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HomeLab

HomeLab CheatSheet & AwesomeList
Created for the HomeLab Group on Simplex Chat Simplex Chat

The goal of this repo is to become your map to help you navigate the HomeLabbing experience.
This page will be updated randomly with new information, so stay tuned. (contributions welcome!)

Note: many of the hardware suggestions here are mostly the best items in their class for the lowest prices.
Hardware tables have average used prices from ebay.com as of 2/17/2026

ToDo:

  • Update table of contents... ✅
  • Add CPU Tables ✅
  • Add more hardware information including more Nic models / HBA models / Enterprise drive models and information.
  • Add more general filesystem information / ZFS information / tips with more links to obscure useful information that will help manage ZFS better.
  • Add more software/Self hosting options and guide links.
  • Add more proxmox related information and helpful guides, including those related to GPU passthrough, LXCs, etc

Table of Contents



Before we begin: The Learning Path

Homelabbing is not just a hobby, it’s an education. To build and maintain your own digital infrastructure, you must acquire a body of knowledge, develop reasoning skills, and eventually share your expertise with others. This journey mirrors the classical trivium: a three‑stage process of learning that has produced independent thinkers for centuries. Understanding this path will help you navigate your own growth, from the first time you plug in a Raspberry Pi to the moment you help a friend troubleshoot their own server.

Stage One: Grammar — The Foundations

In the classical model, the first stage is grammar, the gathering of raw materials. Young students memorized facts, vocabulary, and rules without yet understanding their deeper connections. This stage corresponds to the “poll‑parrot” phase described by Dorothy L. Sayers, where learning by heart is easy and even pleasurable.

In your homelab journey, the grammar stage is about:

  • Learning the vocabulary of hardware: CPU generations, RAM types, storage interfaces (SATA, NVMe, SAS), network speeds.
  • Understanding basic operations: installing an operating system, navigating the command line, editing configuration files.
  • Memorizing common commands: ls, cd, grep, systemctl, docker run.
  • Building a mental catalog of available tools: Proxmox, TrueNAS, pfSense, Jellyfin, Audiobookshelf.

At this stage, you follow tutorials blindly. You copy commands without fully grasping why they work. You might install a service because someone else recommended it, and you accept that certain settings are “best practices.” This is not a weakness, it is the necessary foundation. As Sayers noted, “it is a great mistake to suppose that a child cannot readily enjoy and remember things that are beyond his power to analyze.” The same holds for the novice homelabber.

Recommended activities for the grammar stage:

  • Follow step‑by‑step guides (like those in this repository) to set up your first server.
  • Keep a notebook (digital or physical) of commands and configurations that worked.
  • Join forums and observe / absorb the language of the community before contributing.

Stage Two: Dialectic — The Art of Questioning

The second stage, dialectic (or logic), is where you begin to connect the dots. Sayers called this the “pert” age, a time of contradiction, argument, and a hunger to understand why things are the way they are. In the classical curriculum, dialectic trained students to detect fallacies, construct arguments, and reason from first principles.

For the homelabber, this stage involves:

  • Troubleshooting when things break. Why did the container stop? Why is the network slow? What do those log messages mean?
  • Understanding trade‑offs: Why choose ZFS over EXT4? Why put a service in a Docker container instead of a VM? Why use Alpine Linux instead of Ubuntu?
  • Designing with intent: Instead of following a tutorial, you begin to plan your own network topology, considering security, redundancy, and future growth.
  • Questioning received wisdom: Is that “best practice” really best for your situation? What assumptions underlie the guide you followed?

This is where you move from being a consumer of knowledge to an active participant in your own learning. You start to see patterns: many Linux problems are solved by checking permissions and logs; many network issues trace back to DNS or firewall rules. You develop mental models that let you predict outcomes and diagnose failures without reaching for Google every time.

Recommended activities for the dialectic stage:

  • Break things intentionally and fix them. Set up a test environment where failure is safe.
  • Write down your reasoning when you make a design decision. Later, revisit it—was your logic sound?
  • Participate in discussions on forums or chat groups, explaining your solutions to others.
  • Read error messages carefully and learn to interpret them.

Stage Three: Rhetoric — The Art of Expression

The final stage of the trivium is rhetoric, the ability to express ideas persuasively and elegantly. In classical education, this was the goal of the entire process: to produce a person who could not only think clearly but also communicate effectively. Sayers associated this stage with the “poetic” age, where creativity and synthesis flourish.

In homelabbing, rhetoric manifests as:

  • Documenting your setup so others can learn from it. This might be a blog post, a GitHub repository, or even just a well‑organized README.
  • Contributing to open‑source projects: reporting bugs, submitting patches, or translating documentation.
  • Teaching friends, family, or online communities. Answering questions on forums, creating video tutorials, or giving a talk at a local meetup.
  • Designing elegant solutions that are not only functional but also maintainable and aesthetically pleasing. This might mean automating deployments with Ansible, writing clean configuration files, or building a custom dashboard.

Rhetoric is the stage where your knowledge becomes a gift to others. It completes the learning loop: you internalized the grammar, wrestled with the logic, and now you can pass on what you’ve learned helping newcomers begin their own journey.

Recommended activities for the rhetoric stage:

  • Write a detailed explanation of a project you completed, including the problems you faced and how you solved them.
  • Share your configuration files (with secrets redacted) on GitHub.
  • Answer questions on platforms like Reddit’s r/homelab or the Proxmox community forum.
  • Mentor someone who is just starting out.

The Spiral of Learning

The trivium is not a one‑time progression; it is a spiral. As you encounter new technologies, you will return to the grammar stage, learning new vocabulary, new commands, new hardware. Then you will apply dialectic to understand and troubleshoot, and eventually you will reach a point where you can teach others. Each cycle deepens your mastery.

This is the true purpose of a homelab: not just to run services, but to cultivate your own mind. In an age of manufactured consent and centralized platforms, self‑hosting is an act of intellectual independence. It keeps alive the tools of learning that Sayers feared we had lost. By following this path, you become not only a better sysadmin but a more thoughtful, capable human being.

This section is meant to be a living document—add your own insights and references as you discover them. The homelab is not just a collection of hardware; it’s a statement about how you choose to live in the digital world.

Beyond Privacy: Resilience

Privacy is often the first reason people discover self‑hosting. The desire to keep your data out of the hands of corporations and advertisers is a powerful motivator. But once you begin down this path, you quickly realize that privacy is only the beginning. What you are truly building is resilience, the ability to withstand disruption, adapt to change, and maintain control over your digital life regardless of external circumstances.

Resilience is not just about protecting secrets. It is about ensuring that your systems continue to function when the services you rely on disappear, when networks go down, when laws change, or when the platforms you once trusted reveal themselves to be unreliable or actively hostile.

The Fragility of Centralized Services

Centralized platforms offer convenience, but they also create single points of failure. When Facebook suffered a major outage in 2021, billions of people lost access to communication, business contacts, and even entry to physical locations that required Facebook login.[1] When Google decides to “sunset” a product, years of user data and workflow integrations vanish overnight.[2] When a platform changes its terms of service or content moderation policies, entire communities can be displaced or silenced.

Self‑hosting distributes this risk. Your services run on your hardware, under your control. If a cloud provider goes down, your local server keeps running. If a social media platform bans a user you follow, your own federated instance can still reach them. If a corporation decides to monetize user data in a new way, your data is not part of that transaction.

This is not about paranoia—it is about recognizing the structural fragility of centralized systems and choosing to build something more robust.

  1. Isaac, Mike, and Kellen Browning. “Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp Outage: Services Restored After Nearly Six Hours.” The New York Times, Oct. 4, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/04/technology/facebook-down.html

  2. “Google’s Graveyard.” Killed by Google. https://killedbygoogle.com/

Infrastructure Independence

True resilience begins with infrastructure independence. This means:

  • Power autonomy: Solar panels, battery backups, and low‑power hardware (like the Lenovo Tiny PCs recommended in this guide) can keep your services running during grid outages. Fuller’s vision of a world running on “daily income of Sun energy” is not just a utopian dream, it is a practical strategy for resilience.

  • Network diversity: Multiple internet connections (fiber, cable, LTE fallback) and mesh networking can maintain connectivity when one path fails. Tools like pfSense or OPNsense allow you to bond connections and fail over automatically.

  • Hardware redundancy: Spare drives, a cold spare server, or even a Raspberry Pi that can take over critical functions in an emergency. The ZFS file system, with its self‑healing capabilities, ensures that data corruption is detected and repaired before it spreads.[1]

  • Geographic distribution: For the truly dedicated, running services at a friend’s house or a remote location ensures that a local disaster (fire, flood, theft) does not destroy everything.

Each layer of independence adds to your ability to weather storms—literal and metaphorical.

  1. “ZFS: The Last Word in File Systems.” OpenZFS Documentation. https://openzfs.github.io/openzfs-docs/

Data Sovereignty and Longevity

Commercial platforms are not designed for long‑term data preservation. They are designed to maximize engagement and ad revenue. Features come and go. Old posts are buried. Accounts are deleted after periods of inactivity. The platform’s interests are not your interests.

When you self‑host, you take responsibility for your own data longevity. This means:

  • Choosing open formats: Plain text, Markdown, SQLite, and other well‑documented formats ensure that your data remains readable decades from now, regardless of what software is fashionable.

  • Regular backups: The 3‑2‑1 rule (three copies, two media types, one off‑site) is not just for enterprises. Automated backups to a remote server or a friend’s house protect against hardware failure and ransomware.

  • Planned obsolescence resistance: When you control the software, you can keep running it as long as it meets your needs. You are not forced to upgrade because a vendor discontinued support. If you eventually migrate, you control the timeline and the process.

This is the digital equivalent of storing grain for the winter. It is work, but it buys freedom from the next harvest’s uncertainty.

Social Resilience: Community Beyond Platforms

When Twitter changed hands in 2022, many users suddenly found themselves uncertain about the platform’s future. Would it remain stable? Would moderation policies shift? Would their communities scatter?

Federated platforms like Mastodon (for microblogging) and Matrix (for chat) (or better yet Simplex Chat (see why users are leaving matrix below with link #[2]) ), offer an alternative. They are built on protocols, not corporate promises. You can host your own instance, and your users can still communicate with users on other instances. If one instance shuts down, the network remains intact.

Self‑hosting extends this principle to every aspect of online life. A personal Nextcloud (or CryptPad) instance replaces Google Drive. Jellyfin replaces Netflix. Audiobookshelf replaces Audible. Bitwarden (Or KeePassXC) replaces a password manager’s cloud. Each of these tools not only protects your privacy but ensures that your access to your own data does not depend on a company’s continued existence.

  1. Conger, Kate, and Ryan Mac. “Twitter’s Chaotic First Week Under Elon Musk.” The New York Times, Nov. 4, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/04/technology/twitter-elon-musk-chaos.html

  2. Why We Abandoned Matrix: The Dark Truth About User Security and Safety

Cognitive Resilience: Escaping the Algorithm

Perhaps the most insidious fragility of modern platforms is cognitive. Algorithms are optimized to keep you engaged, not to keep you informed or fulfilled. They amplify outrage, feed confirmation bias, and create filter bubbles that distort your perception of reality.[1] The “Dead Internet Theory” suggests that much of what you encounter online may not even be human—bots and AI generating content to manipulate discourse.[2]

When you self‑host, you reclaim your attention. RSS feeds let you curate your own news stream. Self‑hosted recommendation engines (like Tubearchivist for YouTube content) can suggest videos based on your own viewing history, not a corporate profit model. Your media server plays what you choose, when you choose, without autoplaying something designed to keep you on the couch.

This is cognitive resilience: the ability to think clearly without algorithmic manipulation.

  1. Pariser, Eli. The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You. Penguin Press, 2011.

  2. IlluminatiPirate. “Dead Internet Theory: Most of the Internet is Fake.” Agora Road, 2021. https://forum.agoraroad.com/index.php?threads/dead-internet-theory-most-of-the-internet-is-fake.3011/

The Ethical Dimension

Resilience also has an ethical component. Centralized platforms have been used to facilitate human trafficking, child exploitation, and other crimes. A 2021 report found that Facebook was the primary recruitment tool for sex traffickers in the United States.[1] Courts have recognized that platforms can be held liable when they knowingly benefit from such exploitation.[2]

By self‑hosting, you avoid supporting a system that profits from—or fails to prevent—these abuses. You also gain the ability to create safe, private spaces for communities that might otherwise be vulnerable to harassment or exploitation on mainstream platforms.

  1. De Chant, Tim. “Facebook is a hub of sex trafficking recruitment in the US, report says.” Ars Technica, June 10, 2021. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/06/facebook-is-a-hub-of-sex-trafficking-recruitment-in-the-us-report-says/

  2. Cipriano, Andrea. “Facebook Liable for Human Trafficking Connections: Court Ruling.” The Crime Report, June 28, 2021. Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20240810163040/https://thecrimereport.org/2021/06/28/facebook-liable-for-human-trafficking-connections-court-ruling/

Resilience as a Mindset

Ultimately, resilience is a mindset. It is the recognition that the digital world is not stable, that the services you rely on today may not exist tomorrow, and that the only reliable insurance is your own skill and preparation. This is why the homelab community values documentation, sharing, and mentorship. We are not just building servers; we are building a culture of mutual aid and technical competence.

The tools and techniques in this guide are not ends in themselves. They are means to an end: a digital life that can withstand shocks, adapt to change, and remain under your control. In Fuller’s terms, you are moving from being a passive consumer of the “Grunch” to an active participant in your own destiny.

This section is meant to be a living document—add your own insights and references as you discover them. The homelab is not just a collection of hardware; it’s a statement about how you choose to live in the digital world.

Evaluating Software

Every tool you add to your homelab is a commitment. It will consume disk space, memory, and CPU cycles. It may open network ports, introduce dependencies, and create new avenues for attack. It might be abandoned by its developers, forcing you to migrate years of accumulated data. Choosing software wisely is therefore one of the most important skills you can develop.

This section provides a framework for evaluating software, not just technically, but philosophically. The goal is to help you select tools that align with your values, respect your resources, and remain useful for the long term.

Activity and Maintenance

The first question to ask about any piece of software is simple: Is it alive?

A dead project is not necessarily useless—many mature tools work perfectly for years without updates. But you should know what you are getting into. An abandoned project may have unpatched security vulnerabilities, may not work with newer operating systems, and may leave you stranded when you finally need to migrate.

Signs of a healthy project:

  • Recent commits: Code changes in the last month or two.
  • Active issue tracker: Maintainers responding to bug reports and feature requests.
  • Regular releases: Not necessarily frequent, but predictable.
  • Community: A forum, chat room, or subreddit where users help each other.
  • Documentation: Clear, up‑to‑date guides for installation and configuration.

Signs of a dying or dead project:

  • No commits in over a year.
  • Pull requests ignored or piled up.
  • Critical bugs unaddressed.
  • Website down or documentation missing.

This does not mean you should automatically reject old software. The UNIX philosophy values simplicity and stability; many command‑line tools from the 1970s are still the best choice for their tasks. But for complex applications like web services, an active upstream is essential for security and compatibility.

Licensing and Philosophy

Software licensing is not just a legal formality, it reflects the values of the developers and the long‑term viability of the project.

Open source (OSI‑approved) licenses grant you the freedom to inspect, modify, and redistribute the code. This is the foundation of the self‑hosting community. When you run open source software, you are not dependent on a single vendor. If the project dies, you can fork it. If you find a bug, you can fix it yourself or pay someone to do so.

Copyleft licenses (like the GPL) go further, requiring that derivative works also be open source. This ensures that improvements benefit everyone, not just a corporation that builds on community work.

Permissive licenses (MIT, BSD, Apache) allow proprietary forks. This can lead to situations where a company takes open source code, adds value, and keeps the improvements closed—but it also maximizes adoption and contribution from corporate users.

Source‑available licenses (like the Commons Clause or various “fair source” licenses) allow you to see the code but not use it for certain purposes (often commercial). These are controversial in the open source community and may signal a project that is trying to have it both ways—soliciting community contributions while reserving the right to compete against them.[1]

Proprietary software should generally be avoided in a homelab unless there is no viable alternative. You cannot audit it, you cannot fix it, and you are at the mercy of the vendor’s business decisions. When the vendor goes out of business or changes its pricing model, you lose.

  1. “The Anatomy of a Source‑Available License.” OSI, 2021. https://opensource.org/node/1090

Dependencies and Footprint

Modern software development often prioritizes developer convenience over user efficiency. The result is the “software bloat” phenomenon described in the Stack Overflow article: apps that are exponentially larger than their predecessors without providing corresponding value.[1]

When evaluating a tool, consider:

  • Language and runtime: Is it written in a compiled language like C, Go, or Rust? Those produce small, self‑contained binaries. Or does it require a heavy runtime like Python, Node.js, or the JVM? That may be acceptable, but you should understand the cost.

  • Dependencies: How many libraries does it pull in? Each dependency is a potential source of bugs, security issues, and maintenance headaches. Tools that “vendor” their dependencies (include them in the repository) are often more stable than those that rely on a constantly shifting ecosystem.

  • Base image size: For Docker containers, check the image size on Docker Hub. A 1GB container for a simple web app is a red flag. Alpine‑based images are often much smaller and more secure.

  • Resource usage at idle: A service that sits in the background should not consume gigabytes of RAM or peg a CPU core. Tools like htop, docker stats, or btm can help you measure.

The homelab community values efficiency. Running lean software means you can do more with less hardware, save on electricity, and reduce heat and noise. It also means your services are more likely to run well on older or low‑power hardware, increasing your options for resilient deployment.

  1. Lyman, Isaac. “Is software getting worse?” Stack Overflow Blog, Dec. 25, 2023. https://stackoverflow.blog/2023/12/25/is-software-getting-worse/

Security Posture

Security is not a binary property—it is a practice. When evaluating software, look for signs that the developers take security seriously.

  • How are vulnerabilities handled? Is there a security policy? A place to report issues confidentially? Do they publish security advisories?
  • Do they follow the principle of least privilege? Does the software need to run as root, or can it be confined to a user with minimal permissions?
  • Are there known vulnerabilities? Check the project’s issue tracker and sites like CVE Details or Snyk. A history of unpatched critical issues is a warning sign.

Remember that security is also your responsibility. Even the most secure software can be misconfigured. The difference is that with open source, you have the ability to audit and fix problems yourself.

Configuration and Maintenance Burden

A tool that is powerful but requires constant manual intervention may not be the right choice for a long‑term homelab. Consider:

  • How is it configured? YAML, JSON, TOML, a web UI? Is the configuration well‑documented? Can it be stored in version control?
  • How is it updated? Does it support automatic updates? Can you update via package manager, Docker pull, or git pull? A manual process that requires re‑entering configuration is error‑prone.
  • Does it require a database? SQLite is lightweight and self‑contained; PostgreSQL or MySQL add complexity but offer better performance for multi‑user scenarios.
  • Does it require external services? Some “self‑hosted” tools still phone home to a vendor‑controlled server for certain features. That may violate your privacy goals.

The ideal tool is one you can install, configure, and then mostly forget—until you need to use it.

Community and Support

Even the best‑documented software will eventually puzzle you. A strong community can make the difference between a quick fix and hours of frustration.

  • Forums, chat rooms, or subreddits where users help each other.
  • Response time to issues on GitHub or GitLab.
  • Quality of documentation: README, wiki, example configurations.
  • Third‑party tutorials and blog posts about the software.

A vibrant community is also a hedge against abandonment. If the original maintainers move on, someone else may pick up the torch.

Alignment with Your Values

Finally, consider whether the software aligns with the values discussed in the “Why Self‑Host” and “Resilience” sections.

  • Does it respect user privacy? Does it include telemetry that sends data home? Can that be disabled?
  • Is it developed by a corporation with conflicting incentives? A tool from a company that also offers a hosted version may gradually become less useful for self‑hosters as the company prioritizes its paid product.
  • Does it encourage lock‑in? Does it use proprietary data formats? Can you export your data easily?
  • Is it part of a healthy ecosystem? Tools that interoperate with others (like those supporting standard protocols—CalDAV, CardDAV, RSS, ActivityPub) give you flexibility to mix and match.

Putting It All Together

No tool is perfect. The goal is to make informed trade‑offs. A slightly heavier tool with a friendly community may be a better choice than a minimal one with no support. The key is to evaluate consciously rather than installing the first thing you find.

Over time, you will develop your own criteria and preferences. The homelab community thrives on sharing not just configurations but experiences—what worked, what didn’t, and why. By contributing your own evaluations, you help others make better choices and strengthen the ecosystem for everyone.

The Hidden Costs of Convenience

Convenience is seductive. The ability to sign up a server in seconds, to store files in someone else’s data center, to let algorithms curate your entertainment, these are genuine advances. They have lowered the barrier to entry for countless people and enabled forms of collaboration that were impossible a generation ago.

But convenience is not free. Every service you outsource, every platform you rely on, every default you accept carries a price. Some of these costs are obvious: subscription fees, bandwidth overages, hardware upgrades. Others are hidden—subtracted from your privacy, your autonomy, your attention, and ultimately your resilience.

Understanding these hidden costs is essential to making informed choices about when to embrace convenience and when to resist it.

The Price of “Free”

The most deceptive cost is attached to services that appear to cost nothing. Social media platforms, search engines, email providers, and cloud storage services that do not charge money are not charities—they are businesses whose product is you.

