Mini PC for Docker, .NET, SQL Server and Hosting Public API

Hi all,

First-time poster here. I’ve read through a lot of threads regarding which mini PC to choose, but I’m still a bit stuck on the best route for my specific use case and hardware constraints.

I’m planning to buy a mini PC to act as a local server for a small pharmacy. It will host:

• A .NET Web Application with an SQL Server database (for up to 5 concurrent internal users).
• A public-facing API exposed securely using a Cloudflare Tunnel to handle data syncs with external partners. The external traffic will be very light roughly 150–200 requests per day.

I’ve noticed a lot of comments warning against buying mini PCs with pre-installed memory and storage due to poor quality on the bundled parts. I am aiming for 32 GB RAM and a 1 TB SSD to keep SQL happy.

A few questions for the community:

1. Brands: Which brands have the best track record for running 24/7 reliability in Europe? Is it better to buy a barebone kit from a brand like Minisforum, Beelink, or Geekom and buy my own high-quality RAM and SSD ?
2. Soldered Components: Should I strictly avoid soldered RAM for server use?
3. Processor: Which modern processor tier performs best under concurrent SQL and web server threads without thermal throttling? Should I target something like the Ryzen 7 / Ryzen 9 series?

Budget is max €1,000, but I’d like to keep it reasonable. Appreciate any insights or experiences from anyone running a similar micro-server setup!