Real hardware guides from someone who actually uses this stuff.
No sponsored picks. No affiliate-first recommendations. 13 years of building PCs and running servers — just what I use and why.
How We Test
From 2024 through early 2026 I ran a home test bench in St. Louis County, MO — measuring idle power draw at the wall, logging thermals under sustained load, and benchmarking on hardware I bought with my own money. Most of that gear has since been sold or retired (see About and Colophon for the full timeline). Today the site combines my hands-on history with a synthesis of cited third-party benchmarks — ServeTheHome, Phoronix, Tom’s Hardware, TechPowerUp — plus original first-party runs on the rigs I still own (most recently the ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5080 OC dataset). No vendor samples, no sponsored content, no affiliate-first picks.
Start Here
New to the site? These three guides cover the essentials.
ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5080 OC Review: First-Party 4K Benchmarks (2026)
ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5080 OC review with TechFuelHQ benchmarks: 3DMark, Cyberpunk 4K path tracing, DLSS 4 MFG, plus power and thermals across three profiles.
Build GuideAORUS FO48U Review (2026): 48-inch 4K OLED Gaming Monitor
Gigabyte AORUS FO48U review 2026: 48-inch 4K 120Hz OLED, DisplayPort 1.4, two HDMI 2.1, and KVM. $600–$900 used / $999–$1,199 new, honest pros and cons.
Self-Hosted12 Best Self-Hosted Apps 2026 to Replace SaaS
The 12 best self-hosted apps to replace SaaS in 2026: Immich, Nextcloud AIO, Vaultwarden, Paperless-ngx, Jellyfin, and more, with Docker files and hardware.
First-Party Data & Tools →
ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5080 OC — First-Party Bench Dataset
First-party 3DMark Time Spy, clocks, thermals, board power, DLSS 4 MFG, and 4K native gaming results from the ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5080 OC by TechFuelHQ.
ToolPC Builder — Pick parts, check compatibility, get an honest total
Interactive PC build picker with 2026 pricing, socket and chipset compatibility checks, PSU wattage validation, and case clearance. CC BY 4.0 parts dataset.
GuidePSU Wattage Calculator
Find the right power supply for your build. Pick your CPU, GPU, storage, and parts to see peak system draw, recommended PSU wattage, and headroom at each tier.
Hardware Reviews →
ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5080 OC Review: First-Party 4K Benchmarks (2026)
ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5080 OC review with TechFuelHQ benchmarks: 3DMark, Cyberpunk 4K path tracing, DLSS 4 MFG, plus power and thermals across three profiles.
ReviewRyzen 7 7800X3D Review (2026): Still the Gaming CPU Standard
Ryzen 7 7800X3D review from long-term use: 3D V-Cache gaming lead, AM5 reality, thermals on a 360mm AIO, real power draw, and buy advice for 2026 vs 9000X3D.
ReviewNZXT Kraken 360 Review: Long-Term on a Ryzen 7 7800X3D (2026)
Long-term NZXT Kraken 360 review from a Ryzen 7 7800X3D build: AM5 install, NZXT CAM software, 3D V-Cache thermals, pump noise, and is the LCD worth it.
ReviewROG STRIX B650-A Gaming WiFi Review: AM5 ATX for the Homelab
ROG STRIX B650-A Gaming WiFi review from a Ryzen 7 7800X3D build: DDR5 tuning, X3D power delivery, WiFi 6E, PCIe slot layout, and what ASUS got wrong.
ReviewEVGA SuperNOVA 1000 GT Review: A Gold-Rated PSU After EVGA's GPU Exit
EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 GT long-term review: 80 Plus Gold, fully modular, Seasonic platform, from a brand that left GPUs. Buying new or used and warranty in 2026.
ReviewSamsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB Review (2026): A PCIe 3.0 Drive Worth Keeping
Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB NVMe review from daily use in a Ryzen 7 7800X3D build: sequential speed, game load times, heat under write, and Gen4 advice for 2026.
Homelab Guides →
Proxmox vs TrueNAS vs Unraid: ZFS, btrfs, and Homelab IOPS
ZFS vs btrfs vs ZFS-on-Unraid in 2026: RAIDZ vs mirrors, NVMe SLOG when it actually helps, ARC and L2ARC tuning, special vdev tradeoffs, and real homelab IOPS.
HomelabBest Mini PC for a Homelab 2026: MS-01, NUC, SFF
The best mini PC for a homelab in 2026 by budget: MS-01 for 10GbE, ASUS NUC 14 for low idle, used OptiPlex under $200. Specs, idle watts, and picks.