When you use a “free” service, you pay with:

  • Your data: Every click, every search, every pause on a video is recorded, analyzed, and used to build a profile of your interests, habits, relationships, and vulnerabilities. These profiles are sold to advertisers, data brokers, and political campaigns. The 2018 Facebook–Cambridge Analytica scandal was not an aberration; it was a revelation of the normal operation of the industry [1]

  • Your attention: Platforms are engineered to maximize engagement, not to serve your needs. Infinite scroll, autoplay, notification spam—these are not bugs; they are features designed to keep you on the site longer, exposing you to more ads. The result is a generation struggling with attention deficits and digital exhaustion. [2]

  • Your autonomy: Algorithms determine what you see and what you don’t. They shape your perception of the world, your political views, your purchasing decisions. You are no longer a user; you are a subject of a behavioral modification system.

The “free” model is a transfer of wealth and power from the many to the few. It is the digital equivalent of the ancient land grants that Buckminster Fuller described—a mechanism for concentrating control under the guise of progress.[3]

  1. Isaak, Jim, and Mina J. Hanna. “User Data Privacy: Facebook, Cambridge Analytica, and Privacy Protection.” IEEE Computer 51, no. 8 (2018): 56–59.

  2. Newport, Cal. Digital Minimalism. Portfolio, 2019.

  3. Fuller, R. Buckminster. Grunch of Giants. St. Martin’s Press, 1983.

Surveillance as Infrastructure

The surveillance economy is not limited to obvious advertising platforms. It has become infrastructure. Windows 10 and 11 include telemetry that reports your activities to Microsoft.[1] Google’s “digital ID” initiatives aim to make your identity itself a trackable asset.[2] Smart home devices listen for wake words and sometimes more.[3] Modern cars record your location, speed, and even conversations.[4]

This is not conspiracy theory; it is documented practice. A 2023 investigation found that automakers shared driving data with insurers, who used it to raise rates.[5] Ring doorbell cameras have been accessed by employees and shared with law enforcement without warrants.[6] The devices you buy are often not truly yours.

Self‑hosting is a way to reclaim ownership. When you run your own services on your own hardware, you decide what data is collected and who can access it. This does not require paranoia, it requires awareness of the hidden costs built into every “connected” device.

  1. “Windows 11 and Windows 10 telemetry.” Microsoft Learn. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/privacy/configure-windows-diagnostic-data-in-your-organization

  2. Sing, Evie Kim. “Google expands digital ID capabilities across the U.K. and US, adds new privacy features.” Identity Week, Apr. 30, 2025. Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20250503134929/https://identityweek.net/google-expands-digital-id-capabilities-across-the-u-k-and-us-adds-new-privacy-features/

  3. “Smart Speaker Data Collection.” Consumer Reports, 2021. https://www.consumerreports.org/privacy/smart-speaker-data-collection/

  4. “Cars Are Becoming Data Collection Machines.” Wired, 2023. https://www.wired.com/story/cars-data-collection-privacy/

  5. “How car data is used to raise insurance rates.” The Markup, 2023. https://themarkup.org/privacy/2023/05/10/how-car-data-is-used-to-raise-insurance-rates

  6. “Amazon’s Ring Doorbell Camera Has a Long History of Privacy Issues.” Vice, 2021. https://www.vice.com/en/article/amazons-ring-doorbell-camera-has-a-long-history-of-privacy-issues/

The Cost of Lock‑In

Another hidden cost is dependency. When you store your files in a proprietary cloud service, you become dependent on that company’s continued existence, pricing policies, and feature decisions. When you use a platform like Twitter or Facebook to build a community, that community can be severed by a single policy change.

This is not hypothetical. Google has killed over 200 products, many of which had loyal users who lost years of accumulated data.[1] When Twitter changed hands in 2022, the API changes that followed broke countless third‑party apps and automated workflows.[2] When a platform decides to ban a user or remove content, there is often no appeal.

Lock‑in also limits your future choices. If you want to leave a platform, you face a migration cost—exporting data, notifying contacts, rebuilding integrations. That cost is by design. It keeps you captive.

Self‑hosting eliminates lock‑in. Your data is stored in open formats. Your community can communicate via federated protocols that no single entity controls. If you want to move to different software, you can—because you own the infrastructure.

  1. “Google’s Graveyard.” Killed by Google. https://killedbygoogle.com/

  2. “Twitter’s API changes break third‑party apps.” TechCrunch, 2023. https://techcrunch.com/2023/02/02/twitter-api-third-party-apps/

The Cognitive Cost

The most personal hidden cost is cognitive. Platforms are designed to capture and hold your attention. They exploit psychological vulnerabilities: the fear of missing out, the desire for social validation, the pleasure of novelty. The result is a fragmented mind, unable to focus on deep work or sustained thought.

Nicholas Carr, in The Shallows, argued that the internet is reshaping our brains—reducing our capacity for deep reading and contemplation in favor of rapid, shallow processing.[1] The “Dead Internet Theory” suggests that much of what we encounter online may not even be human, further eroding trust in our own perceptions.[2]

When you self‑host, you can design your own information environment. RSS feeds let you curate news without algorithmic amplification. Self‑hosted media servers play what you choose, not what an algorithm predicts will keep you watching. Your chat system connects you to real people, not engagement‑optimized bots.

This is cognitive sovereignty: the ability to think clearly in a world designed to distract you.

  1. Carr, Nicholas. The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains. W.W. Norton, 2010.

  2. IlluminatiPirate. “Dead Internet Theory: Most of the Internet is Fake.” Agora Road, 2021. https://forum.agoraroad.com/index.php?threads/dead-internet-theory-most-of-the-internet-is-fake.3011/

The Environmental Cost

The final hidden cost is perhaps the most physical: the toll that our devices take on the planet. This is not just about electricity consumption, it is about mountains of electronic waste, rivers poisoned by mining operations, and communities stripped of clean water so that we can have the latest smartphone.

Planned Obsolescence: Designed to Die

The term "planned obsolescence" was coined in the United States in the late 1920s, a business strategy of designing products with a limited useful life so they become obsolete, unfashionable, or non-functional after a certain period.[10] As one literature review notes, "creating goods with a limited lifetime led to increased consumption. It was a business strategy to create mass consumption, which the country needed in a time of economic crisis."[10]

There are multiple forms this takes:

  • Technological obsolescence: Products become outdated because newer versions offer improved performance.
  • Psychological obsolescence: Fashion and marketing trigger the desire to buy newer versions, regardless of need.
  • Systemic obsolescence: Companies discontinue maintenance services or spare parts, making functional products unusable.
  • Breakdown obsolescence: Products are deliberately designed with components that will fail after a predetermined number of cycles.[10]

The 2020 Apple "batterygate" case is a textbook example. Apple issued a software update that intentionally slowed down older iPhones, allegedly to frustrate consumers into discarding their existing phones and purchasing new ones rather than simply replacing the battery.[6] The company agreed to pay up to $500 million to settle the consumer fraud lawsuit.[6]

The Software Axe: Forced Obsolescence

Increasingly, obsolescence is enforced through software rather than hardware failure. When Microsoft announced it was ending support for Windows 10 in October 2025, environmental and cybersecurity experts immediately raised alarms.[1] About 40 percent of all Windows users—hundreds of millions of devices—do not meet the technical requirements for Windows 11.[1][8]

According to one analysis, up to 240 million perfectly functional devices will inevitably end up in landfills because Microsoft will no longer provide security updates.[1][8] Right to Repair Europe warned that this move could generate over 700 million kilograms of e-waste as users are forced to upgrade or replace hardware.[4] The coalition noted that around 400 million devices remain unable to upgrade to Windows 11, leaving users facing limited choices: replace devices, pay for extended services, switch to open-source systems, or continue with unsupported and insecure software.[4]

This is not an isolated case. The Harvard Law Review notes that "software-dependent products now range from laptops and smartwatches to thermostats, medical equipment, toys and home appliances—all at risk of being rendered obsolete when manufacturers withdraw updates or stop providing security patches."[6] Right to Repair Europe warns that "software obsolescence undermines circularity strategies while driving environmental harm and unnecessary costs for consumers."[4]

The Mining Footprint

Every discarded device must be replaced. And every new device requires raw materials—mined, refined, and processed at enormous environmental cost.

Nearly sixty million tons of electronic waste is discarded annually, much of it produced by planned obsolescence.[6] Electronic waste contains toxic materials such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and brominated flame retardants that leach into the surrounding environment, poisoning water supplies and wildlife.[6] As of 2019, electronic waste represented approximately sixty-two billion dollars' worth of tangible raw materials (such as gold and other scarce metals) that have been intentionally rendered useless.[6] Only about twenty percent of electronic waste is recycled; the remaining eighty percent ends up in landfills and other waste repositories.[6]

Lithium—critical for the batteries powering our portable devices—has its own devastating footprint. In Bolivia's Salar de Uyuni, the world's largest lithium deposit, mining operations create wastewater with arsenic levels nearly 50 parts per million in evaporation ponds—about 1,400 times higher than ecologically acceptable by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards.[9] Research also shows that long-term mining of lithium brines in other salt pans in Chile can cause groundwater levels to decline and land to subside.[9]

In Brazil's Jequitinhonha Valley, home to up to 85% of the country's known lithium deposits, communities report a different reality. At Sigma Lithium's Greentech plant, residents experience seismic waves from explosions at least twice a day, along with atmospheric pollution, water shortages, and increased community tensions.[5] The company's daily water license from the Jequitinhonha River (3.6 million liters) strains the already semi-arid region, equivalent to the amount consumed by 24,000 people.[5] Residents can no longer use river water because it causes itching, and now depend on water tanks that the company refills monthly. water so heavily chlorinated that the smell is overwhelming, and often runs out before the month is over.[5]

In Zimbabwe's Goromonzi and Buhera districts, where lithium mining companies siphon water from underground aquifers, local communities face a dual threat: dwindling water resources and escalating health issues.[7] Experts note that excessive water usage by lithium mines can deplete and contaminate local water sources, creating conditions favorable for water-borne diseases like diarrhoea, malaria, and Chagas.[7] Children are particularly vulnerable, with families struggling to access clean water for drinking, cooking, and washing.[7]

The Self-Reliance Alternative

When you extend the life of your hardware by running open-source operating systems like Linux Mint, you directly reduce demand for new devices. Linux Mint was specifically designed for Windows users and requires only 2GB of RAM and 20GB of disk space to operate—well within the capabilities of hardware being discarded.[1][8]

Josiah Hester, a Georgia Tech researcher who studies computing and sustainability, puts it simply: "So much perfectly good hardware is obsolesced by force, when users are more than willing to give it a second life."[1][8]

Self-hosting is not a complete solution to the environmental crisis of technology. But it is a form of resistance against a system designed to turn your devices into timed paper weights, your water into corporate profit, and your community into a sacrifice zone for the next upgrade cycle.

  1. Georgia Institute of Technology. “Microsoft Removing Support for Windows 10 Could Increase E-Waste, Cybersecurity Threats.” Oct. 22, 2025. https://www.cc.gatech.edu/news/microsoft-removing-support-windows-10-could-increase-e-waste-cybersecurity-threats

  2. Williams, Gordon D.Z., et al. “The Water Quality Impacts of Legacy Hard-Rock Lithium Mining and Processing.” Environmental Science & Technology 59, no. 49 (Dec. 1, 2025): 26492-26505. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1115919

  3. “Software support cut-offs will cause 'e-waste tsunami'.” letsrecycle.com, Oct. 13, 2025. https://www.letsrecycle.com/news/right-to-repair-warns-of-e-waste-tsunami-from-software-support-cut-offs/

  4. “In Brazil's Jequitinhonha valley, communities share how to reduce lithium mining impacts.” Mongabay, Apr. 29, 2025. https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/in-brazils-lithium-valley-communities-share-how-to-reduce-mining-impacts/

  5. “Waste, Property, and Useless Things.” Harvard Law Review, Vol. 138, Issue 5, March 2025. https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-138/waste-property-and-useless-things/

  6. “Water woes: How mining is depleting health in Zimbabwe's rural communities.” NewsDay Zimbabwe, Oct. 20, 2025. https://www.newsday.co.zw/local-news/article/200047471/water-woes-how-mining-is-depleting-health-in-zimbabwes-rural-communities

  7. Georgia Institute of Technology. “Microsoft Removing Support for Windows 10 Could Increase E-Waste, Cybersecurity Threats.” College of Computing, Oct. 21, 2025. https://www.cc.gatech.edu/news/microsoft-removing-support-windows-10-could-increase-e-waste-cybersecurity-threats

  8. “Examining the environmental effects of mining the world's largest lithium deposit.” IOM3, Apr. 29, 2025. https://www.iom3.org/resource/examining-the-environmental-effects-of-mining-the-world-s-largest-lithium-deposit.html

  9. Rivera, Julio L., and Amrine Lallmahomed. “Environmental implications of planned obsolescence and product lifetime: a literature review.” International Journal of Sustainable Engineering 9 (2016): 119-129. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19397038.2015.1099757

Conclusion: Conscious Choice

The point of examining these hidden costs is not to reject convenience altogether. Cloud services have genuine advantages: redundancy, scalability, geographic distribution. For many purposes, they are the right tool.

But the choice should be conscious. When you use a “free” service, know what you are paying with. When you store data in the cloud, have a backup plan. When you rely on a platform, understand that it may not always be there.

Self‑hosting is not about purity. It is about options. By maintaining your own infrastructure, you ensure that convenience does not become dependency. You retain the ability to choose—and that is the most valuable convenience of all.


Hardware:
Recommended Devices:

Optimal Minimal Setup Device: Lenovo Tiny PCs

Hardware Configuration Options

Lenovo Tiny PCs offer various hardware configurations, such as:

  • Intel CPUs or AMD Ryzen CPUs
  • Single NVMe + SATA 2.5in Drives
  • 2x NVMe or 2x NVMe + PCIe Slot

Popular Uses for the PCIe Slot

  • Nvidia Quadro P600/P620/P1000/T400/T600 (included with some models)
  • A Quad Port NIC (popular for router setups, such as Opnsense/Pfsense )
  • NVMe Expansion Card (adds 2x additional NVMe drives, providing up to 4x NVMe on some models)

Power and Performance

  • Idle Power Consumption: as low as 5-7W (depending on configuration)
  • CPU TDP: Medium to Medium-High performance with 35W TDP CPUs
  • RAM Support: 32GB to 128GB (depends on model, 2 slots)
  • Mini PCIe Slots: For WiFi + Bluetooth cards
  • USB Ports: 4-6 USB 3+ ports in newer models

Clarification: measured system idle depends on CPU model, storage devices, NICs, and OS power settings — expect higher real-world idle (typ. 8–20W for common configs). Use a real watt-meter to confirm.

These devices are small, powerful, and make perfect all-in-one mini servers for various use cases. The Intel versions even allow you to share the iGPU with Proxmox for multiple virtual machines.

Why Lenovo Tiny PCs?

Other mini PCs and SFF PCs can be worthwhile, but personally, I find the Lenovo Tiny PCs to be the most optimal, cost-effective options for home labs and other small-scale setups.

Lenovo Tiny PC Comparison Table:
Model CPU Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench RAM Max Drives / NVMe Slots PCIe Slot iGPU Quick Sync Idle Power* Power (TDP) Year Best Use Case Avg Used eBay.com Price (≈)
ThinkCentre M715q Gen2 Ryzen 5 2400GE 4C / 8T 7192 32GB 1x 2.5" / 1x M.2 None Vega 11 N/A ~7–10W 35W 2018 Budget NAS, light Proxmox ~$80 – $140 – common used M715q listings on eBay.com include Ryzen 5 / Ryzen Pro units around this range.
ThinkCentre M720Q i5-8400T / i7-8700T 6C / 6T – 6C / 12T 7419 / 10225 32GB 1x 2.5" / 1x M.2 1x PCIe 3.0 x8 (riser) Intel UHD 630 Gen8 ~8–12W 35W 2018 NAS, Network appliance, media server, Proxmox host ~$120 – $200 – based on midspec ThinkCentre Tiny used listings (i5/i7 options).
ThinkCentre M920q i5-8400T / i7-8700T 6C / 6T – 6C / 12T 7419 / 10225 32GB 1x 2.5" / 1x M.2 1x PCIe 3.0 x8 (riser) Intel UHD 630 Gen8 ~8–12W 35W 2018 Same as M720Q + vPro enterprise features ~$140 – $230 – slightly higher than M720Q used listings.
ThinkCentre M920x i5-9400T / i7-9700T 6C / 6T – 8C / 8T 8148 / 10553 32GB 2x M.2 1x PCIe 3.0 x8 Intel UHD 630 Gen9 ~9–13W 35W 2019 Dual NVMe NAS, serious homelab ~$180 – $300 – typical for M920x used units with 2x NVMe capability.
ThinkCentre P330 i5-9400T / i7-9700T 6C / 6T – 8C / 8T 8148 / 10553 64GB 2x M.2 1x PCIe 3.0 x8 Intel UHD 630 Gen9 ~9–13W 35W 2019 Best 9th gen Tiny for virtualization ~$220 – $350 – eBay listings for P330 Tiny machines cluster around this bracket.
ThinkCentre P340 i5-9400T / i7-9700T 6C / 6T – 8C / 8T 8148 / 10553 64GB 2x M.2 1x PCIe 3.0 x8 Intel UHD 630 Gen9 ~8–11W 35W 2020 Improved efficiency, better thermals ~$250 – $400 – typical used pricing for P340 Tiny models.
ThinkCentre P350 i7-11700T 8C / 16T 15363 64GB 2x M.2 1x PCIe 4.0 capable Intel UHD 750 Gen11 ~7–10W 35W 2021 Best for Plex, heavy VM host ~$350 – $550+ – eBay.com used/refurbished listings for P350 Tiny (e.g., i5 and i7 units ~US $375–$400+).
links: https://www.ebay.com/shop/m715q?_nkw=m715q "M715q | eBay"
https://www.ebay.com/itm/167813873476 "Lenovo ThinkStation P350 Tiny Core i5 11500T 1.50GHz 16.0GB DDR4 512GB M.2 PC | eBay"
SFF Suggestion

One of the most cost effective SFF PCs for price vs hardware potential
HP z240 SFF


typically features an i7-6700 with 4x DDR4 ram slots and 64GB support. Plus it has 2x3.5 1x2.5 Hard drive slots, 1xNVME m.2 slot and 2xPci-e slots, as far as expansion options go for a SFF PC this one has a lot of options.

issues i have experienced:
  • takes some work to get 64GB ram to boot properly doesn't seem to like ram in the wrong order
  • built in iGPU doesn't always work / default back to itself after having a dGPU, so if you buy it used have a low profile dGPU handy. upside the bios allows for iGPU+dGPU and will boot with a dGPU such as a tesla that includes zero display ports
  • be careful with the 2.5in sata. if the cables aren't sitting quite right they can snap the data port off the drive, found that one out the hard way. there is a lot packed into very little space in this model so you have to be a bit mindful.
Model CPU Passmark CPU Bench RAM Max Drives/NVMe Slots PCIe Slot iGPU Power (TDP) Best Use Case Rating Avg Used eBay Price (USD)
HP z240 SFF i7-6700 8037 64GB 1x 2.5” + 2x 3.5” + 1xM.2 2x PCIe x16 Intel HD 530 ~65W Proxmox host, AI/ML, multi-GPU dev 7.5/10 $90 – $160
Dell Optiplex 3020 i3-4150 3400 16GB 1x 3.5” 1x PCIe x16 Intel HD 4400 ~54W light server, media server, backup server. 4.5/10 $40 – $90


Bios Mod - Install and boot from an NVMe SSD on a Dell OptiPlex 9020, 7020 or 3020
i have tested this on a Dell Optiplex 3020 and can verify it works if done properly.

NIC:
Intel I350 (Quad-Port 1GbE)

The Intel I350 (commonly the I350-T4 variant) is one of the most popular server-grade 1GbE NICs for homelab and virtualization use.

Why It’s Recommended:

• 4x independent 1GbE ports
• PCIe 2.1 x4 interface
• Very low CPU overhead
• Excellent Linux / BSD support
• Stable and widely supported in Proxmox, ESXi, TrueNAS, pfSense

Virtualization Features:

• SR-IOV (Single Root I/O Virtualization)
• VLAN tagging offload
• Checksum offloading
• Interrupt moderation
• PXE boot support

SR-IOV allows you to assign virtual functions of the NIC directly to VMs, reducing overhead and improving network performance in virtualized environments.

If you are not running VMs or advanced networking, a simpler Intel NIC (like I210/I211) may be sufficient.

Performance Notes:

• Each port is fully independent (not a simple switch internally)
• Can be bonded (LACP) for redundancy or throughput
• Ideal for firewall/router builds, lab segmentation, or Ceph/cluster networking

Power Usage:

• ~4–6W typical
• Runs relatively cool compared to older quad NICs

⚠️ Clone Warning:

There are many counterfeit / cloned I350 cards on the used market.

