LK Wood IV — Author Archive
About the author

Lowell K. Wood IV (byline: LK Wood IV) writes the homelab, PC build, GPU, networking, and self-hosting guides on TechFuel HQ from St. Louis, Missouri. Thirteen-plus years across homelabs, PC building, servers, networking, and coding, with a focus on cost-of-ownership, power consumption, and the configurations that hold up after the first weekend. He also works as a Nationally Registered Paramedic (NREMT) — the photo on the About page shows the patch.
TechFuel HQ launched in March 2026. The hands-on homelab work behind the early articles predates the site, and most of that gear was sold or retired in early 2026 (see the Colophon for the full timeline). Articles published from June 2026 onward synthesize cited third-party benchmarks — ServeTheHome, Phoronix, Tom’s Hardware, TechPowerUp — plus hands-on use and original first-party runs on the gear still on hand: the current daily-driver rig (Ryzen 7 7800X3D, ASUS ROG STRIX B650-A, 64GB DDR5-6000, ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5080 OC, NZXT Kraken 360, EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 GT, Samsung 970 EVO Plus, Gigabyte AORUS FO48U), with the ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5080 OC dataset as the most data-heavy example. Every recommendation and byline is signed off by Lowell K. Wood IV. Full publishing methodology is on the colophon page.
Contact: contact@techfuelhq.com Location: St. Louis County, Missouri, United States More about the author: About TechFuel HQ
All articles by LK Wood IV
Every published piece, grouped by section, newest first — generated from the site’s own page list on every build, so this archive stays current automatically.
Articles (76)
- SSD Tier List 2026: NVMe Drives Tiered by Hardware — 2026-09-18
- SSD Health Check: Reading Your Drive's Own Numbers — 2026-09-18
- How to Check CPU Temp in Windows 11 (2026) — 2026-09-13
- Ryzen 7 9850X3D: Buy It, or the 9800X3D? (2026) — 2026-09-12
- GPU Sag: Is It Bad, How Much Is Normal, and the Fix (2026) — 2026-09-12
- Debloat Windows 11 (2026): What to Remove, What to Skip — 2026-09-12
- Which GPU Actually Drives 4K at 240Hz — 2026-09-07
- Used RTX A6000 vs RTX 5090: The 42.5GB Line — 2026-09-07
- RTX 5090 Prebuilts: What the $2,400 Premium Buys — 2026-09-07
- Prebuilt PC Warranties: Read the Panel, Not the Bullet — 2026-09-07
- Local 70B: What It Costs in Hardware and Watts — 2026-09-07
- Why Hard Drives Got So Expensive in 2026 (and What to Do About It) — 2026-08-26
- Memory Management BSOD? Don't Buy RAM Yet (2026) — 2026-08-26
- Critical Process Died? Check the Drive First (2026) — 2026-08-26
- Best Local LLM for Coding in 2026: Tested on a 16GB RTX 5080 — 2026-08-25
- Windows VM Won't Boot After the Proxmox 9 Upgrade? Read the Error Before You Reinstall (2026) — 2026-08-25
- Best RTX 5090 Prebuilts (September 2026) — 2026-08-18
- Best RTX 5080 Prebuilts (September 2026) — 2026-08-18
- Best Motherboards for Ryzen 7 9800X3D (2026) — 2026-08-18
- Monitor Flickering? Use Task Manager to Find the Cause — 2026-08-17
- Monitor Shadow Problem: Three Different Faults Wearing One Name (2026) — 2026-08-15
- GPU Fans Stuck at 100%: The Fix Order That Finds the Cause — 2026-08-13
- MXFP4 vs Q4_K_M: Why 21B Beats 14B on an RTX 5080 — 2026-08-13
- What DDR5 RAM Actually Costs Right Now: 16GB to 128GB Kit Price Check — 2026-08-01
- PSU Tier List 2026: Power Supply Tiers, Every Row Sourced — 2026-07-29
