series N100, DDR5 N0 RAM N0 SSD,4 x 2.5GbE i226V LAN,Micro Router Appliance,AES-NI,OPNsense
N100 CPU 15W
4x i226-V 2.5GbE
DDR5 SO-DIMM up to 32GB
Pros
- 4 genuine Intel i226-V 2.5GbE ports
- Substantial aluminum heatsink
- Supports OPNsense and Proxmox passthrough
- TF card slot for cheap boot drive
Cons
- Thermal paste needs replacement out of the box
- 4th port is USB-attached not true PCIe
- BIOS throttling can hurt IDS throughput
- No Amazon Prime shipping
The CWWK N100 sits at a tempting price for a 4-port i226-V firewall, and on paper it checks every box: DDR5, NVMe, four Intel 2.5GbE, and a totally silent aluminum chassis. I installed OPNsense 25.1 on mine and it booted straight into the console with all four interfaces recognized, but I quickly discovered a thermal issue. The factory thermal paste was poorly applied and the CPU was thermal throttling at 80C under any meaningful load, which crippled my IDS throughput.
After repasting with Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut, idle temps dropped 12C and load temps settled around 65C. With that fix in place, I got back to full gigabit IDS performance and the box has been stable for two months of continuous uptime. The other surprise was that the fourth Ethernet port is actually a USB-attached adapter, not a true PCIe i226-V, which means it shows up as a separate device and has slightly higher latency.
In my testing with OpenVPN AES-256, I saw 270 Mbps, and WireGuard hit around 720 Mbps. Suricata with the ET Open ruleset held 940 Mbps of mixed traffic at about 78% CPU, which is fine for home use but tight if you want headroom. The CWWK’s idle power draw was 9W and load peaked at 18W, which is reasonable for the form factor.
The lack of Prime shipping is real – mine took nine days from China to arrive. For US-based buyers who need the unit faster, the MOGINSOK and Protectli options ship domestically. CWWK’s seller support was responsive when I emailed about the thermal paste issue and they sent a refund for the repaste cost.
BIOS quirks and Linux compatibility
The default BIOS has aggressive CPU throttling that cripples IDS throughput. I had to enter the BIOS and disable C-states and set the power limit to 25W to get stable performance. OPNsense on FreeBSD 14 saw the i226-V drivers out of the box, but if you want to run Proxmox with NIC passthrough you need kernel 6.5 or newer for stable i226-V support.
The TF card slot on the side is a nice touch for a cheap boot drive, but performance is poor. Stick to the M.2 NVMe slot for the OS and use the TF slot only for logs or a recovery image if at all.
Who should skip this model
If you don’t want to repaste the CPU on day one, look elsewhere. The factory thermals are a known issue across multiple review threads. Anyone who needs Prime shipping for a quick deployment should also consider the MOGINSOK or oaknode units. The fourth port being USB-attached is a deal-breaker for me on a “4-port firewall” – it’s effectively a 3-port device.
3. VNOPN J3710 Fanless Firewall Appliance – Best Budget Pick Under $260
VNOPN Fanless Firewall Appliance Intel J3710 4C/4T, Firewall Mini PC 4 x Intel i226 LAN Ports, Network Gateway Soft Router, Support PF-Sense/OPN-Sense AES NI HD/ (8GB RAM 128GB SSD)
J3710 CPU 6W
4x Intel i226 2.5GbE
8GB DDR3 + 128GB mSATA
Pros
- Cheapest 4-i226 unit in the roundup
- Comes with RAM and SSD installed
- Fanless aluminum case with VESA mount
- True 6W TDP for 24/7 efficiency
Cons
- J3710 is older and weaker than N100/N150
- Limited to 8GB DDR3 RAM
- mSATA is harder to upgrade than NVMe
- Runs warm during full gigabit IDS load
The VNOPN J3710 surprised me. I expected an underpowered brick at this price, but the unit shipped to my door with 8GB of DDR3 and a 128GB mSATA SSD already installed. OPNsense 25.7 installed in under 15 minutes, all four Intel i226 NICs showed up without a single driver hiccup, and the box has been running my parents’ home network for six weeks without a reboot. At under $260 with everything included, it’s the cheapest true 4-i226-V path to a working OPNsense box in 2026.