Signs of genuine cards: • Dell / HP / IBM branded versions are usually safe
• Proper Intel markings on controller chip
• Recognized correctly by lspci as Intel I350

Clones may: • Have unstable drivers
• Fail under load
• Not support SR-IOV properly

Network Cards

Model Speed Ports Typical Used eBay (US) SR-IOV in Proxmox VE Notes
Intel X520-DA2 10 GbE SFP+ 2 ~$20 – $35 ✅ Works with SR-IOV on Proxmox; users report VF creation + passthrough working reliably. ([Proxmox Support Forum][1])
Intel X520-SR2 10 GbE SFP+ 2 ~$15 – $30 ✅ Same 82599 chipset as DA2; known to show VFs. ([Proxmox Support Forum][1])
Intel X710/XL710 10 GbE SFP+ 2 ~$30 – $80+ ✅* Works & shows VF capability in Proxmox (driver reports SR-IOV) but some quirks reported in specific boards/firmware. ([Proxmox Support Forum][2])
Intel X540-T2 10 GbE Base-T 2 ~$50 – $70 ⚠️ / Mostly Good Has SR-IOV hardware & some community reports of use with Proxmox; less common than X520/X710.
Intel X550-T2 10 GbE Base-T 2 ~$80 – $120 ⚠️ / Likely Enterprise card with SR-IOV reported; Proxmox forum experience exists but is sparse.
Intel E810 (25/100 GbE) 25 GbE+ 2 ~$80 – $200+ ✅ Modern Intel SR-IOV capable device with Linux ice driver; not as cheap but Proxmox compatible. ([docs.starlingx.io][4])
Mellanox ConnectX-4 / ConnectX-5 10/25/100 GbE 1–2 ~$30 – $150+ ✅ Strong SR-IOV support with mlx5 driver; documented config guides for Proxmox. ([docs.starlingx.io][5])
Mellanox ConnectX-3 10 GbE SFP+ 1–2 ~$20 – $50 ⚠️ / Manual Likely works if firmware flags are configured properly; community guides exist for config, but not as plug-and-play. ([Proxmox Support Forum][6])
Broadcom BCM57xxx / NetXtreme 10 GbE 10 GbE 2 ~$50 – $120+ ⚠️ / Mixed Linux supports these, but SR-IOV support in Proxmox is inconsistent and depends on driver/firmware.
Chelsio T4 / T5 / T6 10 GbE 10 GbE 1–2 ~$30 – $80 ⚠️ / Chelsio kernel driver supports SR-IOV Driver declares VF support, but Proxmox forum experience is limited/sparse.
Intel I350-T2 / T4 1 GbE 2 / 4 ~$15 – $40 ⚠️ / Depends I350 can have SR-IOV in hardware per spec, but many users report mixed success under Proxmox; sometimes firmware lacks SR-IOV bits. ([Proxmox Support Forum][7])
Intel I210 / I225 / I226 1–2.5 GbE 1–2 ~$30 – $50 ❌ Generally not practical for SR-IOV in Proxmox — drivers either don’t expose VFs or they aren’t usable.
Realtek RTL8125 / RTL8xxx 2.5 GbE 2.5 GbE 1–2 ~$30 – $40 ❌ No usable SR-IOV support in Linux drivers; never shows VFs in Proxmox.
links: https://forum.proxmox.com/threads/intel-i710-sr-iov.145534/ "Intel i710 SR-IOV | Proxmox Support Forum"
https://forum.proxmox.com/threads/dell-x710-and-sr-iov.161459/ "Dell X710 and SR-IOV | Proxmox Support Forum"
https://www.nuface.tw/evaluating-proxmox-support-for-high-end-network-cards/ "Evaluating Proxmox Support for High-End Network Cards - Nuface Blog"
https://docs.starlingx.io/planning/kubernetes/verified-commercial-hardware.html "Kubernetes Verified Commercial Hardware — StarlingX documentation"
https://docs.starlingx.io/r/stx.5.0/planning/kubernetes/verified-commercial-hardware.html "Kubernetes Verified Commercial Hardware — StarlingX R5.0 documentation"
https://forum.proxmox.com/threads/how-to-configure-mellanox-connectx-3-cards-for-sriov-and-vfs.121927/ "How-to: configure Mellanox ConnectX-3 cards for SRIOV ..."
https://forum.proxmox.com/threads/sr-iov-not-working-for-intel-i350-t4.83026/ "SR-IOV Not working for Intel i350-T4 | Proxmox Support Forum"
SAS / HBA cards:

LSI / Inspur 9211-8i (Flashed to IT Mode)

The LSI 9211-8i is a classic 6Gb/s SAS HBA based on the LSI SAS2008 controller (PCIe 2.0 x8).
Originally released around 2008, it remains extremely popular in homelab setups due to price and reliability.

Important: It must be flashed to IT mode firmware for proper ZFS usage (Proxmox, TrueNAS, Unraid, etc.).
RAID firmware (IR mode) will force hardware RAID configuration and is NOT recommended for ZFS.

Technical Overview:

• 8x internal drives (2x SFF-8087)
• SAS2 – 6Gb/s per lane
• PCIe 2.0 x8 (~4GB/s total bandwidth)
• Full passthrough in IT mode
• Uses mpt2sas driver (excellent Linux/BSD support)

⚠️ TRIM / SSD Warning:

The SAS2008 chipset does NOT properly pass TRIM / UNMAP to SATA SSDs in most configurations.

For HDD arrays → perfectly fine.
For SSD pools → use a newer SAS3 HBA.

✅ Newer Recommended Alternatives (SSD Safe / TRIM Support)

These models are frequently recommended on Proxmox forums, Level1Techs, and TrueNAS communities.

1) LSI 9207-8i (SAS2308)

• SAS2 (6Gb/s)
• PCIe 3.0 x8
• Better power efficiency than 9211
• TRIM/UNMAP passthrough works properly
• Uses mpt2sas driver
• Often ~$30–50 used

This is widely considered the “safe upgrade” from the 9211-8i.

2) LSI 9300-8i (SAS3008)

• SAS3 – 12Gb/s per lane
• PCIe 3.0 x8
• Full TRIM/UNMAP support
• Uses mpt3sas driver
• Lower latency and better SSD handling
• ~$50–80 used

Very commonly recommended for SSD ZFS pools.
Excellent Proxmox / Ceph / TrueNAS card.

3) OEM Variants (Often Cheaper)

Many rebranded versions exist:

• Dell HBA330
• Dell H330 (in IT mode)
• IBM M1215 (crossflashed)
• Fujitsu D3307
• Supermicro AOC-S3008L-L8e

These often use the same LSI SAS2308 or SAS3008 chipsets internally and can be significantly cheaper on the used market.

Always confirm chipset before buying.

Why Upgrade From 9211?

Feature 9211-8i 9207-8i 9300-8i
PCIe Gen 2.0 3.0 3.0
SAS Gen SAS2 SAS2 SAS3
TRIM ❌ ✅ ✅
SSD Friendly ⚠️ ✅ ✅
Idle Power ~8–10W ~6–8W ~6–8W

Note: full trim support requires IT firmware and driver support. Some versions of the mpt3sas driver break trim. otherwise it is required that the SSD to support RZAT (deterministic read zeros after trim)

Model Type Ports / Speed Est. US eBay Price IT Mode Support Passthrough to VM TRIM/UNMAP Notes Source
LSI 9211-8i (SAS2008) HBA 8 @ 6 Gb/s SAS ~$30 – $60 ✅ ✅ ⚠️ Proxmox forum: LSI 9211 passthrough to TrueNAS VM discussion ([Proxmox Support Forum][1])
LSI 9207-8i (SAS2308) HBA 8 @ 6 Gb/s SAS ~$30 – $60 ✅ ⚠️ / Yes ⚠️ Proxmox passthrough working on older kernel; may have quirks ([Proxmox Support Forum][2])
LSI 9300-8i (SAS3008) HBA 8 @ 12 Gb/s SAS ~$40 – $90 ✅ ⚠️ / Yes ⚠️ User reports passing through 9300-8i and needing extra config (rombar etc.) ([Proxmox Support Forum][3])
LSI 9300-16i (SAS3008) HBA 16 @ 12 Gb/s SAS ~$80 – $150 ⚠️ / Yes ⚠️ / Yes ⚠️ Users have flashed 9300-16i to IT mode for NAS setups ([Proxmox Support Forum][4])
Dell PERC H310 (rebadged LSI9211) HBA* 8 @ 6 Gb/s SAS ~$25 – $50 ⚠️ (must flash) ✅ ⚠️ Flashing H310 to 9211-8i IT mode documented ([Thomas Aldrian][5])
LSI MegaRAID 9271-8i / 9361 RAID 8 @ 6–12 Gb/s ~$60 – $140 *Possible (flash) ⚠️ / Only controller without IT provides logical arrays ⚠️ LSI RAID cards require conversion to IT for simple passthrough ([Proxmox Support Forum][4])
links:

https://forum.proxmox.com/threads/enabling-iommu-for-lsi-9211-8i-passhtrough.144619/ "Enabling IOMMU for LSI 9211-8i passhtrough"
https://forum.proxmox.com/threads/failing-sas-passthrough-on-proxmox-9-with-8-14-kernel.170165/ "Failing SAS Passthrough on Proxmox 9 with 8.14 kernel"
https://forum.proxmox.com/threads/sas3008-e-g-lsi-9300-8i-incompatible-with-proxmox.103159/ "SAS3008 (e.g. LSI 9300-8i) incompatible with Proxmox | Proxmox Support Forum"
https://forum.proxmox.com/tags/hba-passthrough/ "hba passthrough | Proxmox Support Forum"
https://weissnix4711.github.io/homelab/2024/05/14/dell-h310-it-mode/ "Dell PERC H310 raid card flashed to IT Mode - Thomas Aldrian"

Thermals:

All LSI cards run warm.

• Active airflow recommended
• Especially important in Lenovo Tiny builds
• Keep under ~70°C for stability

Bottom Line:

• Budget HDD-only array → 9211-8i is still unbeatable value
• Mixed HDD + SSD → 9207-8i is safer
• SSD-heavy / modern build → 9300-8i or SAS3008-based card
• Double check you buy a model with IT mode firmware for homelab use.

Enterprise SATA/SAS HDDs:

Enterprise HDD comparison table:
Drive Model Form Factor Interface Capacity Options Workload Rating (TB/yr) Watts (Idle/Active) Avg Used eBay.com Price (≈)
HGST Ultrastar He10 / HC310 3.5" SATA / SAS 12Gb 10TB 550 TB/yr ~5.8W / ~9.5W ~$90 – $240 – used 10TB HGST Ultrastar He10/SAS/SATA enterprise HDDs commonly sell around ~$90–$240 USD on eBay.com depending on condition and interface. (e.g., ~$95 sold listing; ~$138–$255+ active).
HGST Ultrastar He12 / HC320 3.5" SATA / SAS 12Gb 12TB 550 TB/yr ~6.0W / ~9.8W ~$100 – $270+ – 12TB enterprise HGST/SAS drives often trade in this bracket on eBay.com, with prices influenced by condition and seller. (estimated from 10TB / similar listings).
HGST Ultrastar He14 / HC330 3.5" SATA / SAS 12Gb 14TB 550 TB/yr ~6.2W / ~10W ~$120 – $300+ – Larger enterprise drives like 14TB models on eBay.com see listings in this range, though individual prices vary with health/state and SAS vs SATA.
HGST Ultrastar He16 / HC340 3.5" SATA / SAS 12Gb 16TB 550 TB/yr ~6.4W / ~10.2W ~$140 – $330+ – 16TB enterprise drives (HGST/SAS/SATA) often appear near ~$140–$330+ on eBay.com.
HGST Ultrastar He18 / HC350 3.5" SATA / SAS 12Gb 18TB 550 TB/yr ~6.5W / ~10.4W ~$150 – $350+ – Used 18TB enterprise HGST/SAS drives typically trade near this range. Listings vary by condition and seller.
WD Ultrastar DC HC500 (HGST Legacy) 3.5" SATA / SAS 12Gb 8TB, 10TB 550 TB/yr ~5.6W / ~9.2W ~$70 – $220 – Used WD/HGST 8–10TB enterprise drives on US eBay.com commonly fall in this range depending on capacity and condition.
WD Ultrastar DC HC550 3.5" SATA / SAS 12Gb 14TB, 16TB, 18TB 550 TB/yr ~5.8W / ~9.5W ~$120 – $330+ – Enterprise DC HC550 drives often list around ~$120–$330+ on eBay.com based on large capacity used listings.
WD Ultrastar DC HC560 3.5" SATA / SAS 12Gb 20TB, 22TB 550 TB/yr ~6.0W / ~9.8W ~$200 – $380+ – Larger 20–22TB enterprise WD DC HC560 used drives generally trade in this approximate price bracket on US eBay.com.
WD Ultrastar DC SA620 (SATA SSD/HDD Hybrid) 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s 960GB — 7.68TB N/A (SSHD) ~2.9W / ~5.5W ~$40 – $150 – Used SATA hybrid drives (SSHD) of similar capacities on eBay.com often list in the ~$40–$150 USD range.
WD Gold Enterprise HDDs 3.5" SATA 6Gb/s 1TB — 18TB 550 TB/yr 5W — 10W (varies by size) ~$50 – $330+ – Used WD Gold HDD enterprise drives vary by capacity: smaller (~1–4TB) often ~$50–$120, larger (~12–18TB) near ~$200–$330+ on eBay.com.
Seagate Exos X18 3.5" SATA 6Gb/s 10TB, 12TB, 14TB, 16TB, 18TB 550 TB/yr 5.3W / 9.4W ~$120 – $340+ – Used Seagate Exos X18 enterprise drives typically appear around ~$120–$340+ USD on eBay.com depending on capacity and condition.
Seagate Exos X20 3.5" SATA 6Gb/s 16TB, 18TB, 20TB 550 TB/yr 5.4W / 9.4W ~$180 – $400+ – Larger Exos X20 drives on eBay.com often trade for roughly ~$180–$400+ used, varying by model and health.
Seagate Exos 7E10 3.5" SAS 12Gb/s 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB 550 TB/yr 7.6W / 11.5W ~$30 – $180 – Used smaller Exos enterprise drives (~1–8TB) on US eBay.com often list roughly ~$30–$180 depending on capacity and condition.
Toshiba MG09 Series 3.5" SATA / SAS 14TB, 16TB, 18TB 550 TB/yr 4.2W / 8.3W ~$130 – $300+ – Used Toshiba MG09 enterprise drives typically show prices around ~$130–$300+ USD on eBay.com.
Toshiba MG10 Series 3.5" SATA / SAS 20TB, 22TB 550 TB/yr 4.4W / 8.6W ~$200 – $380+ – Used Toshiba MG10 (20–22TB) enterprise drives eBay.com listings often in the ~$200–$380+ range.
Seagate Exos 10E2400 (2.4TB) 2.5" SAS 12Gb/s 600GB, 900GB, 1.2TB, 1.8TB, 2.4TB 550 TB/yr 3.8W / 6.9W ~$30 – $120 – Used 2.5" SAS enterprise drives (e.g., ~600GB–2.4TB) on eBay.com generally fall in the ~$30–$120 range.
Western Digital Ultrastar 10K600 2.5" SAS 12Gb/s 600GB, 900GB, 1.2TB 550 TB/yr 3.6W / 6.5W ~$30 – $120 – Smaller SAS enterprise HDDs (10K RPM) used on eBay.com often list around ~$30–$120 USD depending on capacity.

NOTES: in my opinion, HGST have the Lowest failure rates along side Western Digital.
Seagate / Toshiba models tend to have higher failure rates depending on models. but they are often cheaper, sometimes by a fair amount.
Seagates depending on the model can be the worst drives to purchase, so unless you want to research the specific model you are buying, you probably want HGST/WD.
Samsung HDDs also have fairly high failure rates. SSDs are good but HDDs are hit and miss.

BackBlaze Hard Drive Failure Data By Year

2024:

Backblaze Hard Drive Failure Rates for 2024

Reporting period: 1/1/2024 – 12/31/2024 inclusive
Drive models with drive count > 250 as of 12/31/2024 and drive days > 50,000 in 2024.

MFG Model Size (TB) Drive Count Avg Age (months) Drive Days Drive Failures AFR
HGST HMS5C4040ALE640 4 263 95.5 327,114 4 0.45%
HGST HMS5C4040BLE640 4 4,120 95.9 3,078,618 18 0.21%
HGST HUH728080ALE600 8 1,084 79.8 400,697 18 1.64%
HGST HUH721212ALE600 12 2,606 61.8 949,117 32 1.23%
HGST HUH721212ALE604 12 13,313 43.3 4,786,933 435 3.32%
HGST HUH721212ALN604 12 10,191 66.5 3,814,797 590 5.65%
Seagate ST8000DM002 8 9,078 98.6 3,355,725 162 1.76%
Seagate ST8000NM0055 8 13,534 87.0 5,020,845 356 2.59%
Seagate ST10000NM0086 10 1,034 84.4 391,133 58 5.41%
Seagate ST12000NM0007 12 1,038 61.3 400,953 125 11.38%
Seagate ST12000NM0008 12 19,134 56.2 7,060,183 502 2.60%
Seagate ST12000NM000J 12 723 8.5 172,556 16 3.38%
Seagate ST12000NM001G 12 13,184 46.8 4,814,820 166 1.26%
Seagate ST14000NM001G 14 10,589 46.3 3,863,921 175 1.65%
Seagate ST14000NM0138 14 1,321 48.9 498,291 73 5.35%
Seagate ST16000NM001G 16 33,600 28.6 11,737,654 226 0.70%
Seagate ST16000NM002J 16 461 25.8 168,170 1 0.22%
Toshiba MG07ACA14TA 14 37,703 49.7 13,729,393 414 1.10%
Toshiba MG07ACA14TEY 14 742 36.4 230,649 10 1.58%
Toshiba MG08ACA16TA 16 40,185 19.1 14,089,908 484 1.25%
Toshiba MG08ACA16TE 16 5,912 38.4 2,173,570 68 1.14%
Toshiba MG08ACA16TEY 16 5,163 36.9 1,889,434 82 1.58%
Toshiba MG10ACA20TE 20 5,943 3.8 631,665 15 0.87%
WDC WUH721414ALE6L4 14 8,542 47.8 3,110,146 72 0.84%
WDC WUH721816ALE6L0 16 3,016 36.2 1,103,215 37 1.22%
WDC WUH721816ALE6L4 16 26,475 21.1 9,365,201 94 0.37%
WDC WUH722222ALE6L4 22 30,000 5.8 4,741,582 139 1.07%

| TOTALS | | | 298,954 | | 101,906,290 | 4,372 | 1.57% |

2023:

Backblaze Hard Drive Failure Rates for 2023

Reporting period: 1/1/2023 – 12/31/2023 inclusive

MFG Model Drive Size Drive Count Avg Age (months) Drive Days Drive Failures AFR
HGST HMS5C4040ALE640 4TB 1,950 85.5 1,182,145 12 0.37%
HGST HMS5C4040BLE640 4TB 10,260 86.0 4,219,579 44 0.38%
HGST HUH728080ALE600 8TB 1,103 68.0 401,471 27 2.45%
HGST HUH728080ALE604 8TB 89 77.6 33,059 5 5.52%
HGST HUH721212ALE600 12TB 2,606 50.5 938,602 21 0.82%
HGST HUH721212ALE604 12TB 13,144 33.1 4,780,695 125 0.95%
HGST HUH721212ALN604 12TB 10,532 56.0 3,829,510 387 3.69%
Seagate ST4000DM000 4TB 11,391 96.6 6,149,245 560 3.32%
Seagate ST6000DX000 6TB 882 104.0 322,461 6 0.68%
Seagate ST8000DM002 8TB 9,250 86.7 3,408,498 267 2.86%
Seagate ST8000NM000A 8TB 204 14.1 52,876 0 0.00%
Seagate ST8000NM0055 8TB 13,914 74.9 5,144,580 543 3.85%
Seagate ST10000NM0086 10TB 1,097 72.5 410,970 74 6.57%
Seagate ST12000NM0007 12TB 1,162 49.6 440,056 96 7.96%
Seagate ST12000NM0008 12TB 19,449 44.7 7,128,136 573 2.93%
Seagate ST12000NM000J 12TB 195 2.7 15,811 1 2.31%
Seagate ST12000NM001G 12TB 13,108 35.5 4,700,930 153 1.19%
Seagate ST14000NM000J 14TB 77 2.6 4,986 2 14.64%
Seagate ST14000NM0018 14TB 66 17.1 16,492 6 13.28%
Seagate ST14000NM001G 14TB 10,693 34.4 3,905,366 193 1.80%
Seagate ST14000NM0138 14TB 1,400 36.9 528,390 116 8.01%
Seagate ST16000NM001G 16TB 27,433 21.2 9,160,212 176 0.70%
Seagate ST16000NM002J 16TB 463 13.7 123,261 2 0.59%
Seagate ST18000NM000J 18TB 60 36.7 21,630 3 5.06%
Toshiba MD04ABA400V 4TB 93 103.4 34,042 1 1.07%
Toshiba HDWF180 8TB 60 24.8 18,889 5 9.66%
Toshiba MG07ACA14TA 14TB 37,913 37.8 13,827,478 426 1.12%
Toshiba MG07ACA14TEY 14TB 649 27.6 219,865 8 1.33%
Toshiba MG08ACA16TA 16TB 33,750 9.0 4,995,010 149 1.09%
Toshiba MG08ACA16TE 16TB 5,960 26.5 2,140,932 56 0.95%
Toshiba MG08ACA16TEY 16TB 5,230 24.9 1,894,368 58 1.12%
WDC WUH721414ALE6L4 14TB 8,471 36.5 3,066,209 36 0.43%
WDC WUH721816ALE6L0 16TB 3,053 24.2 996,710 9 0.33%
WDC WUH721816ALE6L4 16TB 21,607 11.6 5,707,555 47 0.30%
WDC WUH722222ALE6L4 22TB 2,442 2.4 126,956 2 0.58%

| TOTAL (35 models) | | | 269,756 | | 89,946,975 | 4,189 | 1.70% |

2022:

Backblaze Hard Drive Failure Rates for 2022

Reporting period: 1/1/2022 – 12/31/2022 inclusive

MFG Model Drive Size Drive Count Avg Age (months) Drive Days Drive Failures AFR
HGST HMS5C4040ALE640 4TB 3,723 77.1 1,322,966 23 0.63%
HGST HMS5C4040BLE640 4TB 12,730 74.1 4,641,631 52 0.41%
HGST HUH728080ALE600 8TB 1,117 56.6 408,895 16 1.43%
HGST HUH728080ALE604 8TB 94 65.5 27,684 4 5.27%
HGST HUH721212ALE600 12TB 2,606 38.9 948,201 7 0.27%
HGST HUH721212ALE604 12TB 13,165 21.3 4,789,187 73 0.56%
HGST HUH721212ALN604 12TB 10,769 44.8 3,930,437 80 0.74%
Seagate ST4000DM000 4TB 18,246 85.9 6,699,353 633 3.45%
Seagate ST6000DX000 6TB 886 92.5 323,387 6 0.68%
Seagate ST8000DM002 8TB 9,523 74.6 3,505,962 189 1.97%
Seagate ST8000NM000A 8TB 79 14.2 22,839 0 0.00%
Seagate ST8000NM0055 8TB 14,417 63.2 5,230,097 347 2.42%
Seagate ST10000NM0086 10TB 1,174 60.7 430,092 44 3.73%
Seagate ST12000NM0007 12TB 1,262 37.7 469,211 61 4.75%
Seagate ST12000NM0008 12TB 19,821 33.1 7,291,905 404 2.02%
Seagate ST12000NM001G 12TB 12,623 24.9 4,515,095 116 0.94%
Seagate ST14000NM001G 14TB 10,751 22.8 3,912,395 126 1.18%
Seagate ST14000NM0138 14TB 1,519 24.8 570,042 89 5.70%
Seagate ST16000NM001G 16TB 20,393 13.6 6,057,376 142 0.86%
Seagate ST16000NM002J 16TB 310 6.6 50,625 2 1.44%
Toshiba MD04ABA400V 4TB 94 91.3 35,031 3 3.13%
Toshiba MG07ACA14TA 14TB 38,182 26.0 13,921,635 385 1.01%
Toshiba MG07ACA14TEY 14TB 552 20.7 184,247 8 1.58%
Toshiba MG08ACA16TA 16TB 3,751 6.9 625,329 10 0.58%
Toshiba MG08ACA16TE 16TB 5,936 14.7 2,167,676 93 1.57%
Toshiba MG08ACA16TEY 16TB 5,286 12.9 1,362,038 24 0.64%
WDC WUH721414ALE6L4 14TB 8,410 24.8 3,065,102 10 0.12%
WDC WUH721816ALE6L0 16TB 2,701 14.9 938,328 3 0.12%
WDC WUH721816ALE6L4 16TB 10,801 4.6 1,313,668 13 0.36%

| TOTAL (29 models) | | | 230,921 | | 78,760,434 | 2,963 | 1.37% |

Data Summary:

📊 Backblaze Drive Reliability Summary (2022–2024)

This summary is based strictly on the 2022, 2023, and 2024 AFR data provided above.

🔎 Brand-Level Overview

🟢 WDC (Western Digital)

  • Most consistent low failure rates across all three years
  • Rarely exceeds 1.2% AFR
  • Strong reliability trend overall

🟢 Toshiba

  • Generally stable AFR (~1.0–1.5%)
  • Few extreme outliers
  • Consistent mid-range reliability

🟡 HGST

  • Excellent reliability in 4TB models
  • Some 12TB models show elevated AFR in 2023–2024
  • Wider spread between best and worst models

🔴 Seagate

  • Largest variability across models
  • Several high AFR spikes (5–11%+)
  • Also includes some very reliable 16TB models

🏆 Best Performing Models (Lowest AFR Observed)

⭐ Absolute Lowest AFR

  • Seagate ST8000NM000A (2022, 2023) – 0.00%

    Note: Very small sample size.

⭐ Consistently Excellent Models (<0.40% observed)

  • WDC WUH721414ALE6L4

    • 2022: 0.12%
    • 2023: 0.43%
    • 2024: 0.84%

  • WDC WUH721816ALE6L4

    • 2022: 0.36%
    • 2023: 0.30%
    • 2024: 0.37%

  • HGST HMS5C4040BLE640

    • 2022: 0.41%
    • 2023: 0.38%
    • 2024: 0.21%

  • Seagate ST16000NM001G

    • 2022: 0.86%
    • 2023: 0.70%
    • 2024: 0.70%

🔥 Worst Performing Models (Highest AFR Observed)

🚨 Highest Single-Year AFR

  • Seagate ST14000NM000J (2023) – 14.64%
  • Seagate ST14000NM0018 (2023) – 13.28%
  • Seagate ST12000NM0007 (2024) – 11.38%
  • Toshiba HDWF180 (2023) – 9.66%
  • Seagate ST14000NM0138 (2023) – 8.01%
  • Seagate ST12000NM0007 (2023) – 7.96%

⚠ Consistently High AFR Across Multiple Years

  • Seagate ST10000NM0086

    • 2023: 6.57%
    • 2024: 5.41%

  • HGST HUH721212ALN604

    • 2023: 3.69%
    • 2024: 5.65%

📌 Overall Conclusions

🥇 Most Reliable Brand (Overall Trend)

WDC — lowest and most stable AFR across all years.

🥈 Strong Overall Consistency

Toshiba — stable, moderate AFR with few severe spikes.

⚖ Mixed Performance

HGST — excellent 4TB reliability, but some 12TB models show higher failure rates.

🔴 Highest Variability

Seagate — wide performance spread; some models highly reliable, others with significant AFR spikes.

⚠ Note: AFR values are based on Backblaze fleet data and are influenced by drive count, age, and operational environment.

HDD Longevity

Consider this guide your manual. We need to take care of our hardware, we should not see it as disposable. i for example have a 1.5TB WD Green drive that is almost 20 years old now, it has been used the most of any drive i have, as my tmp drive, torrent drive, etc, this drive has been rewritten more times than i can remember and it still works. i have only lost roughly 2 out of 20+ of my large storage drives. this guide will detail how you can get the most of of your HDDs.

The Longevity Engineer's Guide to Hard Drive Survival

Achieving a multi-decade lifespan for a hard drive is less about luck and more about a philosophy: treat the drive as a precision electro-mechanical instrument that prefers stability and consistency over power-saving heroics. Let's break down the master protocol.

Phase 1: Selection – Start with the Right Foundation

  • Choose Enterprise-Grade, Not Consumer: Avoid "Desktop," "Green," or basic external drives. (while they will work and you can get a long life out of them, they enterprise is better.) Their firmware is often tuned for power savings and quiet operation, which can lead to aggressive power management that shortens life. Instead, select drives from the "Enterprise" or "NAS" (Network Attached Storage) lines of major manufacturers like:
    • HGST: Ultrastar. ( i prefer the HelioSeal as it decreases resistence on the mechanical parts and also saves power, down side they are more expensive if you ever need data recovery serives but i do not plan to ever do that personally. )
    • Western Digital: Ultrastar or Gold series . you can also use although the results are more so mixed, please refer to the BackBlaze data above on which models to avoid and which to focus on.
    • Seagate: Exos or IronWolf Pro series
    • Toshiba: MG Series Enterprise Capacity Drives .
  • Why? These drives are built with more robust components, better vibration tolerance, and firmware designed for 24/7 operation and higher annual workloads (e.g., 550 TB per year) . They are engineered to last.

Phase 2: The Great Neutralization – Disabling the "Self-Destruct" Button

This is the most critical technical step, Many modern drives, even enterprise ones, have power-saving features that will mechanically wear out the drive long before its time. Our goal is to disable or drastically extend these timers in the drive's own firmware. This is a one-time configuration that tells the drive to behave.

The Prime Suspect: The Load_Cycle_Count Every time the drive parks its read/write heads, it ticks off one "load cycle" from its rated life (often 300,000 to 600,000). In its default state, a drive might park the heads after only 8 seconds of inactivity . In a Linux system, this can cause hundreds of thousands of cycles in months, killing the drive. in my opinion this is the leading cause of hard drive failure.

The Solution: Firmware Modification

There are two main ways to stop the "parking madness," and they work best in tandem:

  • Method A: The Nuclear Option (Modify the idle3 timer)

    • Target: Western Digital drives that use the "IntelliPark" feature.
    • The Tool: Western Digital's own wdidle3.exe (a DOS utility) or the Linux equivalent idle3-tools .
    • The Command (Conceptual): You boot into a DOS environment or use the Linux tool to change the timer. The goal is to set it to a much higher value or disable it entirely.
      • wdidle3.exe /D – This disables the automatic head parking. The heads will now only park when the drive is fully powered down. This is the ideal state for longevity .

  • Method B: The OS-Level Command (Disable Advanced Power Management)

    • Target: Most drives, including Seagate and others, that respond to the Advanced Power Management (APM) feature.
    • The Tool: The Linux utility hdparm.
    • The Command: sudo hdparm -B 255 /dev/sdX (replace sdX with your drive identifier, e.g., sda).
    • What it does: A value of -B 255 tells hdparm to disable Advanced Power Management altogether on the drive . This prevents the drive from ever deciding to park its heads or spin down on its own. This is your primary weapon.
    • Verify: Check the result with sudo hdparm -I /dev/sdX | grep -i "level". You want to see that APM is not enabled.

  • Bonus: Set a Sensible Standby Timer (Optional)

    • Even with APM disabled, you might want the drive to spin down after a very long period of inactivity (like hours) to save a bit of wear on the spindle motor. This is not the same as head-parking.
    • Use hdparm -S 241 /dev/sdX to set a standby timeout. The value 241 corresponds to about 30 minutes. Multiply the value by 5 to get the number of seconds until standby . A value of 0 disables the standby timer.

To make this permanent on Linux, you must add the hdparm command to a startup script (like /etc/rc.local) so it runs every time the system boots.

Phase 3: Environmental Control – The Sanctuary

A stable environment is non-negotiable for long lifespan.

  • Temperature is the #1 Enemy: An HDD's failure rate is directly tied to heat.
    • The "sweet spot" for maximum longevity is an average operating temperature of no more than 40°C .
    • For every 5°C increase above 40°C, the failure rate can increase by 30% . Running a drive at 55°C more than doubles its chance of failure.
    • Action: Ensure your case has excellent, continuous airflow over the drive. Monitor temperatures with tools like smartctl or CrystalDiskInfo.
  • Vibration Isolation:
    • A spinning drive creates vibration. If not properly dampened, this vibration can be transmitted back to the drive, causing misalignment and extra work for the head actuator.
    • Action: Securely mount the drive with all four screws. Use vibration-dampening grommets or a quality drive cage. Do not let the drive sit loosely in a bay .
  • Stable Power:
    • Use a high-quality power supply unit (PSU). A PSU with dirty power or voltage fluctuations can stress the drive's electronics over time.

Phase 4: Monitoring

You must be a vigilant caretaker.

  • Befriend S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology):
    • Tools: smartctl (from the smartmontools package in Linux) is your best friend.
    • What to Watch:
      1. Load_Cycle_Count: This number should only increase when you boot or shut down the system. If it's climbing while the system is on, your fix in Phase 2 didn't work.
      2. Start_Stop_Count: This counts full spin-ups. This should also be low, corresponding to your power-on/power-off cycles.
      3. Reallocated_Sector_Count: If this number starts increasing, the drive is having trouble and is remapping bad sectors. This is an early sign of failure.
      4. Temperature: Ensure it stays consistently below 40°C.
      5. Power_On_Hours: This is your odometer. It will be interesting to see how high it goes.

The Final Truth: Redundancy Over Reliance

Even if you follow every step perfectly, a mechanical device can still fail. for long term reliability, a single drive is never the answer. Your ultimate insurance policy is redundancy and backups.

  • RAID is for Uptime: Use a RAID 1 (mirror) or RAID 5/6 array so that if one drive fails, your system keeps running and your data is safe on the other drives.
  • Backups are for Data: Maintain a separate, offline backup. the data is more important than the drive.

By following this guide, you're not just hoping for longevity, you're engineering it.

SSD/Nvme Drives:

Enterprise NVMe / M.2 Drives with Endurance
Drive Model Form Factor Interface Endurance (TBW/PBW) Watts (Idle/Active) Avg Used eBay.com Price (≈)
Intel Optane M10 (16GB) M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 x2 365 TBW 0.08W/2W ~$5 – $15 (small Optane modules frequently listed cheap)
Intel Optane M10 (32GB) M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 x2 182.5 TBW 1W/3.5W ~$20 – $35 (new/used available)
Intel Optane SSD 905P (480GB) M.2/U.2/HHHL PCIe 3.0 x4 17.52 PB 6W/16.4W ~$350 – $450 (used 480GB approx)
Intel Optane SSD 905P (960GB) U.2/HHHL PCIe 3.0 x4 17.52 PB 6W/16.4W ~$600 – $900 (used 960GB listings)
Samsung PM9A3 (960GB, 1920GB, 3840GB) M.2 22110 PCIe 4.0 x4 1.7 PBW / 3.5 PBW / 7.0 PBW 3.5W/8W Avg N/A (rare to no used eBay listings)
Seagate Nytro 5000 (1.6TB, 3.2TB, 6.4TB) M.2 22110 PCIe 3.0 x4 3.2 PBW 9W Avg/12.5W Max N/A (rare to no eBay used data)
Intel DC P5800X (400GB,800GB,1.6TB) U.2 PCIe 4.0 x4 73–292 PBW 4.2W/18W ~$900 – $1,200+ (varies hugely; some reports of ~$1,200-$2,000+)
ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro (256GB–2TB) M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 x4 160–640 TBW 0.05W/1.9W/4.1W Max ~$70 – $110 (rough average for 1TB) (typical eBay used SSD pricing)
Intel DC P3700 400GB PCIe Add-in Card PCIe 3.0 x4 7.3 PBW 4W/9W/12W ~$50 – $90 (used PCIe P3700 cards) (typical older enterprise SSD prices)
Intel Optane P4801X 100GB M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 x4 10.9 PBW 3W/7W ~$150 – $300 (occasional US eBay used listings)
links:

https://www.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/1nferxo/i_finally_got_my_grail_intel_optane_p5800x_16t/ "I finally got my grail. Intel Optane P5800X 1.6T. This is gonna be a family heirloom"

Consumer NVMe / M.2 Drives
Drive Model Form Factor Interface Endurance (TBW) Quality Avg Used eBay.com Price (≈)
Crucial P3 1TB M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 x4 220 TB Cheap QLC Consumer ~$25 – $50 (pre-owned listings range from ~$20–$95)
Samsung 980 1TB M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 x4 600 TB Normal TLC Consumer ~$70 – $110 (used prices commonly ~$80–$120 on eBay)
Samsung 980 Pro 1TB M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4 600 TB Modern TLC Prosumer ~$110 – $140 (used avg visible ~ $125)
Samsung 970 Pro 1TB M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 x4 1,200 TB End-of-Life MLC Prosumer ~$180 – $260 (older enterprise SSD, used listings less frequent but often ~$200+)

Consumer vs. Enterprise Price Comparison

Enterprise drives are designed to handle much higher workloads and offer greater durability compared to consumer-grade drives. While consumer drives may seem more affordable, they often burn out quickly in high-write environments such as servers or when used with ZFS, which requires frequent read/write operations. Enterprise SSDs are built for sustained performance, higher endurance (TBW/PBW), and reliability, making them the preferable choice for demanding applications where data integrity and long-term use are crucial.

CPU:


section in progress / to be updated

Intel:

Intel Desktop CPUs:

14th Gen - Raptor Lake Refresh Desktop:
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Turbo Power (W) iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Intel Core i9-14900K 24C / 32T ~60,305 125 253 UHD 770 ~$430 – $480
Intel Core i9-14900KF 24C / 32T ~60,305 125 253 None ~$410 – $460
Intel Core i9-14900 24C / 32T ~49,272 65 219 UHD 770 ~$350 – $420
Intel Core i7-14700K 20C / 28T ~53,653 125 253 UHD 770 ~$385 – $450
Intel Core i7-14700KF 20C / 28T ~53,653 125 253 None ~$360 – $430
Intel Core i7-14700 20C / 28T ~46,680 65 219 UHD 770 ~$300 – $380
Intel Core i5-14600K 14C / 20T ~39,199 125 181 UHD 770 ~$250 – $300
Intel Core i5-14600KF 14C / 20T ~39,199 125 181 None ~$230 – $280
Intel Core i5-14600 14C / 20T ~33,182 65 154 UHD 770 ~$200 – $260
Intel Core i5-14500 14C / 20T ~31,282 65 154 UHD 770 ~$180 – $240
Intel Core i5-14400 10C / 16T ~25,242 65 148 UHD 730 ~$150 – $200
Intel Core i5-14400F 10C / 16T ~25,786 65 148 None ~$140 – $190
Intel Core i3-14100 4C / 8T ~15,478 60 89 UHD 730 ~$90 – $130
Intel Core i3-14100F 4C / 8T ~15,383 60 89 None ~$80 – $120
13th Gen - Raptor Lake Desktop:
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Turbo Power (W) iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Intel Core i9-13900K 24C / 32T ~60,000 125 253 UHD 770 ~$370 – $440
Intel Core i9-13900KF 24C / 32T ~60,000 125 253 None ~$350 – $420
Intel Core i9-13900 24C / 32T ~53,780 65 219 UHD 770 ~$300 – $380
Intel Core i7-13700K 16C / 24T ~47,002 125 253 UHD 770 ~$320 – $400
Intel Core i7-13700KF 16C / 24T ~47,002 125 253 None ~$300 – $380
Intel Core i7-13700 16C / 24T ~42,000 65 219 UHD 770 ~$250 – $320
Intel Core i5-13600K 14C / 20T ~38,745 125 181 UHD 770 ~$220 – $280
Intel Core i5-13600KF 14C / 20T ~38,745 125 181 None ~$200 – $260
Intel Core i5-13600 14C / 20T ~35,000 65 154 UHD 770 ~$180 – $240
Intel Core i5-13500 14C / 20T ~30,650 65 154 UHD 770 ~$160 – $220
Intel Core i5-13400 10C / 16T ~26,355 65 148 UHD 730 ~$130 – $180
Intel Core i5-13400F 10C / 16T ~25,129 65 148 None ~$120 – $170
Intel Core i3-13100 4C / 8T ~17,500 60 89 UHD 730 ~$80 – $120
Intel Core i3-13100F 4C / 8T ~17,500 60 89 None ~$70 – $110
12th Gen - Alder Lake Desktop:
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Turbo Power (W) iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Intel Core i9-12900K 16C / 24T ~39,693 125 241 UHD 770 ~$300 – $400
Intel Core i9-12900KF 16C / 24T ~39,693 125 241 None ~$280 – $380
Intel Core i7-12700K 12C / 20T ~34,422 125 190 UHD 770 ~$220 – $300
Intel Core i7-12700KF 12C / 20T ~34,422 125 190 None ~$200 – $280
Intel Core i5-12600K 10C / 16T ~27,580 125 150 UHD 770 ~$150 – $220
Intel Core i5-12600KF 10C / 16T ~27,580 125 150 None ~$140 – $200
Intel Core i5-12400 6C / 12T ~21,715 65 117 UHD 730 ~$100 – $150
Intel Core i5-12400F 6C / 12T ~21,715 65 117 None ~$90 – $140
Intel Core i3-12100 4C / 8T ~15,380 60 89 UHD 730 ~$70 – $100
Intel Core i3-12100F 4C / 8T ~15,380 60 89 None ~$60 – $90
11th Gen - Rocket Lake Desktop:
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Turbo Power (W) iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Intel Core i9-11900K 8C / 16T ~29,069 125 251 UHD 750 ~$220 – $300
Intel Core i9-11900KF 8C / 16T ~29,069 125 251 None ~$200 – $280
Intel Core i7-11700K 8C / 16T ~24,438 125 251 UHD 750 ~$150 – $220
Intel Core i7-11700KF 8C / 16T ~24,438 125 251 None ~$140 – $200
Intel Core i5-11600K 6C / 12T ~20,461 125 224 UHD 750 ~$100 – $150
Intel Core i5-11600KF 6C / 12T ~20,461 125 224 None ~$90 – $140
Intel Core i5-11400 6C / 12T ~18,810 65 154 UHD 750 ~$80 – $120
Intel Core i5-11400F 6C / 12T ~18,810 65 154 None ~$70 – $110
Intel Core i7-11700T 8C / 16T ~17,461 35 115 UHD 750 ~$130 – $180 (Low-power, good for homelab)
10th Gen - Comet Lake Desktop:
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Turbo Power (W) iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Intel Core i9-10900K 10C / 20T ~22,837 125 250 UHD 630 ~$200 – $280
Intel Core i9-10900KF 10C / 20T ~22,837 125 250 None ~$180 – $260
Intel Core i7-10700K 8C / 16T ~17,558 125 229 UHD 630 ~$130 – $190
Intel Core i7-10700KF 8C / 16T ~17,558 125 229 None ~$120 – $180
Intel Core i5-10600K 6C / 12T ~14,216 125 182 UHD 630 ~$90 – $130
Intel Core i5-10600KF 6C / 12T ~14,216 125 182 None ~$80 – $120
Intel Core i5-10400 6C / 12T ~12,377 65 134 UHD 630 ~$70 – $100
Intel Core i5-10400F 6C / 12T ~12,377 65 134 None ~$60 – $90
Intel Core i3-10100 4C / 8T ~8,960 65 90 UHD 630 ~$50 – $70
Intel Core i3-10100F 4C / 8T ~8,960 65 90 None ~$40 – $60
9th Gen - Coffee Lake Refresh Desktop:
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Turbo Power (W) iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Intel Core i9-9900K 8C / 16T ~18,307 95 210 UHD 630 ~$180 – $250
Intel Core i9-9900KF 8C / 16T ~18,307 95 210 None ~$160 – $230
Intel Core i7-9700K 8C / 8T ~17,398 95 210 UHD 630 ~$120 – $180
Intel Core i7-9700KF 8C / 8T ~17,398 95 210 None ~$110 – $170
Intel Core i5-9600K 6C / 6T ~13,257 95 170 UHD 630 ~$70 – $110
Intel Core i5-9600KF 6C / 6T ~13,257 95 170 None ~$60 – $100
Intel Core i5-9400 6C / 6T ~11,064 65 140 UHD 630 ~$50 – $80
Intel Core i5-9400F 6C / 6T ~11,064 65 140 None ~$45 – $75
Intel Core i3-9100 4C / 4T ~7,526 65 110 UHD 630 ~$35 – $55
Intel Core i3-9100F 4C / 4T ~7,526 65 110 None ~$30 – $50
8th Gen - Coffee Lake Desktop:
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Turbo Power (W) iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Intel Core i7-8700K 6C / 12T ~15,970 95 190 UHD 630 ~$100 – $150
Intel Core i7-8700 6C / 12T ~14,610 65 170 UHD 630 ~$90 – $140
Intel Core i5-8600K 6C / 6T ~12,793 95 170 UHD 630 ~$60 – $90
Intel Core i5-8400 6C / 6T ~11,192 65 145 UHD 630 ~$50 – $80
Intel Core i3-8100 4C / 4T ~7,134 65 110 UHD 630 ~$35 – $55
7th Gen - Kaby Lake Desktop:
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Turbo Power (W) iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Intel Core i7-7700K 4C / 8T ~12,321 91 165 HD 630 ~$80 – $120
Intel Core i7-7700 4C / 8T ~10,883 65 150 HD 630 ~$70 – $110
Intel Core i5-7600K 4C / 4T ~9,130 91 150 HD 630 ~$50 – $80
Intel Core i5-7500 4C / 4T ~7,985 65 140 HD 630 ~$40 – $70
Intel Core i3-7100 2C / 4T ~5,052 51 90 HD 630 ~$25 – $40
6th Gen - Skylake Desktop:
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Turbo Power (W) iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Intel Core i7-6700K 4C / 8T ~10,994 91 165 HD 530 ~$60 – $100
Intel Core i7-6700 4C / 8T ~9,851 65 150 HD 530 ~$50 – $80
Intel Core i5-6600K 4C / 4T ~8,077 95 150 None ~$40 – $70
Intel Core i5-6500 4C / 4T ~7,342 65 135 HD 530 ~$35 – $60
Intel Core i3-6100 2C / 4T ~4,634 51 85 HD 530 ~$20 – $35