- What PSU Do RTX 50-Series Cards Need? 5070 to 5090 (2026) — 2026-07-25
- How to Undervolt Your GPU: The Complete Guide (2026) — 2026-07-24
- GPU Undervolt Database: Settings and Reported Results (2026) — 2026-07-24
- 9800X3D Undervolt Guide: Curve Optimizer Done Right — 2026-07-23
- RX 9070 XT Undervolt Guide: More FPS, Less Heat (2026) — 2026-07-20
- Page Fault in Nonpaged Area: Diagnose 0x50 (2026) — 2026-07-13
- Kernel Security Check Failure? Test RAM First (2026) — 2026-07-13
- Low GPU Usage in Games? How to Tell a Real Bottleneck From a Fake One (2026) — 2026-07-11
- Why Is My PC Stuttering in Games? Frame Stutter vs Low FPS (2026) — 2026-07-10
- Why Is My CPU Overheating? Diagnose It by When It Happens (2026) — 2026-07-10
- Vertical or Horizontal Lines on Monitor: Find the Cause — 2026-07-10
- PSU Failure Symptoms: Is It Really the Power Supply? (2026) — 2026-07-10
- GPU Overheating? Confirm It Actually Is Before You Fix Anything (2026) — 2026-07-10
- GPU Fans Not Spinning? Check Idle vs Load Before You Panic (2026) — 2026-07-10
- GPU Artifacts? Sort Software vs Dying VRAM Before You RMA (2026) — 2026-07-10
- CPU Fan Not Spinning? Boot vs 'CPU Fan Error' Splits the Fix (2026) — 2026-07-10
- Graphics Card Not Detected? Find Where It Disappears First (2026) — 2026-07-09
- Keyboard Not Working? Fix It by What Actually Broke (2026) — 2026-07-05
- Safe CPU Temperatures in 2026: What's Normal, What's Too Hot — 2026-07-04
- Proxmox vs Hyper-V (2026): Free and Open vs Windows-Licensed — 2026-07-04
- Monitor Keeps Going Black? Fix the Random Blackouts (2026) — 2026-07-04
- Self-Hosted Discord Alternatives: Can You Host Discord? — 2026-07-03
- Proxmox vs Docker: They're Not Rivals — What to Actually Run Where (2026) — 2026-07-02
- How to Fix Screen Tearing (2026): VRR, V-Sync & FPS Caps — 2026-06-29
- GPU Hierarchy 2026: Tiers, Rankings and the 8GB Trap — 2026-06-29
- Frame Generation Explained: DLSS 4, FSR & AFMF (2026) — 2026-06-29
- Fix GPU Driver Crashes (2026): NVIDIA & AMD Timeout Errors — 2026-06-29
- CPU Performance Hierarchy 2026: Gaming Processor Tiers — 2026-06-29
- Why RAM and SSD Prices Tripled in 2026 (and What to Do) — 2026-06-28
- 9950X3D vs 9800X3D for Gaming: Which Ryzen CPU? — 2026-06-22
- Self-Hosted AI and LLMs in 2026: The Stack and How to Start — 2026-06-19
- How to Install Proxmox VE (2026): Install + Update Reference — 2026-06-19
- Which Local LLM Fits Your GPU in 2026? VRAM Tiers — 2026-06-17
- Best NVMe SSDs for Homelab and PC Builds 2026 — 2026-06-17
- RTX 5080 Performance-per-Watt as a 24/7 AI Inference Card (2026) — 2026-06-13
- RTX 5080 Undervolt Guide: Less Heat, Same Performance (2026) — 2026-06-12
- Best GPU for Plex and Jellyfin Transcoding in 2026 — 2026-06-11
- Best GPU for 4K Gaming 2026: Which Tier Makes Sense — 2026-06-10
- Using an OLED TV as a PC Monitor in 2026: What Actually Changes — 2026-06-09
- Ryzen 7 7800X3D vs 9800X3D: Should You Upgrade? — 2026-06-08
- Jellyfin vs Plex (2026): The Honest Comparison — 2026-06-07
- Best Soundbar for a PC Desk Setup in 2026 (Not a TV Stand) — 2026-06-07
- Best 27-inch and 32-inch Monitors for a Homelab Desk in 2026 — 2026-06-06
- Turn an Old Gaming PC Into a Proxmox Server in 2026: Step-by-Step — 2026-05-01
- 12 Best Self-Hosted Apps 2026 to Replace SaaS — 2026-05-01
- Best Homelab Networking Gear Under $200 (2026): Routers & APs — 2026-04-06
