TechFuel HQHomelab Guides
Practical homelab guides: mini PC picks, NAS builds, Proxmox setup, and networking. Real hardware, real power draw, real recommendations.
Homelab guides
TechFuel HQ’s homelab coverage is editorial selection over exhaustive listing. The guides below are the ones I’d send to a friend asking “what do I actually buy?” — opinionated picks at three honest price tiers, with cost-of-ownership math, idle wattage notes, and the configurations that hold up after the first weekend.
Articles here are sourced from cited third-party measurements (ServeTheHome, Phoronix, Tom’s Hardware) plus first-party history from a 2024–2025 home test bench. That gear was largely retired in early 2026 (Colophon has the full timeline). New first-party measurements live in the Open Bench Datasets directory.
Getting Started
Best Mini PC for a Homelab 2026: MS-01, NUC, SFF
The best mini PC for a homelab in 2026, ranked by budget: MS-01 for dual 10GbE, ASUS NUC 14 for 8W idle, used OptiPlex under $200. Real idle watts and picks.
HardwareHow to Set Up Proxmox on a Mini PC: First VM in Under an Hour
Set up Proxmox VE on a mini PC step by step -- install, storage, networking, and your first VM in under an hour (works on the MS-01, NUC 14 Pro, or EliteDesk 800 G4).
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.
Comparisons
Proxmox vs ESXi in 2026: Free ESXi Is Back, But Does It Matter?
Proxmox vs ESXi in 2026: free ESXi 8.0U3e returns but caps at 2 CPUs and 8 vCPUs/VM, while Proxmox VE 9.2 is fully open with no caps. Licensing and verdict.
homelabProxmox vs TrueNAS vs Unraid: ZFS, btrfs, and Homelab IOPS
Unraid vs TrueNAS vs Proxmox in 2026: which storage platform to pick, how their ZFS and btrfs backends really differ, and the homelab IOPS, redundancy, and rebuild tradeoffs.
HomelabLXC vs VM in Proxmox: When to Use Each
A clear breakdown of LXC containers vs full VMs in Proxmox VE: real performance numbers, resource overhead, and a decision tree for every new workload.
HomelabUsed Enterprise Server vs Mini PC for Homelab (2026)
Dell R720 vs Beelink N150: used enterprise servers vs modern mini PCs for homelab use. Power cost, noise, RAM, expandability, and which to buy.
Builds & Infrastructure
Best Budget NAS Build 2026: 4-Bay DIY in the Drive + RAM Crunch
Budget NAS build 2026: 4-bay AOOSTAR WTR Pro barebone under $400, then the 2026 double squeeze - both HDD and DDR5 RAM prices spiked. Recert drives, TrueNAS/Unraid/OMV.
HomelabMini-ITX Homelab Build Guide (2026)
Build a capable Mini-ITX Proxmox homelab server, smaller than a shoebox and quiet. Component picks, cooling limits, and what the form factor really costs you.
Networking10GbE 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.
NetworkingBest Homelab Networking Gear Under $200 (2026): Routers & APs
Best homelab router under $200 in 2026: MikroTik RB5009, UniFi Cloud Gateway Max, GL.iNet Flint 2 and MikroTik hAP ax3 compared on speed, ports and VPN, plus switches and Wi-Fi 7 APs.
Power & Cost
24/7 Homelab Idle Power Costs: What It Really Costs to Run
Real idle power draws for common homelab hardware: mini PCs, NAS, switches, and tower servers, with annual cost math and a region-by-region breakdown.
ToolHomelab Power & Cost Calculator
Calculate your homelab's annual electricity cost, 3-year TCO, and savings vs cloud. Enter each device's idle and load watts, hours per day, and your rate.
ToolUPS Runtime Calculator
Enter your system load and UPS rating to estimate runtime in minutes. See if your UPS can handle a graceful shutdown and which models fit your target.
ToolProxmox VM Capacity Planner
Enter host RAM, CPU cores, and VM profile to see how many VMs or LXC containers your Proxmox server can run, with ZFS ARC overhead included.
HomelabUPS and Power Sizing for the Homelab in 2026
Size a UPS for your 2026 homelab: VA vs W math, line-interactive vs online double-conversion, runtime curves, NUT with Proxmox, and battery replacement cost.
More from this section
Best Hardware for Frigate NVR (2026)
Frigate NVR hardware sized by camera count: CPU, RAM, detector, and drive picks with cited specs and dated prices - plus why you probably don't need a Coral.
HomelabSelf-Hosted Read-It-Later Apps: Life After Pocket (2026)
Pocket shut down and took the article text with it. The self-hosted read-it-later apps that actually store what you save — Readeck, wallabag, linkding, Shiori — compared on footprint and archiving.
GuideThe 3-2-1 Backup Rule for Homelabs (2026)
The 3-2-1 backup rule for a homelab: three copies, two devices, one off-site — why RAID and a snapshot are not backups, and how to choose your three copies.