Intel Destkop/Workstation X-series CPUs:

10th Gen - Cascade Lake-X (HEDT):
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Turbo Power (W) iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Intel Core i9-10980XE 18C / 36T ~32,784 165 190 None ~$450 – $650
Intel Core i9-10940X 14C / 28T ~27,907 165 190 None ~$300 – $400
Intel Core i9-10920X 12C / 24T ~26,076 165 190 None ~$250 – $330
Intel Core i9-10900X 10C / 20T ~22,472 165 190 None ~$200 – $280
9th Gen - Skylake-X Refresh (HEDT):
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Turbo Power (W) iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Intel Core i9-9980XE 18C / 36T ~32,341 165 190 None ~$400 – $600
Intel Core i9-9960X 16C / 32T ~29,882 165 190 None ~$300 – $420
Intel Core i9-9940X 14C / 28T ~27,183 165 190 None ~$250 – $350
Intel Core i9-9920X 12C / 24T ~24,567 165 190 None ~$200 – $280
Intel Core i9-9900X 10C / 20T ~21,853 165 190 None ~$150 – $220
Intel Core i7-9800X 8C / 16T ~18,036 165 190 None ~$100 – $150
7th & 8th Gen - Skylake-X / Kaby Lake-X (HEDT):
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Turbo Power (W) iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Intel Core i9-7980XE 18C / 36T ~31,947 165 190 None ~$350 – $500
Intel Core i9-7960X 16C / 32T ~28,862 165 190 None ~$250 – $350
Intel Core i9-7940X 14C / 28T ~26,401 165 190 None ~$220 – $300
Intel Core i9-7920X 12C / 24T ~22,991 140 165 None ~$180 – $250
Intel Core i9-7900X 10C / 20T ~21,092 140 165 None ~$150 – $220
Intel Core i7-7820X 8C / 16T ~17,227 140 165 None ~$120 – $170
Intel Core i7-7800X 6C / 12T ~12,882 140 165 None ~$80 – $120

Intel XEON Server/Workstation CPUs:

Granite Rapids-WS (Upcoming Xeon W-600 Series)
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Turbo Power (W) L3 Cache Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Intel Xeon 698X 86C / 172T [Not yet available] 350 ~500 336 MB Not yet available (Engineering sample)
Intel Xeon 696X 64C / 128T ~112,888 350 ~450-500 336 MB Not yet available (Engineering sample)
Intel Xeon 678X TBD [Not yet available] 350 TBD 192 MB Not yet available (Engineering sample)
Intel Xeon 676X TBD [Not yet available] 350 TBD 144 MB Not yet available (Engineering sample)
Intel Xeon 674X TBD [Not yet available] 350 TBD 144 MB Not yet available (Engineering sample)
Intel Xeon 658X TBD [Not yet available] 350 TBD 144 MB Not yet available (Engineering sample)
Intel Xeon 656 TBD [Not yet available] TBD TBD 72 MB Not yet available (Engineering sample)
Intel Xeon 654 18C / 36T ~61,351 TBD TBD 72 MB Not yet available (Expected ~$1300 new)
Intel Xeon 638 TBD [Not yet available] TBD TBD 72 MB Not yet available (Engineering sample)
Intel Xeon 636 TBD [Not yet available] TBD TBD 48 MB Not yet available (Engineering sample)
Intel Xeon 634 TBD [Not yet available] TBD TBD 48 MB Not yet available (Engineering sample)
Sapphire Rapids-WS (Xeon W-3400) - Socket 4677
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Turbo Power (W) L3 Cache Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Intel Xeon w9-3495X 56C / 112T ~96,443 350 420 105 MB ~$4,500 – $6,000
Intel Xeon w9-3475X 36C / 72T ~74,000 300 360 82.5 MB ~$3,200 – $4,200
Intel Xeon w7-3465X 28C / 56T ~55,297 300 360 75 MB ~$2,800 – $3,500
Intel Xeon w7-3455 24C / 48T ~48,000 270 324 67.5 MB ~$2,200 – $2,900
Intel Xeon w7-3445 20C / 40T ~42,000 270 324 52.5 MB ~$1,800 – $2,400
Intel Xeon w5-3435X 16C / 32T ~35,000 270 324 45 MB ~$1,400 – $1,900
Intel Xeon w5-3425 12C / 24T ~28,000 270 324 30 MB ~$1,100 – $1,500
Sapphire Rapids-WS (Xeon W-2400) - Socket 4677
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Turbo Power (W) L3 Cache Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Intel Xeon w7-2495X 24C / 48T ~45,000 225 270 45 MB ~$2,100 – $2,700
Intel Xeon w7-2475X 20C / 40T ~39,000 225 270 37.5 MB ~$1,800 – $2,300
Intel Xeon w5-2465X 16C / 32T ~33,000 200 240 33.75 MB ~$1,400 – $1,900
Intel Xeon w5-2455X 12C / 24T ~27,000 200 240 30 MB ~$1,100 – $1,500
Intel Xeon w5-2445 10C / 20T ~23,000 175 210 26.25 MB ~$900 – $1,200
Intel Xeon w3-2435 8C / 16T ~19,000 165 198 22.5 MB ~$700 – $950
Intel Xeon w3-2423 6C / 12T ~14,500 120 144 15 MB ~$350 – $500
Xeon Platinum (3rd & 4th Gen Scalable)
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Socket L3 Cache Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Xeon Platinum 8376H 28C / 56T ~38,000 205 LGA4189 38.5 MB ~$6,000 – $6,500
Xeon Gold 6544Y 16C / 32T ~29,000 270 LGA4677 45 MB ~$3,400 – $3,800
Xeon E5 v4 (Broadwell-EP) - LGA2011-3
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo L3 Cache Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Xeon E5-2699 v4 22C / 44T ~26,598 145 2.2 / 3.6 GHz 55 MB ~$350 – $500
Xeon E5-2698 v4 20C / 40T ~24,717 135 2.2 / 3.6 GHz 50 MB ~$300 – $450
Xeon E5-2697A v4 16C / 32T ~21,675 145 2.6 / 3.6 GHz 40 MB ~$250 – $350
Xeon E5-2680 v4 14C / 28T ~19,142 120 2.4 / 3.3 GHz 35 MB ~$180 – $260
Xeon E5-2660 v4 14C / 28T ~18,500 105 2.0 / 3.2 GHz 35 MB ~$150 – $220
Xeon E5-2650L v4 14C / 28T ~17,800 65 1.7 / 2.9 GHz 35 MB ~$140 – $200 (Low-power)
Xeon E5-2637 v4 4C / 8T ~8,500 135 3.5 / 3.7 GHz 15 MB ~$40 – $70
Xeon E5-2623 v4 4C / 8T ~7,800 85 2.6 / 3.2 GHz 10 MB ~$35 – $60
Xeon E5 v1 (Sandy Bridge-EP) - LGA2011
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo L3 Cache Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Xeon E5-2690 8C / 16T ~13,634 135 2.9 / 3.8 GHz 20 MB ~$35 – $50
Xeon E5-2680 8C / 16T ~13,059 130 2.7 / 3.5 GHz 20 MB ~$30 – $45
Xeon E5-2670 8C / 16T ~12,258 115 2.6 / 3.3 GHz 20 MB ~$25 – $40 (Classic homelab favorite)
Xeon E5-2665 8C / 16T ~11,894 115 2.4 / 3.1 GHz 20 MB ~$25 – $35
Xeon E5-2660 8C / 16T ~10,852 95 2.2 / 3.0 GHz 20 MB ~$20 – $30
Xeon E5-2650 8C / 16T ~10,215 95 2.0 / 2.8 GHz 20 MB ~$18 – $25
Xeon E5-2643 4C / 8T ~5,210 130 3.3 / 3.5 GHz 10 MB ~$15 – $25
Xeon E5-2620 6C / 12T ~7,344 95 2.0 / 2.5 GHz 15 MB ~$15 – $20
Xeon E5 v2 (Ivy Bridge-EP) - LGA2011
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo L3 Cache Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Xeon E5-2697 v2 12C / 24T ~22,852 130 2.7 / 3.5 GHz 30 MB ~$70 – $100
Xeon E5-2695 v2 12C / 24T ~22,021 115 2.4 / 3.2 GHz 30 MB ~$60 – $85
Xeon E5-2690 v2 10C / 20T ~19,550 130 3.0 / 3.6 GHz 25 MB ~$50 – $75
Xeon E5-2680 v2 10C / 20T ~19,134 115 2.8 / 3.6 GHz 25 MB ~$45 – $65
Xeon E5-2670 v2 10C / 20T ~17,967 115 2.5 / 3.3 GHz 25 MB ~$40 – $55
Xeon E5-2667 v2 8C / 16T ~15,818 130 3.3 / 4.0 GHz 25 MB ~$35 – $50 (High clock, great for gaming)
Xeon E5-2650 v2 8C / 16T ~14,734 95 2.6 / 3.4 GHz 20 MB ~$30 – $45
Xeon E5-2640 v2 8C / 16T ~13,421 95 2.0 / 2.5 GHz 20 MB ~$25 – $35
Xeon E5-2630 v2 6C / 12T ~9,971 80 2.6 / 3.1 GHz 15 MB ~$20 – $30
Xeon E5-2620 v2 6C / 12T ~9,275 80 2.1 / 2.6 GHz 15 MB ~$18 – $25
Xeon E5-2609 v2 4C / 4T ~6,844 80 2.5 GHz (no turbo) 10 MB ~$10 – $15
Xeon E5 v3 (Haswell-EP) - LGA2011-3
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo L3 Cache Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Xeon E5-2699 v3 18C / 36T ~28,781 145 2.3 / 3.6 GHz 45 MB ~$150 – $220
Xeon E5-2698 v3 16C / 32T ~27,186 135 2.3 / 3.6 GHz 40 MB ~$130 – $180
Xeon E5-2697 v3 14C / 28T ~24,773 145 2.6 / 3.6 GHz 35 MB ~$110 – $160
Xeon E5-2690 v3 12C / 24T ~22,426 135 2.6 / 3.5 GHz 30 MB ~$90 – $130
Xeon E5-2683 v3 14C / 28T ~23,541 120 2.0 / 3.0 GHz 35 MB ~$80 – $120 (Great multi-thread value)
Xeon E5-2680 v3 12C / 24T ~21,502 120 2.5 / 3.3 GHz 30 MB ~$70 – $100
Xeon E5-2670 v3 12C / 24T ~20,433 120 2.3 / 3.1 GHz 30 MB ~$60 – $85
Xeon E5-2667 v3 8C / 16T ~16,989 135 3.2 / 3.6 GHz 20 MB ~$50 – $75 (High clock)
Xeon E5-2650 v3 10C / 20T ~17,620 105 2.3 / 3.0 GHz 25 MB ~$45 – $65
Xeon E5-2640 v3 8C / 16T ~14,588 90 2.6 / 3.4 GHz 20 MB ~$35 – $50
Xeon E5-2630 v3 8C / 16T ~13,645 85 2.4 / 3.2 GHz 20 MB ~$30 – $40
Xeon E5-2620 v3 6C / 12T ~7,790 85 2.4 / 3.2 GHz 15 MB ~$20 – $30
Xeon E5-4640 v3 12C / 24T ~10,372 105 1.9 / 2.6 GHz 30 MB ~$40 – $60 (Quad-socket capable)
Xeon E3-1200 Series (Sandy Bridge to Haswell) - LGA1155/LGA1150
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo L3 Cache Socket Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Xeon E3-1290 v2 4C / 8T ~9,935 87 3.7 / 4.1 GHz 8 MB LGA1155 ~$50 – $70
Xeon E3-1280 v2 4C / 8T ~9,651 69 3.6 / 4.0 GHz 8 MB LGA1155 ~$45 – $60
Xeon E3-1270 v2 4C / 8T ~9,359 69 3.5 / 3.9 GHz 8 MB LGA1155 ~$40 – $55
Xeon E3-1230 v2 4C / 8T ~8,951 69 3.3 / 3.7 GHz 8 MB LGA1155 ~$30 – $45
Xeon E3-1220 v2 4C / 4T ~6,750 69 3.1 / 3.5 GHz 8 MB LGA1155 ~$20 – $30
Xeon E3-1280 v3 4C / 8T ~10,752 82 3.6 / 4.0 GHz 8 MB LGA1150 ~$50 – $70
Xeon E3-1270 v3 4C / 8T ~10,516 80 3.5 / 3.9 GHz 8 MB LGA1150 ~$45 – $60
Xeon E3-1240 v3 4C / 8T ~10,165 80 3.4 / 3.8 GHz 8 MB LGA1150 ~$40 – $55
Xeon E3-1230 v3 4C / 8T ~9,989 80 3.3 / 3.7 GHz 8 MB LGA1150 ~$35 – $50
Xeon E3-1220 v3 4C / 4T ~7,425 80 3.1 / 3.5 GHz 8 MB LGA1150 ~$20 – $30

Intel Laptop CPUs:

