The verdict

CPU
Aoostar WTR Pro 5825U has 1.7x the CPU throughput (17,853 vs 10,800 PassMark).
Plex
iKOOLCORE R2 transcodes more 4K HDR streams (~5 vs ~3).
Idle power
iKOOLCORE R2 idles lower (9W vs 20W) - cheaper to run 24/7.
Networking
iKOOLCORE R2 has more NICs (4 vs 2) - better for a firewall or VLAN trunk.
RAM ceiling
Aoostar WTR Pro 5825U takes more RAM (64GB vs 16GB).

Which wins for each job

Job Aoostar WTR Pro 5825U iKOOLCORE R2
Plex / Jellyfin ~3 streams ~5 streams win
Frigate NVR add a detector ~4 cameras win
Proxmox / VMs 17,853 PassMark win 10,800 PassMark
Firewall / router 2 NICs 4 NICs win
Local AI / LLM no slot no slot

Approximate - capacity estimates from curated specs, the same logic as the recommender. Verify against your exact setup. Prices move; check the retailer.

Full specs

Spec Aoostar WTR Pro 5825U iKOOLCORE R2
Price (list) $389 $389
CPU AMD Ryzen 7 5825U Intel Core i3-N305
Cores / threads 8 8
PassMark 17,853 10,800
iGPU AMD Radeon (Vega) Intel UHD (32 EU)
NICs 2 4
NIC model Realtek RTL8125 Intel I226-V + Realtek 2.5GbE
RAM max (GB) 64 16
M.2 free 1 1
PCIe slot none none
Idle (W) 20 9
TDP (W) 15 15