- Proxmox vs ESXi in 2026: Free ESXi Is Back, But Does It Matter? — 2026-04-04
- DDR5 RAM Buying Guide (Sep 2026): Prices + Which Kit to Buy — 2026-04-02
- Self-Hosted Services: What to Self-Host First — 2026-04-01
- How to Set Up Proxmox on a Mini PC: First VM in Under an Hour — 2026-03-31
- AORUS FO48U Review (2026): 48-inch 4K OLED Gaming Monitor — 2026-03-01
Homelab (30)
- Intel N150 Mini PC: Which Box, and Is It Enough? — 2026-09-18
- Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2: Buy It, or a Sonoff? (2026) — 2026-09-12
- Synology or Build? The Five-Year NAS Cost — 2026-09-07
- Size a Frigate NVR by Bitrate, Not Megapixels — 2026-09-07
- Six-Bay NAS Drives: The Rebuild Math at 20TB+ — 2026-09-07
- NAS Software at Month Eight: DSM, UGOS Pro, TOS, QTS — 2026-09-07
- Minisforum MS-01: Reviewed as a 24/7 Hypervisor Node — 2026-09-07
- Living With Exos: Noise, Vibration, and Recerts — 2026-09-07
- How to Test a UPS: Charge Is Not Health — 2026-09-07
- Homelab Regrets: Five Purchases I'd Take Back — 2026-09-07
- ECC on a Home Server: What It Catches, How to Verify — 2026-09-07
- Best Hardware for Frigate NVR (2026) — 2026-07-30
- Restic vs Borg vs Kopia: Which Backup Tool (2026) — 2026-07-21
- Best Mini PC for Home Assistant (2026) — 2026-07-20
- Best NAS for Plex & Jellyfin 2026: Which Ones Actually Hardware-Transcode — 2026-07-19
- Forgejo vs Gitea 2026: Which Self-Hosted Git to Pick — 2026-07-04
- Best NAS Hard Drives 2026: Picks by Use Case + Real $/TB Math — 2026-07-03
- Karakeep vs Linkwarden: Which Self-Hosted Bookmark Manager (2026) — 2026-06-28
- Servers for a Homelab (2026): Which One to Buy — 2026-06-19
- Proxmox System Requirements: Hardware for a Homelab (2026) — 2026-06-19
- How to Build a NAS From an Old PC (2026 Guide) — 2026-06-19
- Proxmox Helper Scripts (tteck): Safety and Root Access — 2026-06-17
- Komodo vs Portainer vs Dockge: Best Docker Manager (2026) — 2026-06-17
- Caddy vs Nginx Proxy Manager vs Traefik in 2026 — 2026-06-17
- Beszel vs Netdata vs Glances: Homelab Monitoring — 2026-06-17
- 24/7 Homelab Idle Power Costs: What It Really Costs to Run — 2026-06-04
- LXC vs VM in Proxmox: When to Use Each — 2026-05-30
- Proxmox vs TrueNAS vs Unraid: ZFS, btrfs, and Homelab IOPS — 2026-05-07
- Best Mini PC for a Homelab 2026: MS-01, NUC, SFF — 2026-05-01
- Best Budget NAS Build 2026: 4-Bay DIY in the Drive + RAM Crunch — 2026-04-03
Tutorials (29)
- Home Assistant + llama.cpp: Fully Local LLM Voice, Measured (2026) — 2026-08-26
- Jellyfin Remote Access: Pick the Right Path for Your Situation (2026) — 2026-08-25
- Uptime Kuma Docker Setup, and Where to Actually Run It (2026) — 2026-08-15
- Ollama in Docker with GPU: Stop Installing CUDA Inside WSL2 (2026) — 2026-08-15
- Dockge Setup: The Compose Manager That Does Less On Purpose (2026) — 2026-08-15
- Docker Compose Environment Variables: .env Is Not env_file (2026) — 2026-08-15
- Docker Cleanup: Which Prune Command Eats Your Data (2026) — 2026-08-15
- Adding a User to the Docker Group Is Not a Convenience Setting (2026) — 2026-08-15
- Proxmox Upgrade 8 to 9: Preflight Checks and Gotchas — 2026-06-17
- Move a Proxmox VM to a New Host Without a Cluster (2026) — 2026-06-17
- Proxmox Cluster Setup: 2-Node and 3-Node HA (2026) — 2026-06-16
- Home Assistant Automations: A Practical Guide (2026) — 2026-06-16
- AudioBookshelf Docker Setup: Self-Hosted Audiobooks (2026) — 2026-06-15
- Paperless-ngx Docker Setup with OCR and Auto-Tagging (2026) — 2026-06-12