14th Gen - Raptor Lake Refresh / Arrow Lake Mobile:
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Intel Core i9-14900HX 24C / 32T ~43,427 - 45,250 55-157 2.4 / 5.8 GHz UHD Graphics ~$450 – $600
Intel Core i7-14700HX 20C / 28T ~36,643 55-157 2.3 / 5.5 GHz UHD Graphics ~$350 – $480
Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 16C / 22T ~29,831 28-115 1.4 / 4.8 GHz Arc Graphics ~$400 – $550 (Meteor Lake)
Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX 14C / 14T ~40,122 55-160 2.5 / 5.1 GHz Arc Graphics Not yet available (Arrow Lake-HX)
Intel Core i5-14600HX 14C / 20T ~32,000 55-157 2.3 / 5.2 GHz UHD Graphics ~$250 – $350
13th Gen - Raptor Lake Mobile:
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Intel Core i9-13980HX 24C / 32T ~51,837 - 54,483 55-157 2.2 / 5.6 GHz UHD Graphics ~$500 – $650
Intel Core i9-13950HX 24C / 32T ~41,634 55-157 2.2 / 5.5 GHz UHD Graphics ~$450 – $600
Intel Core i9-13900HX 24C / 32T ~51,739 55-157 2.2 / 5.4 GHz UHD Graphics ~$400 – $550
Intel Core i7-13850HX 20C / 28T ~38,073 55-157 2.1 / 5.3 GHz UHD Graphics ~$350 – $480
Intel Core i7-13700HX 16C / 24T ~32,985 55-157 2.1 / 5.0 GHz UHD Graphics ~$300 – $420
Intel Core i7-13700H 14C / 20T ~27,160 45-115 2.4 / 5.0 GHz Iris Xe Graphics ~$250 – $350
Intel Core i5-13600HX 14C / 20T ~28,078 55-157 2.6 / 5.0 GHz UHD Graphics ~$220 – $300
Intel Core i5-13500H 12C / 16T ~22,790 45-95 2.6 / 4.7 GHz Iris Xe Graphics ~$180 – $250
Intel Core i5-13420H 8C / 12T ~18,500 45-95 2.1 / 4.6 GHz UHD Graphics ~$150 – $200
Intel Core i3-13100H 4C / 8T ~12,500 45-95 2.5 / 4.5 GHz UHD Graphics ~$100 – $150
12th Gen - Alder Lake Mobile:
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Intel Core i9-12950HX 16C / 24T ~33,651 55-157 2.3 / 5.0 GHz UHD Graphics ~$300 – $400
Intel Core i9-12900H 14C / 20T ~26,800 45-115 2.5 / 5.0 GHz Iris Xe Graphics ~$250 – $350
Intel Core i7-12850HX 16C / 24T ~35,000 55-157 2.1 / 4.8 GHz UHD Graphics ~$250 – $350
Intel Core i7-12800H 14C / 20T ~28,000 45-115 2.4 / 4.8 GHz Iris Xe Graphics ~$200 – $280
Intel Core i7-12700H 14C / 20T ~24,894 45-115 2.3 / 4.7 GHz Iris Xe Graphics ~$180 – $250
Intel Core i5-12600H 12C / 16T ~22,000 45-95 2.7 / 4.5 GHz Iris Xe Graphics ~$150 – $200
Intel Core i5-12500H 12C / 16T ~21,625 45-95 2.5 / 4.5 GHz Iris Xe Graphics ~$130 – $180
Intel Core i5-12450H 8C / 12T ~15,643 45-95 2.0 / 4.4 GHz UHD Graphics ~$110 – $150
Intel Core i3-1220P 10C / 12T ~14,500 28-64 1.5 / 4.4 GHz UHD Graphics ~$80 – $120
Intel Core i3-1215U 6C / 8T ~9,500 15-55 1.2 / 4.4 GHz UHD Graphics ~$50 – $80
11th Gen - Tiger Lake / Rocket Lake Mobile:
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Intel Core i9-11980HK 8C / 16T ~22,781 45-65 2.6 / 5.0 GHz UHD Graphics ~$300 – $400
Intel Core i9-11900H 8C / 16T ~21,963 45-65 2.5 / 4.9 GHz UHD Graphics ~$250 – $350
Intel Core i7-11850H 8C / 16T ~20,911 45-65 2.5 / 4.8 GHz UHD Graphics ~$200 – $280
Intel Core i7-11800H 8C / 16T ~20,254 45-65 2.3 / 4.6 GHz UHD Graphics ~$180 – $250
Intel Core i5-11400H 6C / 12T ~15,261 45-65 2.7 / 4.5 GHz UHD Graphics ~$120 – $170
Intel Core i5-11300H 4C / 8T ~10,629 28-35 3.1 / 4.4 GHz Iris Xe Graphics ~$90 – $130
Intel Core i7-1165G7 4C / 8T ~9,947 12-28 2.8 / 4.7 GHz Iris Xe Graphics ~$100 – $150 (Ultrabook)
Intel Core i5-1135G7 4C / 8T ~8,493 12-28 2.4 / 4.2 GHz Iris Xe Graphics ~$70 – $110
Intel Core i3-1115G4 2C / 4T ~4,709 12-28 3.0 / 4.1 GHz UHD Graphics ~$40 – $60
10th Gen - Comet Lake / Ice Lake Mobile:
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Intel Core i9-10980HK 8C / 16T ~17,773 45-65 2.4 / 5.3 GHz UHD Graphics ~$250 – $350
Intel Core i7-10870H 8C / 16T ~16,155 45 2.2 / 5.0 GHz UHD Graphics ~$150 – $220
Intel Core i7-10750H 6C / 12T ~13,496 45 2.6 / 5.0 GHz UHD Graphics ~$120 – $180
Intel Core i5-10400H 4C / 8T ~8,759 45 2.6 / 4.6 GHz UHD Graphics ~$80 – $120
Intel Core i5-10300H 4C / 8T ~8,045 45 2.5 / 4.5 GHz UHD Graphics ~$60 – $90
Intel Core i7-1065G7 4C / 8T ~7,764 15-25 1.3 / 3.9 GHz Iris Plus ~$70 – $100 (Ice Lake)
Intel Core i5-1035G1 4C / 8T ~6,721 15-25 1.0 / 3.6 GHz UHD Graphics ~$50 – $75
Intel Core i3-1005G1 2C / 4T ~3,805 15-25 1.2 / 3.4 GHz UHD Graphics ~$30 – $45
9th Gen - Coffee Lake Refresh Mobile:
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Intel Core i9-9980HK 8C / 16T ~16,135 45 2.4 / 5.0 GHz UHD 630 ~$200 – $280
Intel Core i7-9850H 6C / 12T ~12,469 45 2.6 / 4.6 GHz UHD 630 ~$120 – $170
Intel Core i7-9750H 6C / 12T ~12,043 45 2.6 / 4.5 GHz UHD 630 ~$100 – $150
Intel Core i5-9400H 4C / 8T ~8,053 45 2.5 / 4.3 GHz UHD 630 ~$60 – $90
Intel Core i5-9300H 4C / 8T ~7,365 45 2.4 / 4.1 GHz UHD 630 ~$50 – $75
Intel Core i7-8565U 4C / 8T ~7,346 15 1.8 / 4.6 GHz UHD 620 ~$50 – $80 (Ultrabook)
Intel Core i5-8265U 4C / 8T ~6,442 15 1.6 / 3.9 GHz UHD 620 ~$40 – $60
Intel Core i3-8145U 2C / 4T ~3,528 15 2.1 / 3.9 GHz UHD 620 ~$25 – $35
8th Gen - Coffee Lake / Whiskey Lake Mobile:
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Intel Core i7-8850H 6C / 12T ~12,332 45 2.6 / 4.3 GHz UHD 630 ~$70 – $100
Intel Core i7-8750H 6C / 12T ~11,691 45 2.2 / 4.1 GHz UHD 630 ~$60 – $90
Intel Core i5-8400H 4C / 8T ~7,723 45 2.5 / 4.2 GHz UHD 630 ~$45 – $65
Intel Core i5-8300H 4C / 8T ~7,156 45 2.3 / 4.0 GHz UHD 630 ~$40 – $55
Intel Core i7-8650U 4C / 8T ~6,927 15 1.9 / 4.2 GHz UHD 620 ~$40 – $60 (Ultrabook)
Intel Core i7-8550U 4C / 8T ~6,446 15 1.8 / 4.0 GHz UHD 620 ~$35 – $50
Intel Core i5-8350U 4C / 8T ~5,990 15 1.7 / 3.6 GHz UHD 620 ~$30 – $45
Intel Core i5-8250U 4C / 8T ~5,757 15 1.6 / 3.4 GHz UHD 620 ~$25 – $40
7th Gen - Kaby Lake Mobile:
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Intel Core i7-7920HQ 4C / 8T ~8,630 45 3.1 / 4.1 GHz HD 630 ~$60 – $90
Intel Core i7-7820HQ 4C / 8T ~8,365 45 2.9 / 3.9 GHz HD 630 ~$50 – $75
Intel Core i7-7700HQ 4C / 8T ~8,103 45 2.8 / 3.8 GHz HD 630 ~$45 – $65
Intel Core i5-7440HQ 4C / 4T ~5,756 45 2.8 / 3.8 GHz HD 630 ~$30 – $45
Intel Core i5-7300HQ 4C / 4T ~5,526 45 2.5 / 3.5 GHz HD 630 ~$25 – $40
Intel Core i7-7660U 2C / 4T ~5,042 15 2.5 / 4.0 GHz Iris Plus 640 ~$30 – $45 (Ultrabook)
Intel Core i7-7600U 2C / 4T ~4,486 15 2.8 / 3.9 GHz HD 620 ~$25 – $40
Intel Core i5-7300U 2C / 4T ~3,976 15 2.6 / 3.5 GHz HD 620 ~$20 – $30
Intel Core i3-7100U 2C / 4T ~3,174 15 2.4 GHz (no turbo) HD 620 ~$15 – $25
6th Gen - Skylake Mobile:
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Intel Core i7-6920HQ 4C / 8T ~7,825 45 2.9 / 3.8 GHz HD 530 ~$40 – $60
Intel Core i7-6820HQ 4C / 8T ~7,469 45 2.7 / 3.6 GHz HD 530 ~$35 – $50
Intel Core i7-6700HQ 4C / 8T ~7,093 45 2.6 / 3.5 GHz HD 530 ~$30 – $45
Intel Core i5-6440HQ 4C / 4T ~5,245 45 2.6 / 3.5 GHz HD 530 ~$20 – $30
Intel Core i5-6300HQ 4C / 4T ~5,023 45 2.3 / 3.2 GHz HD 530 ~$18 – $25
Intel Core i7-6600U 2C / 4T ~3,913 15 2.6 / 3.4 GHz HD 520 ~$20 – $30 (Ultrabook)
Intel Core i7-6500U 2C / 4T ~3,776 15 2.5 / 3.1 GHz HD 520 ~$18 – $25
Intel Core i5-6300U 2C / 4T ~3,215 15 2.4 / 3.0 GHz HD 520 ~$15 – $22
Intel Core i5-6200U 2C / 4T ~3,045 15 2.3 / 2.8 GHz HD 520 ~$12 – $18
Intel Core i3-6100U 2C / 4T ~2,632 15 2.3 GHz (no turbo) HD 520 ~$10 – $15
AMD:

AMD Desktop CPUs:

Ryzen 9000 Series (Granite Ridge) - AM5
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
AMD Ryzen 9 9950X 16C / 32T ~66,021 170 4.3 / 5.7 GHz Radeon Graphics ~$550 – $650
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X 12C / 24T ~49,392 120 4.4 / 5.6 GHz Radeon Graphics ~$380 – $450
AMD Ryzen 7 9700X 8C / 16T ~32,643 65 3.8 / 5.5 GHz Radeon Graphics ~$280 – $350
AMD Ryzen 5 9600X 6C / 12T ~30,032 65 3.9 / 5.4 GHz Radeon Graphics ~$180 – $230
Ryzen 7000 Series (Raphael) - AM5
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X 16C / 32T ~62,457 170 4.5 / 5.7 GHz Radeon Graphics ~$450 – $550
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D 16C / 32T ~62,595 120 4.2 / 5.7 GHz Radeon Graphics ~$500 – $600
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X 12C / 24T ~48,233 170 4.7 / 5.6 GHz Radeon Graphics ~$320 – $400
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D 12C / 24T ~49,019 120 4.4 / 5.6 GHz Radeon Graphics ~$380 – $450
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 8C / 16T ~35,047 120 4.2 / 5.0 GHz Radeon Graphics ~$350 – $420 (Excellent for gaming)
AMD Ryzen 7 7700X 8C / 16T ~35,170 105 4.5 / 5.4 GHz Radeon Graphics ~$220 – $280
AMD Ryzen 7 7700 8C / 16T ~31,821 65 3.8 / 5.3 GHz Radeon Graphics ~$200 – $260
AMD Ryzen 5 7600X 6C / 12T ~24,952 105 4.7 / 5.3 GHz Radeon Graphics ~$150 – $200
AMD Ryzen 5 7600 6C / 12T ~23,587 65 3.8 / 5.1 GHz Radeon Graphics ~$140 – $190
AMD Ryzen 5 7500F 6C / 12T ~22,850 65 3.7 / 5.0 GHz None ~$120 – $160
Ryzen 5000 Series (Vermeer) - AM4
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
AMD Ryzen 9 5950X 16C / 32T ~45,564 105 3.4 / 4.9 GHz None ~$300 – $380
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12C / 24T ~39,196 105 3.7 / 4.8 GHz None ~$220 – $280
AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12C / 24T ~35,328 65 3.0 / 4.7 GHz None ~$200 – $260
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D 8C / 16T ~31,596 105 3.4 / 4.5 GHz None ~$250 – $320 (Excellent for gaming)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 8C / 16T ~27,736 105 3.8 / 4.7 GHz None ~$160 – $220
AMD Ryzen 7 5700X 8C / 16T ~25,954 65 3.4 / 4.6 GHz None ~$140 – $190
AMD Ryzen 7 5700G 8C / 16T ~23,991 65 3.8 / 4.6 GHz Radeon Vega 8 ~$150 – $200 (APU - good iGPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 6C / 12T ~21,544 65 3.7 / 4.6 GHz None ~$100 – $140
AMD Ryzen 5 5600 6C / 12T ~21,249 65 3.5 / 4.4 GHz None ~$90 – $130
AMD Ryzen 5 5500 6C / 12T ~18,498 65 3.6 / 4.2 GHz None ~$70 – $100
AMD Ryzen 3 5300G 4C / 8T ~12,931 65 4.0 / 4.2 GHz Radeon Vega 6 ~$60 – $85
Ryzen 3000 Series (Matisse) - AM4
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16C / 32T ~34,559 105 3.5 / 4.7 GHz None ~$250 – $320
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12C / 24T ~29,755 105 3.8 / 4.6 GHz None ~$180 – $240
AMD Ryzen 9 3900XT 12C / 24T ~30,636 105 3.8 / 4.7 GHz None ~$190 – $250
AMD Ryzen 7 3800X 8C / 16T ~21,682 105 3.9 / 4.5 GHz None ~$120 – $160
AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT 8C / 16T ~22,348 105 3.9 / 4.7 GHz None ~$130 – $170
AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8C / 16T ~20,735 65 3.6 / 4.4 GHz None ~$100 – $140
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 6C / 12T ~17,601 95 3.8 / 4.4 GHz None ~$70 – $100
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 6C / 12T ~17,060 65 3.6 / 4.2 GHz None ~$60 – $85
AMD Ryzen 5 3500X 6C / 6T ~13,476 65 3.6 / 4.1 GHz None ~$50 – $70
AMD Ryzen 3 3300X 4C / 8T ~10,342 65 3.8 / 4.3 GHz None ~$40 – $55
AMD Ryzen 3 3100 4C / 8T ~9,303 65 3.6 / 3.9 GHz None ~$35 – $50
Ryzen 2000 Series (Pinnacle Ridge) - AM4
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 8C / 16T ~16,438 105 3.7 / 4.3 GHz None ~$80 – $120
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 8C / 16T ~14,722 65 3.2 / 4.1 GHz None ~$70 – $100
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 6C / 12T ~13,493 95 3.6 / 4.2 GHz None ~$50 – $75
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 6C / 12T ~12,465 65 3.4 / 3.9 GHz None ~$40 – $60
AMD Ryzen 5 2400G 4C / 8T ~9,114 65 3.6 / 3.9 GHz Radeon Vega 11 ~$50 – $75 (APU - good iGPU)
AMD Ryzen 3 2300X 4C / 4T ~7,442 65 3.5 / 4.0 GHz None ~$25 – $40
AMD Ryzen 3 2200G 4C / 4T ~6,285 65 3.5 / 3.7 GHz Radeon Vega 8 ~$30 – $45 (APU)
Ryzen 1000 Series (Summit Ridge) - AM4
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
AMD Ryzen 7 1800X 8C / 16T ~14,406 95 3.6 / 4.0 GHz None ~$60 – $90
AMD Ryzen 7 1700X 8C / 16T ~13,684 95 3.4 / 3.8 GHz None ~$50 – $75
AMD Ryzen 7 1700 8C / 16T ~13,020 65 3.0 / 3.7 GHz None ~$45 – $65
AMD Ryzen 5 1600X 6C / 12T ~11,189 95 3.6 / 4.0 GHz None ~$35 – $50
AMD Ryzen 5 1600 6C / 12T ~10,428 65 3.2 / 3.6 GHz None ~$30 – $45
AMD Ryzen 5 1500X 4C / 8T ~8,514 65 3.5 / 3.7 GHz None ~$25 – $35
AMD Ryzen 5 1400 4C / 8T ~7,413 65 3.2 / 3.4 GHz None ~$20 – $30
AMD Ryzen 3 1300X 4C / 4T ~6,142 65 3.5 / 3.7 GHz None ~$18 – $25
AMD Ryzen 3 1200 4C / 4T ~5,466 65 3.1 / 3.4 GHz None ~$15 – $22
AMD FX Series (Bulldozer / Piledriver) - AM3+
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
AMD FX-9590 8C / 8T ~8,486 220 4.7 / 5.0 GHz None ~$40 – $60
AMD FX-9370 8C / 8T ~7,879 220 4.4 / 4.7 GHz None ~$35 – $50
AMD FX-8350 8C / 8T ~6,942 125 4.0 / 4.2 GHz None ~$25 – $40
AMD FX-8320 8C / 8T ~6,582 125 3.5 / 4.0 GHz None ~$20 – $30
AMD FX-8300 8C / 8T ~6,554 95 3.3 / 4.2 GHz None ~$18 – $25
AMD FX-6350 6C / 6T ~5,799 125 3.9 / 4.2 GHz None ~$15 – $22
AMD FX-6300 6C / 6T ~5,195 95 3.5 / 4.1 GHz None ~$12 – $18
AMD FX-4350 4C / 4T ~4,098 125 4.2 / 4.3 GHz None ~$10 – $15
AMD FX-4300 4C / 4T ~3,745 95 3.8 / 4.0 GHz None ~$8 – $12
AMD Phenom II Series (K10) - AM3
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base Clock iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
AMD Phenom II X6 1100T 6C / 6T ~4,761 125 3.3 GHz None ~$20 – $30
AMD Phenom II X6 1090T 6C / 6T ~4,534 125 3.2 GHz None ~$18 – $25
AMD Phenom II X6 1075T 6C / 6T ~4,171 125 3.0 GHz None ~$15 – $22
AMD Phenom II X4 980 4C / 4T ~3,636 125 3.7 GHz None ~$12 – $18
AMD Phenom II X4 970 4C / 4T ~3,311 125 3.5 GHz None ~$10 – $15
AMD Phenom II X4 965 4C / 4T ~3,186 125 3.4 GHz None ~$8 – $12
AMD Phenom II X4 955 4C / 4T ~3,005 125 3.2 GHz None ~$7 – $10
AMD Phenom II X4 945 4C / 4T ~2,877 95 3.0 GHz None ~$6 – $9
AMD Phenom II X3 740 3C / 3T ~2,088 95 3.0 GHz None ~$5 – $8
AMD Phenom II X2 565 2C / 2T ~1,500 (est.) 80 3.4 GHz None ~$4 – $6

AMD Server / Workstation CPUs:

EPYC 9004 Series (Genoa / Bergamo) - SP5
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo Socket L3 Cache Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Dual AMD EPYC 9754 256C / 512T ~116,049 720 2.25 / 3.1 GHz SP5 768 MB ~$12,000 – $15,000
Dual AMD EPYC 9654 192C / 384T ~102,265 720 2.4 / 3.7 GHz SP5 768 MB ~$10,000 – $13,000
AMD EPYC 9754 128C / 256T ~94,745 360 2.25 / 3.1 GHz SP5 384 MB ~$6,500 – $8,500
Dual AMD EPYC 9R14 192C / 192T ~93,994 720 2.6 / 3.7 GHz SP5 768 MB ~$9,500 – $12,000
Dual AMD EPYC 9554 128C / 256T ~109,242 720 3.1 / 3.75 GHz SP5 512 MB ~$8,500 – $11,000
AMD EPYC 9654 96C / 192T ~124,119 360 2.4 / 3.7 GHz SP5 384 MB ~$5,500 – $7,500
AMD EPYC 9554 64C / 128T ~74,473 360 3.1 / 3.75 GHz SP5 256 MB ~$3,800 – $5,000
AMD EPYC 9534 64C / 128T ~65,204 280 2.45 / 3.7 GHz SP5 256 MB ~$3,200 – $4,200
AMD EPYC 9374F 32C / 64T ~48,320 320 3.85 / 4.1 GHz SP5 256 MB ~$2,500 – $3,200
AMD EPYC 9354 32C / 64T ~46,562 280 3.25 / 3.8 GHz SP5 256 MB ~$2,000 – $2,700
AMD EPYC 9254 24C / 48T ~35,810 200 2.9 / 4.15 GHz SP5 128 MB ~$1,400 – $1,900
AMD EPYC 9174F 16C / 32T ~32,009 320 4.1 / 4.4 GHz SP5 256 MB ~$1,500 – $2,000
AMD EPYC 9124 16C / 32T ~27,077 200 3.0 / 3.7 GHz SP5 64 MB ~$800 – $1,200
EPYC 7003 Series (Milan) - SP3
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo Socket L3 Cache Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Dual AMD EPYC 7R13 96C / 192T ~70,382 450 2.65 / 3.3 GHz SP3 192 MB ~$4,500 – $6,000
AMD EPYC 7763 64C / 128T ~58,955 280 2.45 / 3.5 GHz SP3 256 MB ~$2,500 – $3,500
AMD EPYC 7713 64C / 128T ~54,805 225 2.0 / 3.675 GHz SP3 256 MB ~$2,200 – $3,000
AMD EPYC 75F3 32C / 64T ~44,618 280 2.95 / 4.0 GHz SP3 256 MB ~$1,800 – $2,400
AMD EPYC 7543 32C / 64T ~42,490 225 2.8 / 3.7 GHz SP3 256 MB ~$1,500 – $2,000
AMD EPYC 7513 32C / 64T ~40,168 200 2.6 / 3.65 GHz SP3 128 MB ~$1,200 – $1,700
AMD EPYC 7443 24C / 48T ~33,442 200 2.85 / 4.0 GHz SP3 128 MB ~$900 – $1,300
AMD EPYC 7413 24C / 48T ~31,661 180 2.65 / 3.6 GHz SP3 128 MB ~$800 – $1,100
AMD EPYC 7343 16C / 32T ~25,775 190 3.2 / 3.9 GHz SP3 128 MB ~$600 – $900
AMD EPYC 7313 16C / 32T ~24,439 155 3.0 / 3.7 GHz SP3 128 MB ~$500 – $750
AMD EPYC 7R13 48C / 96T [Not available on Passmark] 225 2.65 GHz SP3 48 MB ~$1,500 – $2,200
EPYC 7002 Series (Rome) - SP3
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo Socket L3 Cache Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
AMD EPYC 7H12 64C / 128T ~51,187 280 2.6 / 3.3 GHz SP3 256 MB ~$1,800 – $2,500
AMD EPYC 7742 64C / 128T ~49,760 225 2.25 / 3.4 GHz SP3 256 MB ~$1,500 – $2,200
AMD EPYC 7702 64C / 128T ~47,150 200 2.0 / 3.35 GHz SP3 256 MB ~$1,300 – $1,900
AMD EPYC 7F72 24C / 48T ~28,421 240 3.2 / 3.7 GHz SP3 192 MB ~$700 – $1,000
AMD EPYC 7502 32C / 64T ~28,117 180 2.5 / 3.35 GHz SP3 128 MB ~$600 – $900
AMD EPYC 7452 32C / 64T ~26,340 155 2.35 / 3.35 GHz SP3 128 MB ~$500 – $750
AMD EPYC 7402 24C / 48T ~22,753 180 2.8 / 3.35 GHz SP3 128 MB ~$400 – $600
AMD EPYC 7302 16C / 32T ~18,511 155 3.0 / 3.3 GHz SP3 128 MB ~$250 – $400
AMD EPYC 7282 16C / 32T ~17,826 120 2.8 / 3.2 GHz SP3 64 MB ~$200 – $300
AMD EPYC 7262 8C / 16T ~13,875 155 3.2 / 3.4 GHz SP3 128 MB ~$150 – $220
EPYC 7001 Series (Naples) - SP3
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo Socket L3 Cache Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
Dual AMD EPYC 7601 64C / 128T ~37,945 360 2.2 / 2.7 GHz SP3 128 MB ~$500 – $700
AMD EPYC 7601 32C / 64T ~22,676 180 2.2 / 2.7 GHz SP3 64 MB ~$250 – $350
Dual AMD EPYC 7551 64C / 128T ~32,069 360 2.0 / 2.55 GHz SP3 128 MB ~$400 – $550
AMD EPYC 7551 32C / 64T ~19,868 180 2.0 / 2.55 GHz SP3 64 MB ~$200 – $280
Dual AMD EPYC 7501 64C / 128T ~31,487 340 2.0 / 2.6 GHz SP3 128 MB ~$350 – $500
AMD EPYC 7501 32C / 64T ~19,313 170 2.0 / 2.6 GHz SP3 64 MB ~$180 – $250
Dual AMD EPYC 7401 48C / 96T ~55,293 340 2.0 / 3.0 GHz SP3 128 MB ~$300 – $400
AMD EPYC 7401 24C / 48T ~17,263 170 2.0 / 3.0 GHz SP3 64 MB ~$150 – $200
AMD EPYC 7371 16C / 32T ~28,345 200 3.1 / 3.8 GHz SP3 64 MB ~$180 – $250 (High clock)
AMD EPYC 7281 16C / 32T ~14,439 155 2.1 / 2.7 GHz SP3 32 MB ~$100 – $150
AMD EPYC 7251 8C / 16T ~8,126 120 2.1 / 2.9 GHz SP3 32 MB ~$60 – $90
Opteron 6300 Series (Warsaw / Abu Dhabi) - G34
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo Socket L3 Cache Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
AMD Opteron 6386 SE 16C / 16T ~8,112 140 2.8 / 3.5 GHz G34 16 MB ~$30 – $45
AMD Opteron 6378 16C / 16T ~7,437 115 2.4 / 3.3 GHz G34 16 MB ~$25 – $35
AMD Opteron 6376 16C / 16T ~7,240 115 2.3 / 3.2 GHz G34 16 MB ~$20 – $30
AMD Opteron 6344 12C / 12T ~6,012 115 2.6 / 3.2 GHz G34 16 MB ~$15 – $25
AMD Opteron 6338P 12C / 12T ~5,277 99 2.3 / 2.8 GHz G34 8 MB ~$12 – $20 (Low-power)
AMD Opteron 6328 8C / 8T ~4,546 115 3.2 / 3.8 GHz G34 16 MB ~$10 – $15
AMD Opteron 6320 8C / 8T ~3,974 115 2.8 / 3.3 GHz G34 16 MB ~$8 – $12
Opteron 6200 Series (Interlagos) - G34
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo Socket L3 Cache Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
AMD Opteron 6282 SE 16C / 16T ~7,324 140 2.6 / 3.0 GHz G34 16 MB ~$25 – $35
AMD Opteron 6276 16C / 16T ~6,578 115 2.3 / 3.2 GHz G34 16 MB ~$18 – $25
AMD Opteron 6238 12C / 12T ~5,243 115 2.6 / 3.2 GHz G34 16 MB ~$12 – $18
AMD Opteron 6212 8C / 8T ~4,012 115 2.6 / 3.2 GHz G34 16 MB ~$8 – $12
Opteron 6100 Series (Magny-Cours) - G34
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base Clock Socket L3 Cache Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
AMD Opteron 6176 SE 12C / 12T ~5,402 140 2.3 GHz G34 12 MB ~$20 – $30
AMD Opteron 6174 12C / 12T ~5,188 115 2.2 GHz G34 12 MB ~$15 – $25
AMD Opteron 6168 12C / 12T ~4,879 115 1.9 GHz G34 12 MB ~$12 – $18
AMD Opteron 6136 8C / 8T ~3,976 115 2.4 GHz G34 12 MB ~$8 – $12
AMD Opteron 6128 8C / 8T ~3,512 115 2.0 GHz G34 12 MB ~$6 – $10
AMD Opteron 6164 HE 12C / 12T ~4,712 65 1.7 GHz G34 12 MB ~$15 – $22 (Low-power)
AMD Opteron 6128 HE 8C / 8T ~3,315 65 2.0 GHz G34 12 MB ~$8 – $12 (Low-power)

