I’m using 4 refurbished drives in my server. My first one is showing early signs of failing after three years of being my main torrenting/plex drive.

The other three are new (to me) and are an upgrade from the failing one.

I’d say if the prices are decent, and it includes a year warranty, it doesn’t sound like a bad deal. Just make sure to back it up.

https://www.microcenter.com/product/5007009/intel-core-i7-12700k,-msi-z790-p-pro-wifi-ddr4,-crucial-16gb-ddr4-3200-kit,-computer-build-bundle

If you’re near a Microcenter, this makes an excellent deal. 12700K bundled with mobo and 16 GB RAM.

I got this bundle and it’s been amazing. I use my single machine for all services due to space constraints. The CPU never goes beyond 30%. The downside is it uses DDR4 so you’re still on older hardware. Still completely viable for everyday use.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails?ItemList=Combo.4762942

This is not as good a deal but it’s available for shipping. RAM isn’t included.

I ran a modded server on an i5-4690K for about 5 people and never noticed any hiccups. The CPU was almost always maxed out due to other things (Frigate camera transcoding, Plex streaming, torrenting) and it ran fine.

How many people will be playing and will there be lots of mods?

You can use Molly, a fork of Signal for android. It offers an alternative for push notifications.