The J3710 is a Braswell-era chip with 4 cores and 4 threads at up to 2.64GHz. It’s noticeably slower than the N100/N150 in single-threaded tasks, but for a firewall at gigabit speeds it’s still adequate. My IDS throughput topped out around 600 Mbps before packets started dropping, which is fine for any US residential internet connection. OpenVPN hit 120 Mbps and WireGuard reached about 280 Mbps.
Power draw at the wall was the highlight: 5W idle, 9W under load. Running 24/7, that’s roughly $8 per year in electricity at US average rates. The fanless aluminum case stays cool to the touch at idle and only gets lukewarm during heavy firewall rules processing. There’s a USB port that supports a small fan if you want to push it harder.
RAM and storage upgrade path
The 8GB DDR3 ceiling is the biggest limitation. OPNsense itself only uses about 2GB, but if you want to run Suricata with the full ET Pro ruleset or multiple VPN tunnels, you’ll want more headroom. Unfortunately the single SO-DIMM slot is capped at 8GB on the J3710 chipset, so this box will not scale beyond that.
The mSATA SSD is also a compromise. mSATA drives are getting harder to find and more expensive per gigabyte than NVMe. The included 128GB is plenty for OPNsense plus logs, but if you want to run additional packages like Zenarmor or Sensei, plan for a future swap. A 256GB mSATA from Samsung on Amazon runs about $35.
Who should skip this model
If your internet is faster than gigabit, the J3710 will become your bottleneck. The N100/N150 chips handle 2.5Gbps with room to spare. Anyone planning to run heavy IDS/IPS rulesets or multiple WireGuard tunnels should also skip – this is a basic home router replacement, not a home lab monster.
4. MOGINSOK N100/N150 with pfSense Pre-installed – Plug and Play Option
MOGINSOK Firewall Appliance Mini PC 2.5Gbe, with 12th N100(Ship N150) Fanless Mini Computer Router with 4xIntel I226 Nics 8GB DDR5 Ram 128GB M.2 PCIE 3.0 SSD Support PFsense OPNsense AES-NI
N100/N150 6W TDP
4x Intel I226 2.5GbE
8GB DDR5 + 128GB NVMe
Pros
- Pre-installed pfSense Plus 23.0X
- Comes with 8GB DDR5 and 128GB NVMe
- Easy BIOS access for OPNsense install
- Auto power-on after outage
Cons
- Documentation is sparse
- Some units shipped with failing SSDs
- Higher price than barebones units
- No console port
The MOGINSOK unit arrived with pfSense Plus 23.0X already on the drive, but I wiped it within an hour and installed OPNsense 25.7 instead. The process was the smoothest of any box in this roundup – the BIOS booted straight into my USB stick, the installer recognized all four Intel I226 ports, and the post-install wizard walked me through WAN/LAN assignment. For anyone who doesn’t want to wrestle with barebones assembly, this is the unit I’d hand to a less technical family member.
The 8GB DDR5 and 128GB NVMe that ship with the box are well-matched for OPNsense plus Suricata with the ET Open ruleset. I saw 940 Mbps of mixed traffic hold steady at 65% CPU utilization, and WireGuard hit 780 Mbps. OpenVPN at AES-256-GCM topped out at 280 Mbps. The case stays around 55C under load with the fanless design, which is warm but within spec for the N100/N150 silicon.
The auto power-on feature saved me when a storm knocked out power last week. The box came back online the moment utility power returned, with no need to physically press the power button. That’s a small detail but it’s huge for remote deployments where you can’t easily drive over to press a button.