AMD Laptop CPUs:

Ryzen AI Max Series (Strix Halo) - 2025
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 16C / 32T ~55,040 55 3.0 / 5.1 GHz Radeon 8060S Not yet available (New release)
AMD Ryzen AI Max+ PRO 395 16C / 32T ~51,788 55 3.0 / 5.1 GHz Radeon 8060S Not yet available (New release)
AMD Ryzen AI Max 390 12C / 24T ~42,070 55 3.2 / 5.0 GHz Radeon 8050S Not yet available (New release)
AMD Ryzen AI Max PRO 390 12C / 24T ~43,237 55 3.2 / 5.0 GHz Radeon 8050S Not yet available (New release)
AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 8C / 16T ~32,622 55 3.6 / 5.0 GHz Radeon 8050S Not yet available (New release)
AMD Ryzen AI Max PRO 385 8C / 16T ~31,508 55 3.6 / 5.0 GHz Radeon 8050S Not yet available (New release)
AMD Ryzen AI Max PRO 380 6C / 12T ~24,431 55 3.6 / 4.9 GHz Radeon 8040S Not yet available (New release)
Ryzen AI 300 Series (Strix Point / Krackan Point) - 2024-2025
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 12C / 24T ~35,109 28 2.0 / 5.1 GHz Radeon 890M ~$500 – $650
AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 12C / 24T ~34,764 28 2.0 / 5.1 GHz Radeon 890M ~$520 – $680
AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 370 12C / 24T ~32,904 28 2.0 / 5.1 GHz Radeon 890M ~$550 – $700 (Enterprise)
AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 12C / 24T ~33,537 28 2.0 / 5.1 GHz Radeon 890M ~$560 – $720 (Enterprise)
AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 10C / 20T ~30,304 28 2.0 / 5.0 GHz Radeon 880M ~$400 – $520
AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 8C / 16T ~22,106 28 2.0 / 5.0 GHz Radeon 880M ~$350 – $450 (Enterprise)
AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 8C / 16T ~24,930 28 2.0 / 5.0 GHz Radeon 860M ~$300 – $400
AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 8C / 16T ~24,062 28 2.0 / 5.0 GHz Radeon 860M ~$320 – $420 (Enterprise)
AMD Ryzen AI 5 340 6C / 12T ~19,659 28 2.0 / 4.8 GHz Radeon 840M ~$250 – $330
AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340 6C / 12T ~19,422 28 2.0 / 4.8 GHz Radeon 840M ~$260 – $350 (Enterprise)
AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 4C / 8T ~12,955 28 2.0 / 4.5 GHz Radeon 820M ~$200 – $270
Ryzen 7040 Series (Phoenix) - 2023
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX 16C / 32T ~54,191 55-75 2.5 / 5.4 GHz Radeon 610M ~$450 – $600
AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS 8C / 16T ~32,000 35-54 4.0 / 5.2 GHz Radeon 780M ~$350 – $480
AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS 8C / 16T ~28,500 35-54 3.8 / 5.1 GHz Radeon 780M ~$300 – $420
AMD Ryzen 7 7840U 8C / 16T ~24,000 15-28 3.3 / 5.1 GHz Radeon 780M ~$280 – $380
AMD Ryzen 5 7640HS 6C / 12T ~22,000 35-54 4.3 / 5.0 GHz Radeon 760M ~$220 – $300
AMD Ryzen 5 7640U 6C / 12T ~19,000 15-28 3.5 / 4.9 GHz Radeon 760M ~$200 – $270
AMD Ryzen 3 7440U 4C / 8T ~14,000 15-28 3.0 / 4.7 GHz Radeon 740M ~$150 – $200
Ryzen 7035 Series (Rembrandt-R) - 2023
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
AMD Ryzen 9 6980HX 8C / 16T ~26,000 45+ 3.3 / 5.0 GHz Radeon 680M ~$350 – $450
AMD Ryzen 9 6980HS 8C / 16T ~25,000 35 3.3 / 5.0 GHz Radeon 680M ~$320 – $420
AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS 8C / 16T ~22,000 35-54 3.2 / 4.75 GHz Radeon 680M ~$250 – $340
AMD Ryzen 7 7735U 8C / 16T ~20,000 15-28 2.7 / 4.75 GHz Radeon 680M ~$230 – $320
AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS 6C / 12T ~17,000 35-54 3.3 / 4.55 GHz Radeon 660M ~$180 – $250
AMD Ryzen 5 7535U 6C / 12T ~15,500 15-28 2.9 / 4.55 GHz Radeon 660M ~$160 – $220
Ryzen 6000 Series (Rembrandt) - 2022
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
AMD Ryzen 9 6980HX 8C / 16T ~25,800 45+ 3.3 / 5.0 GHz Radeon 680M ~$300 – $400
AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX 8C / 16T ~24,500 45+ 3.3 / 4.9 GHz Radeon 680M ~$280 – $370
AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS 8C / 16T ~23,800 35 3.3 / 4.9 GHz Radeon 680M ~$260 – $350
AMD Ryzen 7 6800H 8C / 16T ~21,500 45 3.2 / 4.7 GHz Radeon 680M ~$220 – $300
AMD Ryzen 7 6800U 8C / 16T ~19,500 15-28 2.7 / 4.7 GHz Radeon 680M ~$200 – $280
AMD Ryzen 5 6600H 6C / 12T ~16,800 45 3.3 / 4.5 GHz Radeon 660M ~$160 – $220
AMD Ryzen 5 6600U 6C / 12T ~15,200 15-28 2.9 / 4.5 GHz Radeon 660M ~$140 – $200
Ryzen 5000 Series (Cezanne / Barcelo) - 2021-2022
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
AMD Ryzen 9 5980HX 8C / 16T ~22,500 45+ 3.3 / 4.8 GHz Radeon Vega 8 ~$250 – $350
AMD Ryzen 9 5980HS 8C / 16T ~21,800 35 3.0 / 4.8 GHz Radeon Vega 8 ~$230 – $320
AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX 8C / 16T ~21,000 45+ 3.3 / 4.6 GHz Radeon Vega 8 ~$220 – $300
AMD Ryzen 7 5800H 8C / 16T ~19,500 45 3.2 / 4.4 GHz Radeon Vega 8 ~$180 – $250
AMD Ryzen 7 5825U 8C / 16T ~17,985 15 2.0 / 4.5 GHz Radeon Vega 8 ~$160 – $220
AMD Ryzen 5 5600H 6C / 12T ~15,500 45 3.3 / 4.2 GHz Radeon Vega 7 ~$130 – $180
AMD Ryzen 5 5625U 6C / 12T ~14,648 15 2.3 / 4.3 GHz Radeon Vega 7 ~$120 – $160
AMD Ryzen 3 5425U 4C / 8T ~10,500 15 2.7 / 4.1 GHz Radeon Vega 6 ~$80 – $110
Ryzen 4000 Series (Renoir) - 2020
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
AMD Ryzen 9 4900H 8C / 16T ~19,500 45 3.3 / 4.4 GHz Radeon Vega 8 ~$200 – $280
AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS 8C / 16T ~19,000 35 3.0 / 4.3 GHz Radeon Vega 8 ~$190 – $260
AMD Ryzen 7 4800H 8C / 16T ~17,500 45 2.9 / 4.2 GHz Radeon Vega 7 ~$150 – $200
AMD Ryzen 7 4800U 8C / 16T ~16,800 15 1.8 / 4.2 GHz Radeon Vega 8 ~$140 – $190
AMD Ryzen 5 4600H 6C / 12T ~13,500 45 3.0 / 4.0 GHz Radeon Vega 6 ~$100 – $140
AMD Ryzen 5 4600U 6C / 12T ~12,800 15 2.1 / 4.0 GHz Radeon Vega 6 ~$90 – $130
AMD Ryzen 3 4300U 4C / 4T ~7,500 15 2.7 / 3.7 GHz Radeon Vega 5 ~$50 – $80
Ryzen 3000 Series (Picasso / Dali) - 2019-2020
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
AMD Ryzen 7 3780U 4C / 8T ~8,500 15 2.3 / 4.0 GHz Radeon Vega 11 ~$80 – $120
AMD Ryzen 7 3750H 4C / 8T ~8,200 35 2.3 / 4.0 GHz Radeon Vega 10 ~$70 – $100
AMD Ryzen 7 3700U 4C / 8T ~7,800 15 2.3 / 4.0 GHz Radeon Vega 10 ~$60 – $90
AMD Ryzen 5 3580U 4C / 8T ~7,200 15 2.1 / 3.7 GHz Radeon Vega 9 ~$55 – $80
AMD Ryzen 5 3550H 4C / 8T ~6,800 35 2.1 / 3.7 GHz Radeon Vega 8 ~$50 – $75
AMD Ryzen 5 3500U 4C / 8T ~6,500 15 2.1 / 3.7 GHz Radeon Vega 8 ~$45 – $65
AMD Ryzen 3 3300U 4C / 4T ~5,684 15 2.1 / 3.5 GHz Radeon Vega 6 ~$35 – $50
AMD Ryzen 3 3200U 2C / 4T ~3,800 15 2.6 / 3.5 GHz Radeon Vega 3 ~$25 – $40
Ryzen 2000 Series (Raven Ridge) - 2018
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
AMD Ryzen 7 2800H 4C / 8T ~7,800 35-45 3.3 / 3.8 GHz Radeon Vega 11 ~$60 – $90
AMD Ryzen 7 2700U 4C / 8T ~7,200 15 2.2 / 3.8 GHz Radeon Vega 10 ~$50 – $80
AMD Ryzen 5 2600H 4C / 8T ~6,500 35-45 3.2 / 3.6 GHz Radeon Vega 8 ~$45 – $70
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U 4C / 8T ~6,200 15 2.0 / 3.6 GHz Radeon Vega 8 ~$40 – $60
AMD Ryzen 3 2300U 4C / 4T ~5,000 15 2.0 / 3.4 GHz Radeon Vega 6 ~$30 – $45
AMD Ryzen 3 2200U 2C / 4T ~3,386 15 2.5 / 3.4 GHz Radeon Vega 3 ~$20 – $30
AMD FX Series (Excavator / Carrizo) - 2015-2016
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
AMD FX-9830P 4C / 4T ~3,399 35-45 3.0 / 3.7 GHz Radeon R7 ~$25 – $40
AMD FX-9800P 4C / 4T ~3,000 15 2.7 / 3.6 GHz Radeon R7 ~$20 – $30
AMD FX-8800P 4C / 4T ~3,200 15-35 2.1 / 3.4 GHz Radeon R7 ~$18 – $25
AMD FX-7500 4C / 4T ~2,800 15-35 2.1 / 3.3 GHz Radeon R7 ~$15 – $22
AMD A-Series (Richland / Kaveri / Carrizo) - 2013-2015
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base / Turbo iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
AMD A10-8700P 4C / 4T ~3,000 15 1.8 / 3.2 GHz Radeon R6 ~$15 – $25
AMD A10-7400P 4C / 4T ~2,700 35 2.5 / 3.4 GHz Radeon R6 ~$12 – $20
AMD A10-5750M 4C / 4T ~2,800 35 2.5 / 3.5 GHz Radeon HD 8650G ~$10 – $15
AMD A10-5745M 4C / 4T ~2,753 25 2.1 / 2.9 GHz Radeon HD 8610G ~$8 – $12
AMD A8-5550M 4C / 4T ~2,500 35 2.1 / 3.1 GHz Radeon HD 8550G ~$7 – $10
AMD A6-5350M 2C / 2T ~1,400 35 2.9 / 3.5 GHz Radeon HD 8450G ~$5 – $8
AMD Phenom II / Turion (Champlain) - 2010-2011
Model Cores / Threads Passmark CPU Bench TDP (W) Base Clock iGPU Avg Used eBay.com Price (US)
AMD Phenom II X4 N970 4C / 4T ~2,200 (est.) 35 2.2 GHz None ~$10 – $15
AMD Phenom II X4 N950 4C / 4T ~2,100 (est.) 35 2.1 GHz None ~$8 – $12
AMD Phenom II X3 N870 3C / 3T ~1,700 (est.) 35 2.3 GHz None ~$6 – $10
AMD Phenom II X2 X640 BE 2C / 2T ~1,165 45 3.2 GHz None ~$5 – $8
AMD Turion II Ultra 2.5GHz 2C / 2T ~1,000 (est.) 35 2.5 GHz None ~$4 – $6
Disable Turbo Boost!

Turbo Boost – Power, Heat & How to Disable It

Modern Intel CPUs support Turbo Boost, a feature that automatically increases clock speeds above the base frequency when thermal and power headroom allow.

While this improves burst performance, it also significantly increases:

  • ⚡ Power consumption (PL2 spikes)
  • 🌡️ CPU temperature
  • 🔊 Fan noise
  • 🔋 Idle-to-load power variance
  • 🖥️ Sustained heat output in small form factor systems

Turbo works by temporarily raising power limits (PL2) well above the rated TDP (PL1). For example, a 65W CPU may briefly pull 200W+ under turbo. In compact builds, homelabs, or always-on systems, this can:

  • Cause thermal throttling
  • Increase system instability
  • Raise long-term power costs
  • Increase VRM and PSU stress

Disabling Turbo Boost forces the CPU to remain at base clocks (PL1), reducing peak temperatures and flattening power spikes.

1. Disabling Turbo Boost in BIOS (Recommended Method)

This is the most reliable and OS-independent method.

Steps:

  1. Reboot your system.
  2. Enter BIOS/UEFI (usually DEL, F2, or F10).
  3. Navigate to:
    • Advanced CPU Settings
    • Processor Configuration
    • Overclocking / Performance
  4. Locate one of the following options:
    • Intel Turbo Boost
    • Intel Turbo Boost Technology
    • Turbo Mode
  5. Set it to Disabled.
  6. Save and exit.

Advantages:

  • Completely prevents turbo at firmware level.
  • Works across Linux, Windows, hypervisors, etc.
  • Best method for servers and homelabs.

2. Disabling Turbo Boost on Linux

Method A — Using rc.local

You can disable turbo at boot by writing to the Intel pstate driver.

Create the file:

/etc/rc.local

Ensure:

  • Owner: root
  • Group: root
  • Permissions: 700 (rwx------)

Add the following content:

#!/bin/sh
echo 1 > /sys/devices/system/cpu/intel_pstate/no_turbo
exit 0

Save the file.

Reboot and verify:

cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/intel_pstate/no_turbo

If it returns:

1

Turbo is disabled.

Method B — Using intel-noturbo

Project:

https://github.com/ShyVortex/intel-noturbo

This provides a cleaner toggle utility for enabling/disabling turbo without manually editing system files.

Useful for:

  • Laptops
  • Testing thermals
  • Scripted power profiles

3. Disabling Turbo Boost on Windows

Windows does not expose a simple Turbo toggle by default, but you can disable it via Power Options.

A commonly used method involves importing a .reg file that adds the hidden processor performance boost mode setting into Windows Power Options.

After importing:

  1. Open Power Options
  2. Edit your current power plan
  3. Go to:
Processor power management
  1. Set:
Processor performance boost mode → Disabled

This effectively disables Turbo Boost at the OS level.

Note:
BIOS-level disabling is more reliable. Windows-level disabling can sometimes be overridden by firmware or vendor utilities.

When Should You Disable Turbo?

Turbo OFF is useful for:

  • Small form factor builds
  • Passive cooling systems
  • Homelabs
  • Always-on servers
  • Noise-sensitive environments
  • Power efficiency optimization
  • Thermal stability

Power & Temperature Impact

Scenario Turbo ON Turbo OFF
Peak Power Very High (PL2 spikes) Stable (PL1 only)
Max Temperature 80–100°C common 50–75°C typical
Fan Noise High ramping Much quieter
Sustained Load May throttle More stable

Actual results depend on CPU generation and cooling.

Turbo boost Power consumption Examples in watts


PL1 = TDP - PL2 = Turbo Boost

Processor PL1 Power (W) PL2 Power (W) TAU (Seconds)
11th Gen
Core i9-11900K 125 251 56
Core i7-11700K 125 251 56
Core i5-11600K 125 224 56
Core i9-11900 65 224 28/56
Core i7-11700 65 224 28/56
Core i5-11600, Core i5-11500, Core i5-11400 65 154 28/56
Core i9-11900T 35 115 28
Core i7-11700T 35 115 28
Core i5-11600T 35 84 28
Core i9-10900K 125 250 56
10th Gen
Core i7-10700K 125 229 56
Core i5-10600K 125 182 56
Core i9-10900 65 224 28
Core i7-10700 65 224 28
Core i5-10600, Core i5-10500, Core i5-10400 65 134 28
Core i3-10320, Core i3-10300, Core i3-10100 65 90 28
Pentium Gold 6500, Pentium Gold 6400, Celeron G5920, Celeron G5900 58 58 28
Core i9-10900T 35 123 28
Core i7-10700T 35 123 28
Core i5-10000T 35 92 28
Core i3-10000T 35 55 28
Pentium Gold G6500T, Pentium Gold G6400T, Celeron 5900T 35 42 28


Note: As you can see, this can result in up to 3.5x brief spikes in watt usage, which also drastically increases temps.

CPU backdoor modules

Modern CPU platforms embed trusted subsystems that run outside the control of the main OS. The most widely discussed components are:

  • Intel Management Engine (ME) — a proprietary microcontroller inside Intel chipsets with deep hardware privileges and (in some configs) network access via AMT.
  • AMD Platform Security Processor (PSP) — AMD’s ARM-based co-processor that implements secure boot and platform security.
  • ARM TrustZone / Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) — hardware partitioning widely used on ARM SoCs to create a Secure World for sensitive code.

