Hardware RAID vs Software RAID in 2026
Hardware RAID controllers used to be necessary. Now they're often a liability. Here's when to flash that LSI card to IT mode, when to keep it, and why ZFS specifically refuses to share.
Tag: hardware
All the articles with the tag "hardware".
PoE Injectors and Switches for the Home Lab
Cut rack cable clutter with Power over Ethernet. A no-nonsense guide to PoE standards, switch power budgets, and cleanly powering your home lab gear rack.
USB-C Power Delivery for Mini PCs
USB-C Power Delivery can cleanly power your entire mini-PC homelab. Here is what PD versions, cable wattage ratings, and UPS compatibility actually matter.
10GbE NIC Cheat Sheet: Mellanox, Intel, Chelsio
Used 10GbE NICs for your homelab in 2026: which Mellanox, Intel, or Chelsio card to buy, which ones to skip entirely, and exactly why the X540 runs hot.
DIY Patch Panel and Rack Cabling for Sanity
Stop living with spaghetti rack cables. A practical guide to DIY patch panels, structured rack cabling, and a cable layout that will not haunt you at 2 AM.
SFP+ Optics and DACs Without Getting Burned
SFP+ optics, DACs, AOCs, and fiber for home lab 10G networking — what to buy, what to avoid, and how to stop vendor lock-in from wrecking your wallet.
Hailo-8 vs Coral: AI Accelerators for the Edge
Hailo-8 vs Google Coral: which edge AI accelerator actually wins for Frigate NVR, Whisper transcription, and local home lab inference workloads in 2026?
Mini PCs With 2.5GbE: Picking the Right Box
A 2026 home lab guide to mini PCs with built-in 2.5GbE: NIC chipsets, idle power consumption, thermals, and which small form-factor box fits your use case.
Minisforum vs Beelink vs Trigkey Homelab
Three mini PC brands dominate homelab 2026: Minisforum, Beelink, Trigkey. Here's how to pick the right Ryzen or N100 box for your cluster.
Used GPU Buying Guide for Home Lab LLMs
Your no-BS guide to buying a used GPU for local LLM inference in 2026. Budget tiers from $200 to $1500 plus, real VRAM math, and tips to dodge the scams.
Rock 5B vs Orange Pi 5 vs Pi 5
Rock 5B, Orange Pi 5, and Raspberry Pi 5 compared for home lab use — NVMe, 2.5GbE, NPU, Frigate, k3s performance, and which one you should actually buy.
BIOS/UEFI Tweaks for Headless Servers
Before you rack that server and walk away forever, these BIOS and UEFI settings will save you from a 3 AM drive to the datacenter or your dusty basement.