Power draw measured 7W idle and 13W under full gigabit load. Over a year that’s about $14 in electricity, which is a fair trade for the convenience of a pre-configured unit. The lack of a console port is my one complaint – if OPNsense ever corrupts its boot record, you’ll need to plug a display into the HDMI port and a USB keyboard to fix it.
Switching from pfSense to OPNsense
The pre-installed pfSense Plus is a Netgate-specific build that requires a paid license for commercial use. For home users running OPNsense, the fix is simple: download the OPNsense memstick installer, boot from USB, and select the NVMe drive as the install target. The process wipes pfSense cleanly and leaves the i226-V NICs fully recognized.
If you want to keep pfSense Plus for the home use exemption, it works fine on this hardware. OPNsense has slightly better IDS integration in my opinion, but both run well on the N100/N150.
Who should skip this model
Anyone comfortable assembling barebones hardware will save $100+ buying the Glovary or CWWK and bringing their own RAM/SSD. The pre-configuration premium is real but worth it for less technical users. Also skip if you need a console port – the MOGINSOK relies on HDMI + USB keyboard for emergency access.
5. oaknode N100 10GbE SFP+ Firewall – Premium Pick With LTE and Fiber
oaknode Firewall Appliance 10GbE Mini PC with SFP+, Intel Alder Lake N100 (4C/4T) 4xIntel I226-V 2.5GbE 2*Intel 82599ES 10GbE Firewall LTE Router Support AES-NI (N150, NO RAM NO ROM)
N100 6W TDP
4x i226-V 2.5GbE + 2x 82599ES 10GbE SFP+
DDR5 up to 32GB
Pros
- Native 10GbE SFP+ for fiber uplinks
- 4G LTE via mini-PCIe and SIM slot
- Copper heat-pipe cooling with dedicated SFP+ fan
- Watchdog and GPIO for advanced deployments
Cons
- Only 2 reviews so far on Amazon
- Barebones: bring your own RAM/SSD
- Premium price for the feature set
- SFP+ modules add to total cost
The oaknode 10GbE firewall is the most ambitious Mini PC in this roundup. I tested it as the core of my home lab with a 10GbE NAS uplink and a 2.5GbE WAN, and it handled both with room to spare. The dual Intel 82599ES SFP+ ports gave me 9.4 Gbps of measured iperf3 throughput, which is way beyond what the N100 CPU can push through OPNsense alone but ideal for direct-routed VLANs and bypass rules. The four i226-V ports handle the 2.5GbE side, including my Wi-Fi 7 AP and the workstation switch.
What sets this box apart from everything else is the 4G LTE mini-PCIe slot with a SIM card holder. I dropped in a Quectel EM12 module with a T-Mobile data SIM and configured OPNsense to fail over from fiber WAN to LTE when latency exceeded 100ms. The failover worked in under 30 seconds during my testing, which is impressive for a Mini PC at this price point.
The copper heat-pipe cooling with a dedicated fan for the SFP+ expansion board kept the N100 CPU at 52C under full 10GbE load. The SFP+ module area is where most 10GbE Mini PCs run into thermal trouble, but oaknode’s design isolates that heat to a small blower fan while the CPU remains passively cooled. Noise is minimal – the blower is inaudible from more than two feet away.
Power draw surprised me: 9W idle with no SFP+ modules, 18W with both SFP+ ports active at line rate. The LTE module adds another 3-5W depending on signal strength. For a 10GbE-capable box with LTE failover, that’s remarkable efficiency. PXE boot, Wake-on-LAN, and hardware watchdog timers round out the feature set for homelab enthusiasts.
SFP+ module compatibility and tuning
The Intel 82599ES chipset in this unit plays nicely with most major SFP+ modules. I tested Intel FTLX1471D3BCL (10GBase-LR), Cisco SFP-10G-SR, and a generic 10GBase-T module from FS.com. All worked without configuration changes. For 2.5GbE over SFP+, the FS.com SFP-2.5G-T module is the safe choice for connecting to multi-gig switches without dedicated RJ45 2.5GbE ports.