- Home Assistant Zigbee and Z-Wave Integration (2026) — 2026-06-12
- Immich Setup and Google Photos Migration Guide (2026) — 2026-06-11
- Nextcloud AIO Mastercontainer: Docker Setup Guide (2026) — 2026-06-06
- VLANs for the Homelab: Network Segmentation Guide (2026) — 2026-05-31
- Home Assistant on Proxmox: Install HAOS as a VM (2026) — 2026-05-31
- GPU Passthrough to a Proxmox VM (2026 Setup Guide) — 2026-05-30
- Self-Hosted Password Manager: Vaultwarden on Proxmox (2026) — 2026-05-29
- WireGuard Self-Hosted VPN on Proxmox (2026 Setup Guide) — 2026-05-27
- OPNsense on a Mini PC: Firewall Router Setup Guide (2026) — 2026-05-27
- ZFS on Proxmox: Pool Setup, ARC Tuning, and Scrubs (2026) — 2026-05-26
- AdGuard Home + Local DNS on Proxmox (2026 Setup Guide) — 2026-05-26
- Tailscale Remote Access for the Homelab (2026 Setup Guide) — 2026-05-25
- How to Install Jellyfin with Docker: Setup and Ports (2026) — 2026-05-25
- Self-Hosted Photo Library 2026: Immich vs PhotoPrism vs Ente — 2026-05-09
- How to Self-Host a Local LLM on a Single RTX 5060 in 2026 — 2026-05-06
Networking (13)
- Port Forwarding: The Four Things That Must All Be True — 2026-09-18
- Cat6 vs Cat6A: Decide It by Run Length, Not Speed (2026) — 2026-09-12
- UniFi vs an OPNsense Build: The IDS/IPS Ceiling — 2026-09-07
- 10GbE at Home: The Bottleneck Is Almost Never the Network — 2026-09-07
- Best Wi-Fi 7 Routers (2026): 3 Picks That Make Sense — 2026-08-18
- SSH Port Forwarding: -L, -R, -D and Why Your Reverse Tunnel Only Works Locally (2026) — 2026-08-15
- Headscale: Self-Hosting the Tailscale Control Server (2026) — 2026-08-15
- Tailscale vs Cloudflare Tunnel for Homelab (2026) — 2026-07-22
- ZeroTier vs Tailscale (2026): Layer 2 Switch or Plug-and-Play Mesh? — 2026-07-05
- NetBird vs Tailscale (2026): The Self-Hosted Mesh VPN Question — 2026-07-05
- Tailscale vs WireGuard (2026): Which One Should You Actually Run? — 2026-07-01
- OPNsense vs pfSense (2026): Which Firewall Should You Actually Run? — 2026-07-01
- 10GbE Homelab Networking on a Budget: A 2026 Guide — 2026-05-06
Gaming (14)
- Steam Slow Download Speed: Find the Real Bottleneck — 2026-09-18
- Ultimate Performance Power Plan: What It Changes (2026) — 2026-09-13
- Steam Not Opening on Windows 11: Fixes in Order (2026) — 2026-09-13
- VSync On or Off? The Right Setting for Your Monitor (2026) — 2026-09-12
- Discord Not Opening? The Fix Order That Works (2026) — 2026-09-12
- Steam Content File Locked: Find the Cause and Fix It (2026) — 2026-09-05
- Star Citizen Best Settings for FPS (2026) — 2026-06-29
- Xbox Controller Not Connecting to PC: Wired and Wireless Fixes — 2026-06-28
- Star Citizen System Requirements & Recommended Specs (2026) — 2026-06-28
- Star Citizen Error 5007: Read Your Log First (2026) — 2026-06-28
- Easy Anti-Cheat Won't Open? Install and Repair Fixes — 2026-06-28
- DX12 vs DX11: Which Gives More FPS (and When to Switch) — 2026-06-28
- Resizable BAR / Smart Access Memory: On or Off? (2026) — 2026-06-26
- Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling: On or Off? (2026) — 2026-06-25
Gpu Reviews (7)
- RTX 5060 Ti vs RTX 5070 (2026): 31% Faster, 4GB Less — 2026-09-13
- RTX 5090 vs RTX 5080 (2026): Which One Should You Buy? — 2026-08-18
- RTX 5070 vs RTX 5070 Ti: Is the Ti Worth It in 2026? — 2026-07-20
- ROG Astral RTX 5080 OC Review: First-Party 4K Benchmarks — 2026-06-12
- RTX 5070 Ti vs RX 9070 XT: Which GPU Wins in 2026? — 2026-06-09
