Mac mini M4 as a Home Server: Plex, Local LLMs and the Trade-offs vs an x86 Mini PC (2026)
Where a Mac mini home server wins for local LLMs and quiet running, where macOS gets in the way, and how it compares with an x86 mini PC for Plex.
6-Bay NAS for a Home Lab: When Four Bays Are Not Enough and Eight Are Too Many (2026)
Why six bays beat four for RAID 6 and RAIDZ2 efficiency, plus how UGREEN, QNAP, Asustor and TerraMaster 6-bay NAS units differ on CPU and networking.
Ryzen AI Max+ 395 Mini PCs for Local LLMs: What Unified Memory Buys You (2026)
How Ryzen AI Max+ 395 mini PCs with up to 128GB unified LPDDR5X handle local LLMs, where memory bandwidth limits speed, and how they compare to GPUs.
Recertified Hard Drives for a NAS: When the Savings Are Worth the Risk (2026)
Recertified enterprise drives cut the cost per terabyte of a NAS. Here is how to check SMART data, burn drives in, and place them safely.
Wiring a House for Ethernet: Patch Panels, Keystone Jacks and the Tools You Need (2026)
Plan in-wall Ethernet home runs to a central closet: Cat6 vs Cat6A, keystone jacks, patch panels, T568B consistency, labelling and testing before drywall.
Time Machine to a NAS: Backing Up Macs to Synology, UGREEN or TrueNAS (2026)
How Time Machine over SMB works on a NAS, how to set a quota per Mac, what hardware you need, and why your backup server still needs an offsite copy.
Keeping Starlink Online When the Power Goes Out: UPS, Power Stations and Runtime Planning (2026)
How to keep a Starlink dish and router online during a power outage, from pure sine wave UPS choices to LiFePO4 power stations and runtime sizing math.
OCuLink eGPU Docks for Mini PCs: Adding a Real GPU for Local LLMs (2026)
How OCuLink turns a mini PC into a local LLM box: PCIe over a cable, VRAM tiers, power and cable caveats, plus how it compares to Thunderbolt eGPUs.
All-NVMe NAS for a Home Lab: Silent, SSD-Only Storage Options (2026)
Compact all-NVMe NAS boxes and barebones for quiet home labs: PCIe lane limits, 2.5GbE bottlenecks, OS options, and when hard drives still make sense.