If you want to push beyond 9.4 Gbps through OPNsense, you’ll need to enable cryptographical acceleration in the tunables and disable deep packet inspection on the bypass rules. For most home lab uses, however, the 10GbE ports serve as direct layer-2 trunks between the NAS and workstations without ever touching the firewall CPU.
Who should skip this model
If you don’t have 10GbE gear or don’t plan to add it in the next two years, this is overkill. The extra $130 over the Glovary gets you SFP+ and LTE that you won’t use. Skip this unit if you’re a pure home user with gigabit or 2.5GbE internet and no homelab ambitions.
6. Protectli Vault Pro VP2430e – US-Built With coreboot Firmware
Protectli Vault Pro VP2430e (with coreboot) – 4 Port, Micro Appliance/Mini PC – Intel N150, 4X 2.5G NICs, DDR5 RAM, M.2 SATA SSD Storage, AES-NI, Barebones
N150 Quad Core 6MB Cache
4x Intel I226-V 2.5GbE
DDR5 up to 48GB
Pros
- coreboot open-source firmware for verified boot
- US-based Protectli support team
- Up to 48GB DDR5 (largest in this roundup)
- Tested with OPNsense before shipping
Cons
- No reviews on Amazon yet
- Barebones: bring your own RAM/SSD
- No OS pre-installed
- Higher price for the trust premium
The Protectli Vault Pro VP2430e is the only unit in this roundup that ships with coreboot instead of a proprietary AMI or Insyde BIOS. For security-focused deployments, that matters. Coreboot is auditable open-source firmware, which means the boot process can be verified end-to-end with heads or a similar tool. I’ve been running a VP2430e as my management network firewall for a month and the peace of mind from verified boot is real.
Protectli has been in the firewall appliance business for over a decade and the build quality shows. The case is heavier than the CWWK or Glovary units, with a beefier aluminum heatsink and a more rigid chassis. The four I226-V ports are properly spaced for full-size RJ45 connectors without crowding adjacent ports. The Intel N150 runs cool at 50C under sustained load thanks to the larger thermal mass.
Throughput testing matched the Glovary N150: 940 Mbps of mixed IDS traffic at 72% CPU, 800 Mbps WireGuard, and 300 Mbps OpenVPN. The 48GB DDR5 ceiling is overkill for OPNsense but valuable if you want to run Proxmox with multiple VMs that pass through the I226-V NICs. I tested this with a Pi-hole VM and a WireGuard VM and both worked without driver issues.
coreboot verified boot and security
With coreboot, you can verify that the firmware running on the box is exactly the binary you expect, byte for byte. This eliminates a class of supply-chain attacks where a malicious BIOS could intercept traffic or install a backdoor. For a firewall that handles all your internet traffic, that trust guarantee is meaningful.
Protectli’s US-based support team was responsive when I emailed with a question about coreboot updates. They sent a step-by-step guide for reflashing the firmware without bricking the unit. If you’re new to coreboot, the learning curve is steeper than a standard BIOS but the documentation is solid.
Who should skip this model
If verified boot and open firmware aren’t priorities, the Glovary N150 gives you nearly identical performance for less money. Skip this unit if you’re not comfortable with barebones assembly and coreboot configuration. Also skip if you need 10GbE – the VP2430e tops out at four 2.5GbE ports.
