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All articles on TechFuel HQ — homelab guides, PC builds, GPU reviews, networking, and tutorials.
Self-Hosting Essentials: What to Self-Host First and Why
Six self-hosted services in the right order, with real hardware requirements for each. Pi-hole, Uptime Kuma, Jellyfin, Nextcloud, Immich, and Home Assistant — what you actually need to run them.
Proxmox vs TrueNAS vs Unraid in 2026: I've Used All Three
An opinionated comparison of Proxmox VE, TrueNAS SCALE, and Unraid in 2026. Real experience, real tradeoffs, and actual recommendations — not 'it depends.'
Proxmox vs ESXi in 2026: Free ESXi Is Back, But Does It Matter?
Free ESXi 8.0 returned with limits. Proxmox VE is open source with no VM caps. Real benchmarks, feature comparison, and an honest verdict on which hypervisor wins for homelabs in 2026.
How 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 enterprise bloat.
DDR5 RAM Buying Guide for 2026: Stop Overpaying for Speed You Can't Feel
DDR5-6000 to 6400 is the smart money in 2026. Real benchmark scores, specific kit recommendations at 32GB, 64GB, and 96GB, and the gotchas nobody warns you about.
Best Homelab Networking Gear Under $200
Seven pieces of homelab networking gear under $200 that actually deliver multi-gig speeds. MikroTik, Ubiquiti, GL.iNet, and TP-Link compared with real throughput and honest tradeoffs.
10GbE Networking for Your Homelab: The $150 Upgrade That Changes Everything
10GbE networking dropped below $150 for a full homelab setup in 2026. Mellanox cards for $20, budget SFP+ switches for $85, and real use cases that justify the upgrade over 2.5GbE.
The Gaming PC I Actually Use
My real gaming PC build with two GPU options for 4K and 1440p. Plus why the Ryzen 5800X3D is a trap and NVIDIA's price-to-performance flip over AMD.
The Best Gaming Monitor You've Probably Never Heard Of
The Gigabyte AORUS FO48U is a 48-inch 4K OLED with DisplayPort and a KVM switch that nobody talks about. Here's why it's been my daily driver.