- RTX 5060 Ti vs RX 9060 XT: The Honest 1440p Showdown for 2026 — 2026-05-06
- RTX 4080 vs RTX 4090: Is the Flagship Tax Worth $700 More? — 2026-04-26
Reviews (4)
- ASUS ROG Strix B650-A Gaming WiFi Review: AM5 for the Homelab — 2026-06-19
- Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB Review (2026): A PCIe 3.0 Keeper — 2026-06-18
- EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 GT Review: Gold PSU After the GPU Exit — 2026-06-18
- Ryzen 7 7800X3D Review (2026): Still the Gaming CPU Standard — 2026-06-11
PC Builds (3)
- The $2,500 RTX 5080 + 7800X3D 4K Build for 2026 — 2026-06-19
- How to Choose Your PC Build: CPU, GPU, PSU, RAM (2026) — 2026-06-18
- The $1,500 RTX 5060 Ti Mid-Range 1440p Build for 2026 — 2026-05-06
Data (13)
- NVMe SSD Price Index: Dated $/TB for 2TB Drives from Direct US Retailers (Pilot) — 2026-09-14
- GPU Price Index: Dated Street Price vs MSRP from Direct US Retailers (Pilot) — 2026-09-14
- GPU Sag Census: Measured Droop by Card, in Millimetres — 2026-09-12
- RTX 5090 Prebuilt Power Disclosure: 82 Listings Audited — 2026-09-07
- Ollama vs llama.cpp vs LM Studio: Same-GPU Compare Dataset — 2026-08-20
- MCP Server Resource Benchmark: RAM, Startup, Tools Dataset — 2026-08-20
- RTX 5080 LLM Power Efficiency: Measured Watts and Joules per Token — 2026-08-19
- RTX 5080 Local LLM Throughput: Measured Tokens/Second Dataset — 2026-08-12
- HDD Price Index: Dated $/TB for 8TB NAS Drives from Direct US Retailers (Pilot) — 2026-08-12
- DDR5 RAM Price Index: Dated $/GB from Direct US Retailers (Pilot) — 2026-08-12
- Coil Whine Database: Per-Model Community Census (GPU, PSU, AIO) — 2026-08-12
- PC Builder Parts Dataset 2026: Verified Specs, Honestly Dated — 2026-07-24
- ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5080 OC — First-Party Bench Dataset — 2026-06-09
Tools (26)
- Monitor Size Calculator: Screen Width, Height & Desk Fit — 2026-06-30
- Data Usage Calculator: Estimate Your Monthly Internet GB — 2026-06-30
- PPI & Pixel Density Calculator: Monitor Sharpness (2026) — 2026-06-29
- PC Bottleneck Calculator: CPU vs GPU by Resolution (2026) — 2026-06-29
- Mouse Sensitivity Converter & eDPI Calculator (2026) — 2026-06-29
- GPU Comparison Tool: Compare Any Two Graphics Cards (2026) — 2026-06-29
- FOV Calculator: Convert Field of View Between Aspect Ratios (2026) — 2026-06-29
- DisplayPort & HDMI Bandwidth Calculator (2026) — 2026-06-29
- CPU Comparison Tool: Compare Any Two Gaming Processors (2026) — 2026-06-29
- Aspect Ratio Calculator: Resolutions, Ultrawide & 16:9 (2026) — 2026-06-29
- Subnet & CIDR Calculator: IP Ranges, Masks, Hosts — 2026-06-17
- SSD Endurance Calculator: Host Writes to TBW — 2026-06-17
- PoE Power Budget Calculator: Will Your Switch Power It All? — 2026-06-17
- Local LLM Speed Calculator: Estimate Tokens per Second — 2026-06-17
- Frigate NVR Storage Calculator — 2026-06-17
- Network Transfer Time Calculator — 2026-06-16
- LLM VRAM Calculator — 2026-06-16
- PSU Calculator: Power Supply Wattage Calculator — 2026-06-13
- Self-Hosting Break-Even Calculator — 2026-06-09
- PC Builder: Parts Picker with Compatibility Checks — 2026-06-09
- Proxmox VM Capacity Planner — 2026-06-07
- Docker Homelab RAM Planner — 2026-06-05
- NAS & RAID Capacity Calculator — 2026-05-31
- UPS Runtime Calculator — 2026-05-29
- Homelab Power & Cost Calculator — 2026-05-27
- Homelab + PC Build Budget Builder — 2026-05-04