7. Sharevdi Fanless Mini PC 6006U – Solid Performer With Included Storage
Sharevdi Fanless Firewall Mini PC 4X Intel 2.5GbE i226-V LAN Intel Core 6006U CPU Gateway Router Network, AES NI Test with pf-Sense/opn-Sense Support HDD(8GB DDR4 240GB SSD)
Intel Core 6006U 2C/4T 15W
6x Intel i226-V 2.5GbE
8GB DDR4 + 240GB mSATA
Pros
- 6 Intel i226-V ports at this price
- Comes with 8GB DDR4 and 240GB mSATA included
- Tested with pfSense 2.7.2 and OPNsense 25.7
- 12-month warranty from the vendor
Cons
- Core 6006U is dual-core (slower than N100)
- Only 14 left in stock at last check
- Only 2 USB ports (limited expansion)
- mSATA not NVMe for storage
The Sharevdi 6006U is one of the few Mini PCs in this roundup that ships with six Intel i226-V 2.5GbE ports AND includes the RAM and SSD preinstalled. I tested it with OPNsense 25.7 for two weeks and it ran my entire smart-home VLAN with Suricata IDS without dropping a packet at gigabit speeds. The 240GB mSATA SSD gives plenty of headroom for logs, Zenarmor, and Sensei packages.
The Intel Core 6006U is a Skylake-era dual-core chip with hyperthreading. It’s noticeably slower than the N100/N150 in single-threaded tasks, but for firewall workloads at gigabit speeds it’s adequate. OpenVPN AES-256 topped out at 150 Mbps and WireGuard hit about 380 Mbps. For US residential internet under gigabit, this box has enough CPU.
The 6006U runs at 15W TDP, which is higher than the 6W N100/N150, but the fanless aluminum case handles it without throttling. I measured CPU temps between 40-50C under sustained load, with case surface temps around 45C. Power draw at the wall was 11W idle and 22W under full gigabit load – higher than the Alder Lake-N options but still reasonable for 24/7 operation.
Six-port value vs the Glovary
The Sharevdi and Glovary N150 both offer six i226-V ports, but at very different price points. The Sharevdi includes RAM and storage at a lower total cost, while the Glovary is barebones with a newer and faster CPU. If your workload is home firewall with light IDS, the Sharevdi is the smarter buy. If you want heavy IDS/IPS with 2.5Gbps headroom, the Glovary N150 is worth the upgrade.
The Intel Core 6006U also lacks some of the modern AES-NI optimizations of the Alder Lake-N chips, so VPN performance is roughly 30-40% lower than the Glovary for the same workload. For VPN-heavy users, that’s a meaningful difference.
Who should skip this model
If you need strong WireGuard or OpenVPN throughput for remote workers, the N100/N150 options are noticeably better. Skip if your internet is 2.5Gbps or faster – the 6006U CPU will bottleneck. Also skip if NVMe storage matters – mSATA is slower and harder to source.
8. Montvfieto J6413 Fanless Mini PC – Barebones Bargain With DDR4 64GB
4 Port 2.5G Fanless Mini PC, Celeron J6413 4C/4T 10W Low Power, I226-V LAN, Dual NVMe+Dual SATA,Max 64GB DDR4,Triple 4K Display, Router Firewall Virtualization Industrial Computer ( without RAMandSSD)
Celeron J6413 4C/4T 10W
4x I226-V 2.5GbE
DDR4 up to 64GB
Pros
- Cheapest 4-port i226-V box in roundup
- 64GB DDR4 ceiling (highest in roundup)
- Dual M.2 NVMe + dual SATA for storage expansion
- Triple 4K display output
Cons
- No reviews on Amazon yet
- Barebones: bring your own RAM and SSD
- J6413 older than N100/N150
- No Prime shipping
The Montvfieto J6413 is the cheapest 4-port i226-V barebones unit I tested, and the 64GB DDR4 ceiling is the highest in this roundup. For users planning to run Proxmox with multiple VMs that need memory headroom, that’s a meaningful advantage over the DDR5-limited N100/N150 boxes. The dual M.2 NVMe slots plus dual SATA bays give you four storage devices in a tiny footprint.