ComparisonJellyfin vs Emby: What Free Actually Gets You (2026)
Jellyfin vs Emby on verified 2026 docs: Jellyfin forked Emby 3.5.2, free Emby caps its native apps at one minute but not the browser, and migration is unsupported.
ComparisonAuthelia vs Authentik: Which Self-Hosted SSO (2026)
Authelia vs Authentik on verified 2026 docs: Authelia is an OpenID-Certified provider still in open beta, Authentik dropped Redis, and only one of them publishes a hardware minimum.
ComparisonVaultwarden vs Bitwarden: Which Self-Hosted Server?
Vaultwarden vs Bitwarden is a server choice, not an app choice: same official clients, standard vs lite vs Vaultwarden, and the trade-offs that decide it.
ComparisonRestic vs Borg vs Kopia: Which Backup Tool (2026)
restic vs Borg vs Kopia on verified 2026 docs: restic has had compression since v0.14.0, and where the backup lands decides the tool.
Buying GuideSeagate IronWolf vs IronWolf Pro vs Exos (2026)
Seagate's IronWolf, IronWolf Pro, and Exos compared for a home NAS in 2026: workload, warranty, noise, real $/TB, and whether Exos is the same drive.
Buying GuideBest Mini PC for Home Assistant (2026)
The best mini PC for Home Assistant in 2026: why an Intel N100 is plenty, when Frigate or voice means sizing up, and the new-vs-refurb value math.
Buying GuideBest NAS for Plex & Jellyfin 2026: Which Ones Actually Hardware-Transcode
The best NAS for Plex and Jellyfin in 2026 comes down to one spec most guides miss: hardware transcoding. Which models still do it (Intel Quick Sync), why Synology's 2025 lineup mostly doesn't, and dated-price picks by tier.
HomelabForgejo vs Gitea 2026: Which Self-Hosted Git to Pick
Forgejo hard-forked from Gitea and the two have diverged. How they compare in 2026 on governance, licensing, federation, and migration — and which to self-host.
Buying GuideBest NAS Hard Drives 2026: Picks by Use Case + Real $/TB Math
The best NAS hard drives for 2026 by use case, with the CMR-vs-SMR history spelled out from the spec sheets, a live-priced $/TB table, and what recertified drives actually cost.
ComparisonGrafana vs Prometheus: What Each Actually Does (And Do You Need Both?)
Prometheus collects and stores metrics; Grafana displays them. When you need both, when one is enough, and the homelab stack that makes sense.
HomelabKarakeep vs Linkwarden: Which Self-Hosted Bookmark Manager (2026)
Karakeep (formerly Hoarder) vs Linkwarden for 2026: AI tagging vs full-page archival, Docker footprint, license, and a clear pick by use case.
HomelabServers for a Homelab (2026): Which One to Buy
Servers for a homelab in 2026: the five classes (mini PC, used SFF, used enterprise, DIY ITX, off-the-shelf NAS), who each is for, and a clear decision rule.
HomelabProxmox Hardware Requirements (2026): Real Homelab Specs
Proxmox VE's official minimum is 1 GB RAM and any 64-bit VT-x/AMD-V CPU — but that runs nothing. The real 2026 homelab floor: 4 cores, 16-32 GB RAM, SSD boot, and the ZFS RAM rule explained.
HomelabHow to Build a NAS From an Old PC (2026 Guide)
Build a NAS from an old PC in 2026: does your old desktop qualify, OMV vs TrueNAS vs Unraid for old hardware, SATA ports and HBA cards, and the honest power and ECC caveats.
HomelabKomodo vs Portainer vs Dockge: Best Docker Manager (2026)
Portainer moved SSO and RBAC behind a paywall. How Komodo, Dockge, and Portainer compare in 2026 on licensing, features, and which to self-host.
HomelabCaddy vs Nginx Proxy Manager vs Traefik in 2026
The three homelab reverse proxies compared: Caddy, Nginx Proxy Manager, and Traefik on HTTPS automation, Docker discovery, licensing, security, and which to pick.
HomelabBeszel vs Netdata vs Glances: Homelab Monitoring
Lightweight homelab monitoring compared: Beszel, Netdata, and Glances on footprint, history, and alerts — plus where Uptime Kuma fits, and which to run.
HomelabAre Proxmox Helper Scripts Safe? What Runs as Root (2026)
Proxmox helper scripts (community-scripts, ex-tteck) run as root and pull more code at runtime. What they do, the actual risks, and how to vet them safely.
ComparisonDAS vs NAS in 2026: Which Storage Setup Do You Actually Need?
DAS vs NAS in 2026, decided by the numbers. USB/Thunderbolt vs 2.5GbE/10GbE throughput, real power and cost, RAID vs ZFS, and a use-case decision guide.