HardwareHow to Set Up Proxmox on a Mini PC — Box to First VM in Under an Hour
Step-by-step Proxmox VE setup on a mini PC. From USB boot to your first VM and LXC container in under an hour. Real hardware, real power draw, no bloat.
HomelabTurn an Old Gaming PC Into a Proxmox Server in 2026: Step-by-Step
Step-by-step: turn a 2018-era gaming PC into a Proxmox VE 8 homelab server. BIOS settings, install, GPU passthrough, idle wattage.
ComparisonProxmox vs ESXi in 2026: Free ESXi Is Back, But Does It Matter?
Free ESXi 8.0 is back with limits; Proxmox VE is open source with no VM caps. Benchmarks, feature comparison, and an honest verdict on the better hypervisor.
ComparisonBest Budget NAS Build 2026: 4-Bay Home NAS Under $400
Build a 4-bay home NAS in 2026 under $400 barebone. AOOSTAR WTR Pro N100 vs 5825U, used HP plus DAS, DIY 4U rack. TrueNAS, Unraid, OMV compared.
PC Hardware & Builds →
The $1,500 RTX 5060 Ti Mid-Range 1440p Build for 2026
A real $1,500 build I'd put my own money in: RTX 5060 Ti 16GB, Ryzen 7 7700, 32GB DDR5-6000, 2TB Gen4. May 2026 prices, parts list, and 1440p benchmarks.
Build GuideDDR5 RAM Buying Guide for 2026: Stop Overpaying for Speed You Can't Feel
DDR5-6000 to 6400 is the smart money in 2026. DDR4 vs DDR5, why prices keep climbing, real benchmarks, and 32GB/64GB/96GB kit picks for Ryzen and Intel.
Build GuideAORUS FO48U Review (2026): 48-inch 4K OLED Gaming Monitor
Gigabyte AORUS FO48U review 2026: 48-inch 4K 120Hz OLED, DisplayPort 1.4, two HDMI 2.1, and KVM. $600–$900 used / $999–$1,199 new, honest pros and cons.
GPU Reviews →
RTX 5070 Ti vs RX 9070 XT: Which GPU Wins at $600–750?
RTX 5070 Ti vs RX 9070 XT for 1440p and 4K gaming: VRAM, rasterization vs ray tracing, DLSS 4 vs FSR 4, power draw, and which to buy for your workload.
GPUBest GPU for 4K Gaming 2026: Which Tier Makes Sense
4K gaming GPU picks for 2026: RTX 5080, 5070 Ti, 5070, RX 9070 XT. Where each fits, the VRAM and performance 4K needs, and how DLSS 4 MFG factors in.
GPU ReviewsRTX 5060 Ti vs RX 9060 XT: The Honest 1440p Showdown for 2026
16GB vs 16GB. DLSS 4 vs FSR 4. RT vs raster. Real 2026 prices, 1440p FPS in eight games, and a verdict by use case.
Networking →
10GbE Homelab Networking on a Budget: A 2026 Guide
Build a 10GbE homelab link for $50 with used Mellanox ConnectX-3 cards and DACs. Three full-stack tiers, four switches compared, plus when 2.5GbE is enough.
networkingHomelab Firewall & Router Stack 2026: pfSense vs OPNsense vs MikroTik
pfSense Plus, OPNsense 25.10, MikroTik RouterOS 7, and UniFi 4.1 compared on a real homelab bench: throughput, IDS, multi-WAN, and where each one falls down.
NetworkingBest Homelab Networking Gear Under $200 (2026): Routers & APs
2026 budget homelab networking picks under $200: MikroTik CRS305 + RB5009UG, Ubiquiti Cloud Gateway Ultra, TP-Link EAP783 Wi-Fi 7 AP. Specs and tradeoffs.
Self-Hosted →
12 Best Self-Hosted Apps 2026 to Replace SaaS
The 12 best self-hosted apps to replace SaaS in 2026: Immich, Nextcloud AIO, Vaultwarden, Paperless-ngx, Jellyfin, and more, with Docker files and hardware.
ArticleJellyfin vs Plex (2026): The Honest Comparison
Jellyfin vs Plex in 2026: free open source vs polished paywall. Full breakdown on transcoding, mobile apps, remote access, and a verdict by use case.
TutorialProxmox Cluster Setup: 2-Node and 3-Node HA (2026)
Build a Proxmox cluster from scratch: 2-node vs 3-node, corosync quorum, NFS or Ceph storage, live migration, HA groups, and fencing, with config.
TutorialSelf-Hosting Essentials: What to Self-Host First and Why
Six self-hosted services in the right order, with real hardware needs: Pi-hole, Uptime Kuma, Jellyfin, Nextcloud, Immich, and Home Assistant.