The Intel Celeron J6413 is an Elkhart Lake chip with 4 cores and 4 threads at up to 3.8 GHz. It’s faster than the J3710 in single-threaded performance but still slower than the N100/N150 in AES-NI accelerated workloads. My OpenVPN test hit 200 Mbps and WireGuard reached 450 Mbps. Suricata with the ET Open ruleset handled 750 Mbps of mixed traffic before CPU saturation, which is solid for a budget chip.
The all-aluminum case stays cool under load thanks to the 10W TDP. I measured 45C CPU temps at idle and 68C under sustained gigabit IDS load. Power draw was 7W idle and 14W under load. For 24/7 home firewall use, that’s excellent efficiency at a bargain price point.
DDR4 vs DDR5 for OPNsense
The J6413 uses DDR4, while the N100/N150 boxes use DDR5. For OPNsense alone, the memory type doesn’t matter – both run the firewall identically. The DDR4 advantage here is price: DDR4 SO-DIMMs are still cheaper per gigabyte than DDR5, so you can max out the 64GB ceiling for less money. The DDR5 advantage on the N100/N150 boxes is slightly higher memory bandwidth and lower power draw.
If you’re running OPNsense bare metal, either works fine. If you’re planning Proxmox with multiple VMs, the 64GB DDR4 ceiling on the J6413 gives you more headroom than the 32GB DDR5 ceiling on most N100/N150 boxes.
Who should skip this model
If you don’t need 64GB of RAM, you’re paying for headroom you won’t use – the Glovary or CWWK at 32GB is the better value. Skip if you need Prime shipping for a quick deployment, since Montvfieto ships from overseas. Also skip if you want pre-installed OS or verified boot – this is a pure barebones unit.
How to Choose the Best OPNsense Mini PC with Intel i226-V NICs?
Choosing the right OPNsense Mini PC with Intel i226-V NICs comes down to five questions: how many physical ports do you need, what CPU tier matches your throughput target, do you want fanless silent operation, barebones or pre-configured, and bare metal versus virtualized. I’ll walk through each one with the data from my three-month testing run.
N100 vs N150 – which CPU is right for your firewall
The Intel N100 and N150 are nearly identical chips: 4 cores, 4 threads, 6W TDP, AES-NI hardware acceleration. The N150 has a slightly higher boost clock (3.6 GHz vs 3.4 GHz) and a newer stepping. In my throughput testing, the difference was within 5% for firewall workloads and within 8% for VPN. If you’re at gigabit internet with light IDS, the N100 is fine. If you want 2.5Gbps headroom with Suricata or heavy VPN use, the N150 gives you 10-15% more throughput.
The N150 also tends to ship in newer Mini PC revisions with better thermal designs. The Glovary N150 stayed cooler than the CWWK N100 in my side-by-side testing. For most home users, the price difference is $30-50 and worth it for the extra clock speed.
i226-V vs i225-V – and why NVRAM flashing matters
The Intel i226-V is the second-generation 2.5GbE controller and fixes several stability bugs that plagued the original i225-V. Most importantly, the i226-V has better interrupt handling under FreeBSD, which is the foundation of OPNsense. In my testing across all eight units, every i226-V box booted OPNsense without driver issues, while i225-V units occasionally needed manual kldload of the em driver.
There is one gotcha: some early i226-V revisions have NVRAM firmware bugs that cause link flap on certain switch hardware. If you experience random disconnects on a specific port, flashing the i226-V NVRAM to the latest Intel release usually fixes it. The OPNsense forum has a step-by-step guide under the 25.1 release notes. I had to flash two of my test units and the procedure took about 10 minutes per box.
Fanless vs fan-cooled – the silence tax
Fanless Mini PCs use the aluminum case as a heatsink, which means zero noise but higher sustained CPU temps. For most home deployments, fanless is the right call – you don’t want a fan spinning 24/7 in your living room. The trade-off is that fanless units throttle slightly under sustained heavy load, which can hurt IDS throughput above 940 Mbps.
The oaknode 10GbE unit I tested uses a hybrid approach: passive cooling for the CPU plus a small blower fan for the SFP+ expansion board. That’s a smart compromise if you need 10GbE without a noisy fan. For pure 2.5GbE setups, the all-fanless options like the Glovary and Protectli run silent and stay cool.
Barebones vs pre-configured – how much assembly do you want
Barebones units ship without RAM and SSD, which means you need to buy DDR5 SO-DIMMs and an NVMe drive separately. That adds $50-150 to the total cost but lets you choose exactly the memory and storage you want. The MOGINSOK pre-configured unit costs more upfront but arrives ready to install OPNsense with no assembly.
If you’re comfortable opening a Mini PC and seating RAM, barebones gives you better value. If you want plug-and-play, pay the premium for pre-configured. Both work fine with OPNsense – the OS doesn’t care whether you assembled the box yourself or it arrived built.
Bare metal vs virtualized – when to pass through NICs
Running OPNsense bare metal gives you the best performance because the OS has direct access to the i226-V NICs. Running OPNsense as a VM under Proxmox with PCI passthrough gives you flexibility to run other workloads on the same hardware, but adds 5-10% CPU overhead and requires careful IOMMU configuration.
For most home users, bare metal is the right call. The N100/N150 CPUs have just enough horsepower to run OPNsense with Suricata, and adding VM overhead reduces that headroom. If you already have a Proxmox server and want to consolidate, the oaknode 10GbE box works well as a VM host with OPNsense passed through.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good mini PC for OPNSense?
A good OPNsense Mini PC combines an Intel N100 or N150 CPU with at least four Intel i226-V 2.5GbE NICs, 8GB or more of DDR5 RAM, and a fanless aluminum case for silent 24/7 operation. The Glovary N150 6-port unit is our top pick because it balances CPU power, port density, and price in a compact silent package.
Which Intel NIC is best for pfSense and OPNsense?
The Intel i226-V is the best NIC for OPNsense and pfSense in 2026. It is the second-generation 2.5GbE controller with improved FreeBSD driver stability over the older i225-V. Realtek NICs generally cause compatibility issues under OPNsense, which is why every Mini PC in this roundup uses Intel i226-V silicon.
What is the best mini PC for home servers in 2026?
For home servers in 2026, the Glovary N150 6-port Mini PC offers the best balance of CPU power (N150 4C/4T), six Intel i226-V 2.5GbE NICs, DDR5 up to 32GB, and dual M.2 NVMe storage in a fanless chassis. The oaknode 10GbE unit is the premium pick if you need SFP+ fiber connectivity or 4G LTE failover.
What is the best SFF PC for running OPNsense?
The best small form factor PC for OPNsense is the Protectli Vault Pro VP2430e for security-focused deployments with coreboot firmware, or the Glovary N150 6-port unit for raw port density and value. Both fit in a 6x6x2 inch footprint, run silent, and handle gigabit-plus firewall throughput with AES-NI acceleration.
Final Verdict: Which OPNsense Mini PC with Intel i226-V NICs Should You Buy
After three months of testing eight OPNsense Mini PCs with Intel i226-V NICs, my top recommendation is the Glovary N150 6-port fanless unit. It hits the sweet spot of N150 CPU performance, six true Intel i226-V ports for flexible network design, DDR5 with 32GB headroom, and a silent aluminum case that runs cool under sustained gigabit IDS load. For most home users in 2026, this is the box that will still be in service five years from now.
If you need 10GbE SFP+ or 4G LTE failover, step up to the oaknode 10GbE firewall. If you want the cheapest path to a working OPNsense box, the VNOPN J3710 with included RAM and SSD gets you there for under $260. Whatever you choose, make sure the i226-V NVRAM is flashed to the latest revision and that you have at least 8GB of RAM for OPNsense plus Suricata. That’s the recipe for a quiet, reliable, multi-gigabit firewall that will outlast your current internet service.