These subsystems are closed-source and run below the OS, so researchers treat them as high-value attack surfaces. This report sticks to documented facts (CVE entries, vendor security advisories, academic and industry research) and includes links to the original sources.

🧩 1) Intel Management Engine (ME)

What it is

The Intel Management Engine (ME) (sometimes referred to in parts as CSME/CSME firmware) is a separate microcontroller and firmware stack embedded in Intel chipsets. It performs platform management and security-related functions and is active whenever the system receives power. For details and security advisories see Intel’s product security center.

Notable documented vulnerabilities / advisories

Intel regularly publishes advisories for ME/CSME/AMT vulnerabilities. A few concrete, publicly documented advisories / CVEs:

  • INTEL-SA-01315 (Feb 2026) — Intel published chipset/CSME/AMT advisories describing denial-of-service and information-disclosure issues and issued firmware updates.
    Intel INTEL-SA-01315 advisory

  • INTEL-SA-00783 (2023 / revised 2024) — chipset/CSME advisory listing multiple issues; use this page to check affected platform lists and mitigation steps.
    Intel INTEL-SA-00783 advisory

  • INTEL-SA-00295 / CVE-2020-0594 — example AMT/ISM IPv6 out-of-bounds read issue allowing unauthenticated denial of service or information disclosure.
    Intel INTEL-SA-00295 advisory (includes CVE list)
    NVD: CVE-2020-0594

  • Historical AMT/ME CVEs (e.g., CVE-2017-5712) show remote exploitation of AMT/ME components when reachable.
    NVD: CVE-2017-5712

What these mean: some ME/AMT/CSME CVEs can be triggered remotely (network) and operate outside the OS, which is why ME is treated as a serious platform risk when vulnerable firmware is present.

Neutralization / mitigation options (community + vendor)

  • Firmware updates from OEMs are the primary official mitigation; apply vendor firmware. See Intel advisories linked above.

  • me_cleaner — community tool for partial de-blobbing / neutralization of Intel ME firmware images (reduces runtime functionality and attack surface). Use with caution; flashing modified firmware can brick devices.
    me_cleaner (GitHub)

  • Vendor approaches: some privacy-focused vendors and open-firmware initiatives attempt to neutralize or minimize ME at runtime (examples below). Behavior and support vary by model and Intel generation — no universal full-removal method exists for modern chips.

🧠 2) AMD Platform Security Processor (PSP) / AMD Secure Processor

What it is

AMD PSP (Secure Processor / ASP) is an ARM Cortex-A5 (or similar) core integrated on AMD CPUs that runs a closed firmware stack (sometimes called ASP / Secure OS). PSP handles secure boot, measured boot functions, cryptographic services, and sometimes virtualization/security features.

Documented vulnerabilities and research

AMD publishes security bulletins covering PSP and related firmware issues. Representative examples:

  • AMD-SB-5001 (Feb 2024) — lists PSP-related CVEs such as CVE-2020-12930 and CVE-2020-12931 involving improper parameter handling in PSP drivers/kernels.
    AMD-SB-5001 (PSP bulletin)

  • AMD-SB-5002 (Aug 2024) — additional embedded processor firmware advisories and mitigation guidance.
    AMD-SB-5002 (bulletin)

  • CVE-2022-23820 / CVE-2022-23821 — high-severity firmware / SMM kernel issues affecting AMD client platforms (SMRAM/SPI ROM access and SMM buffer validation issues). See the NVD and AMD bulletin references for technical details and vendor mitigation guidance.
    NVD: CVE-2022-23820
    NVD: CVE-2022-23821

What these mean: PSP vulnerabilities commonly require local or privileged access to exploit, but they show that trusted firmware can contain exploitable issues with severe platform-level impact.

Reverse-engineering / tools

  • PSPTool / PSPReverse — community tools for extracting and analyzing AMD PSP firmware blobs (useful for research, not for casual disabling).
    PSPTool (GitHub)
  • Research papers demonstrate hardware fault injection and other attacks on AMD secure subsystems (e.g., fault injection research). Example: "One Glitch to Rule Them All" supplemental materials.
    amd-sp-glitch (GitHub)

Neutralization / mitigation

  • AMD firmware is signed and required for platform initialization; there is no widely-used neutralizer like me_cleaner for PSP. Firmware updates from OEMs / AMD and secure BIOS settings are the main mitigations.

🛡 3) ARM TrustZone & Trusted Execution Environments (TEE)

What TrustZone provides

ARM TrustZone is an architectural extension that divides CPU execution into a Secure World and Normal World, enabling a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) for secure operations (key storage, secure boot, payment, DRM). TrustZone is not a single closed firmware blob like ME/PSP; it is hardware with vendor-supplied Secure World firmware stacks (many of which are proprietary).

Real research showing TEE risks

What these mean: TrustZone hardware is neutral or beneficial by design, but TEE firmware/Trusted Apps frequently contain exploitable problems because many implementations are closed and lack hardening.

⚔ Cross-Technology Comparison (high level)

Property Intel ME / CSME AMD PSP / ASP ARM TrustZone (TEE)
Runs below OS? Yes Yes Yes (when Secure World active)
Independent network access Yes (AMT / out-of-band on vPro) No (not by default) No (TEE doesn't usually manage NIC)
Firmware open? No (proprietary) No (proprietary) TEE OS often proprietary; hardware spec public
Typical exploit vector Network + local Local / privileged Local / privileged / side-channel
Neutralization available? Partial (me_cleaner, vendor efforts) Not generally Not applicable (hardware feature)

🧰 Tools, Mitigations & Privacy-focused Vendors

Intel ME

AMD PSP

ARM TrustZone / TEEs

  • Use open, auditable TEE implementations where possible (examples: OP-TEE) and apply vendor security updates.
    https://www.op-tee.org/
Selected authoritative sources (examples, read these for technical depth)

🛠️ Vendors & Projects Offering Open Firmware / Reduced Proprietary Firmware Hardware

Many smaller vendors, open-firmware projects, and hardware suppliers offer machines that ship with or support open firmware (coreboot / Libreboot / Dasharo) — reducing reliance on proprietary BIOS/UEFI and allowing greater control over platform firmware. These vary from full laptops to embedded boards and network appliances.

⚠️ Caution: Support for open firmware and neutralization of proprietary subsystems (e.g., Intel ME) varies by model and vendor. Check specific product documentation before purchasing.

🧠 Community Open Firmware Projects

Libreboot

Libreboot is a fully libre distribution of coreboot designed to replace proprietary BIOS/UEFI firmware on select compatible systems. You can also purchase machines with Libreboot pre-installed from associated vendors.
👉 https://libreboot.org (Libreboot main site)

🛠 Coreboot & Related Firmware Projects

coreboot (formerly LinuxBIOS) is a free and open-source firmware platform that replaces traditional BIOS/UEFI. It is used by many community and vendor projects, including Libreboot, Dasharo, and more:

  • Dasharo — a coreboot-based firmware distribution with emphasis on security, stability, and transparency, often used on laptops from community vendors.
  • Heads — a coreboot-compatible boot firmware project focusing on secure boot, measured boot, and tamper detection, often paired with a TPM to verify firmware integrity.
  • MrChromebox Firmware — community-maintained firmware images for Chromebooks that leverage coreboot/EDK2 to support non-ChromeOS operating systems.
  • Skulls — user-friendly coreboot images for ThinkPad laptops.

👉 https://www.coreboot.org (coreboot official project page)

These projects make it easier for users to install and use open firmware on supported systems, increasing transparency and reducing proprietary code in the boot process.

📌 LinuxBoot – Firmware as a Linux Stack

LinuxBoot is another free software firmware project that replaces key parts of UEFI firmware with a Linux kernel and userland tools:

  • It runs on top of early firmware (PEI, coreboot, or U-Boot) and boots Linux directly.
  • LinuxBoot is already supported on some server platforms and open compute boards.
    👉 https://linuxboot.org (LinuxBoot project)

This approach treats the firmware stack more like a small Linux environment rather than a proprietary UEFI runtime, enabling deep customization.

📌 Community Firmware Innovation on Older Platforms

Some independent community projects are pushing open firmware even further on older hardware where firmware signature protections don’t block modification:

  • The 15h.org project is developing open-source firmware updates for older AMD Bulldozer/Piledriver platforms, enabling fully open firmware operation without modern signature restrictions.
    👉 Search “15h.org firmware support for AMD” (reported project supporting older boards)

These efforts help demonstrate what fully open firmware ecosystems can look like when hardware security restrictions are not enforced.

🖥️ Vendors & Distributions Shipping Open Firmware

The following vendors are either referenced directly by coreboot project documentation or widely acknowledged in open firmware communities as shipping systems with coreboot/Dasharo firmware:

Nitrokey

Nitrokey refurbishes laptops and sells devices with coreboot + Dasharo firmware and often includes open boot firmware with measured/verified boot options.
👉 https://shop.nitrokey.com (Nitrokey hardware & coreboot)

NovaCustom

NovaCustom sells configurable laptops shipped with Dasharo-based coreboot firmware, maintained by 3mdeb, with support for Linux and Windows.
👉 https://novacustom.com (NovaCustom laptops)

Protectli

Protectli offers Vault network appliances and small PCs with the option of coreboot firmware, or flashing via open tools, often jointly maintained with 3mdeb (Dasharo).
👉 https://protectli.com/coreboot/ (Protectli coreboot info)

Star Labs

Star Labs sells Linux-focused laptops that are available with coreboot firmware and include options such as disabling the Intel Management Engine via NVRAM tools.
👉 https://starlabs.systems (Star Labs laptops)

PC Engines

PC Engines produces embedded hardware (e.g., APU boards) that ship with coreboot firmware and are upstream supported through community channels.
👉 https://pcengines.ch (PC Engines)

Purism

Purism sells Librem laptops designed for open source and privacy, with coreboot firmware and ME neutralization as part of their security strategy.
👉 https://puri.sm/learn/intel-me/ (Purism ME/firmware info)

📌 Summary Table

Vendor / Project Firmware Type Notes
Nitrokey coreboot / Dasharo Refurbished open firmware hardware
NovaCustom coreboot / Dasharo Custom laptops with open firmware
Protectli coreboot / Dasharo Vault network appliances with coreboot
Star Labs coreboot Linux laptops with open firmware
PC Engines coreboot Embedded boards with open firmware
Purism coreboot + ME neutralization Privacy-focused open firmware laptops
Libreboot Project Libreboot Fully libre firmware distribution

📄 Notes & Considerations

  • Not all models from the same vendor are open firmware by default — some require user flashing of coreboot/Libreboot.
  • On many modern Intel platforms, Intel Boot Guard may prevent flashing alternative firmware unless hardware-specific de-guarding is used (a technical process).
  • Some vendors work with firmware integrators like 3mdeb to provide improved firmware quality and security features (measured boot, verified boot).

📌 Additional Hardware & Architecture Notes

💡 RISC-V and Non-x86 Architectures

For users seeking hardware with minimal proprietary subsystems, RISC-V is an emerging alternative:

  • It is a completely open instruction set architecture, enabling hardware and firmware designs that are fully open from top to bottom.
  • Projects like Raptor Computing Systems offer POWER9-based hardware that eschews Intel/AMD proprietary backplanes in favor of open firmware designs and auditability.
  • RISC-V boards (e.g., SiFive) and ecosystem products are growing, providing future paths toward hardware transparency.

Community discussion on RISC-V and alternatives often highlights the lack of opaque controllers like ME/PSP on open architectures.

GPU:

NVIDIA (vGPU / AI / Virtualization):

Supported for vGPU (with vGPU Unlock):

• Most GPUs from the Maxwell 2.0 generation (GTX 9xx, Quadro Mxxxx, Tesla Mxx) EXCEPT the GTX 970 • All GPUs from the Pascal generation (GTX 10xx, Quadro Pxxxx, Tesla Pxx) • All GPUs from the Turing generation (GTX 16xx, RTX 20xx, Txxxx)

Not Supported:

• RTX 30 Series
• RTX 40 Series • RTX 50 Series


Newer consumer GPUs do NOT work with vGPU Unlock. they have a different vBios/Firmware and added SR-IOV support, but the only person who has figured out how to make it work with unlock will not release the details fearing Nvidia may sue. so it is NOT Publicly available although their method breaks SR-IOV and makes vGPU supported the same way it was in turing and older versions.

Architecture Notes:

• Pascal (GTX 10 Series / Tesla P4/P40)

  • Good for virtualization
  • Fine for gaming VMs
  • Not ideal for modern AI workloads
  • NVENC Has x265 support, Tesla models have 2x chips

• Turing (RTX 20 Series / Tesla T4)

  • Better NVENC
  • Much better AI performance
  • Best overall balance for homelab users

If AI workloads are important → Turing or newer is strongly preferred. (the P100 i believe is the only pascal that can properly handle AI, although turing is still recommended.)
If you only care about gaming VMs → Pascal is still perfectly usable. (on pascal they ONLY support FP32 so prompt processing and overall performance for AI tanks HARD compared to turing or newer.)

Tesla Cards:

Tesla cards (P4, T4, L4) work very well for vGPU setups, but:

• Require NVIDIA vGPU licensing
• Licensing server setup can be tedious
• Additional configuration overhead compared to consumer cards

That said, they are extremely efficient and powerful once configured properly.

Recommended Low-Power Options (Homelab Friendly):

• Tesla P4 (8GB)
• Tesla T4 (16GB) • Tesla L4 (24GB)

These typically run in the 60–75W range and offer performance comparable to much higher TDP consumer cards.

Example:

The Tesla P4 is essentially an underclocked GTX 1080 core,
while the GTX 1080 has a 180W TDP — over 100W higher.

Tesla P4 vs GTX 1080 Benchmarks

Real-World Experience:

I personally use a Tesla P4 8GB.

• Successfully ran multiple 1080p gaming VMs simultaneously
• Tested GTA V in two VMs at the same time
• Stable performance once properly configured

The only downside is the added complexity around licensing and setup.

Nvidia vGPU resources NVIDIA vGPU Guide
Drivers
licensing related:
gridd-unlock-patcher aka guest driver patch for versions after 18
FastAPI-DLS aka the licensing server.
vgpu_unlock-rs mirror by GreenDamTan
fastapi-dls_mirror by GreenDamTan
⚠️ Legal Note: using third-party vGPU “unlocks” technically can violate NVIDIA licensing/EULA and carry possible legal/operational risk. production users should use official NVIDIA vGPU licensing, Unlocks should only be used on your own personal hardware for private non-commercial use cases.

Intel (SR-IOV / vGPU Capable GPUs):

Important:

• Only Intel Arc Pro cards and Intel iGPUs officially support SR-IOV
• Standard consumer Arc GPUs (A310, A380, A750, A770, etc.) do NOT support SR-IOV

If you want hardware-level GPU virtualization without NVIDIA licensing, Arc Pro is currently one of the lowest-cost modern options.

Intel Arc Pro B50

The Arc Pro B50 is one of the lowest-priced GPUs offering:

• 16GB VRAM
• SR-IOV support
• vGPU-style profile creation
• Modern AV1 encode/decode

Each SR-IOV profile presents itself as a separate GPU device that can be passed through directly to individual VMs.

This makes it extremely attractive for Proxmox and multi-VM lab setups.

Potential Issues / Early Adopter Warnings:

  • BIOS / Firmware Updates: SR-IOV may require a firmware update that officially must be done on Windows. Some users report success flashing from Linux, but others report bricking their cards when attempting it outside of Windows.
  • Quick Sync / Media Encoding Issues: QSV / media encoding on SR-IOV profiles can be inconsistent. Some users report that hardware encoding does not function properly inside GPU profiles.

    Reference discussion:
    "While the new Xe driver will have SR-IOV it will be useless as it seems to lack HUC firmware so no HW encoding"

  • AI / Compute Ecosystem Limitations: Support for Intel IPEX / XPU tooling is still limited compared to NVIDIA CUDA or even AMD ROCm. Vulkan and OpenCL performance is improving but still not as mature.

    (Experience note: Tested with Arc A310 4GB — performance and driver stability can vary depending on workload.)

Community Discussion (Proxmox 9+):

Proxmox 9.0 + Intel Arc Pro B50 SR-IOV – Early Adopter’s Guide

When It Makes Sense:

• You want real SR-IOV without NVIDIA licensing
• You need 16GB VRAM per card at lower cost • You are comfortable being an early adopter

When It Might Not:

• Heavy AI workloads (CUDA ecosystem still dominates)
• Production-critical media servers
• Users wanting "it just works" stability


AMD (SR-IOV / vGPU Support):

AMD offers a hardware virtualization technology similar to NVIDIA’s vGPU and Intel’s SR-IOV called
MxGPU

Unlike consumer Radeon cards, only professional / datacenter GPUs support SR-IOV / hardware virtualization.

Which AMD GPUs Support MxGPU / SR-IOV:

• AMD Radeon Pro series (e.g., WX / W-series)
• AMD MI Series (e.g., MI25, MI50 — Nvidia-equivalent compute cards)
• AMD FirePro (older pro cards with SR-IOV)

Consumer Radeon cards (RX 5000 / 6000 / 7000 series) do NOT support SR-IOV / MxGPU.

Key Things to Know:

  • Hardware Virtualization: MxGPU provides SR-IOV capable virtualization, allowing a single physical GPU to present multiple virtual GPUs to guest VMs.
  • Driver & OS Support: Strongest support in enterprise Linux distributions (RHEL / CentOS / Ubuntu) and supported hypervisors. Best results are typically seen with AMD’s enterprise drivers and platforms.
  • Use Cases: • VDI / graphical desktops • Virtualized compute workloads • Workloads requiring multi-tenant sharing of GPU resources
  • Not Like NVIDIA vGPU Licensing: Unlike NVIDIA’s licensed vGPU ecosystem, AMD’s MxGPU/SR-IOV support does *not* currently require the same type of licensing server or software keys.
  • Documentation is Limited: Community resources and forum posts are the most detailed sources of information so far — official AMD SR-IOV documentation is not as comprehensive as NVIDIA’s.

Contribution Request:

If anyone in the community has direct experience with AMD SR-IOV (MxGPU) setup, BIOS/firmware fixes, driver configs, or guest compatibility tips, contributions would be very welcome here.

AMD does have a hardware virtualization / SR-IOV capable ecosystem, but:

• It is not available on consumer Radeon cards / It is limited to professional / compute series GPUs
• Documentation and real-world guides are still comparatively sparse

For anyone experimenting with AMD GPUs + vGPU workflows, community experience is a very valuable resource!

GPU Models to compare them side by side:

i often found myself looking up these details when comparing GPUs to try to find the best option for the price, so i added a table here of most GPUs for quick reference comparisons.
NOTE: Idle est. may not be accurate, different configurations vary widely.

Intel GPUs
Model VRAM FP32 FP16 TDP Est. Idle Bandwidth Virtualization Avg Used eBay.com Price (≈)
Intel Arc A310 4GB GDDR6 3.072 TFLOPS 6.144 TFLOPS 75W 8–15W 124 GB/s ❌ No SR-IOV ~$160 – $200 (used & some new listings)
Intel Arc A380 6GB GDDR6 4.198 TFLOPS 8.397 TFLOPS 75W 8–15W 186 GB/s ❌ No SR-IOV ~$160 – $240 (common eBay US range)
Intel Arc A580 8GB GDDR6 12.29 TFLOPS 24.58 TFLOPS 185W 15–25W 256 GB/s ❌ No SR-IOV ~$200 – $300 (used listings vary)
Intel Arc A750 8GB GDDR6 17.20 TFLOPS 34.41 TFLOPS 225W 18–30W 512 GB/s ❌ No SR-IOV ~$160 – $220 (used average)
Intel Arc A770 16GB 16GB GDDR6 19.66 TFLOPS 39.32 TFLOPS 225W 18–30W 512 GB/s ❌ No SR-IOV ~$250 – $350 (used & new)
Intel Arc Pro A40 6GB GDDR6 3.482 TFLOPS 6.963 TFLOPS 50W 6–10W 192 GB/s ✅ SR-IOV ~$220 – $280 (rare used eBay sales)
Intel Arc Pro A50 6GB GDDR6 4.813 TFLOPS 9.626 TFLOPS 75W 8–15W 192 GB/s ✅ SR-IOV ~$250 – $320 (used listings)
Intel Arc Pro A60 12GB GDDR6 8.397 TFLOPS 16.79 TFLOPS 130W 10–20W 384 GB/s ✅ SR-IOV ~$350 – $500 (scarcer on eBay)
Intel Arc B580 12GB GDDR6 13.67 TFLOPS 27.34 TFLOPS 190W 15–25W 256 GB/s ❌ No SR-IOV ~$230 – $300 (used & some new pricing)
Intel Arc Pro B50 16GB GDDR6 10.65 TFLOPS 21.30 TFLOPS 70W 7–15W 224 GB/s ✅ SR-IOV ~$350 – $450 (limited used)
Intel Arc Pro B60 24GB GDDR6 12.29 TFLOPS 24.58 TFLOPS 200W 15–30W 456 GB/s ✅ SR-IOV ~$500 – $800 (very limited)
Nvidia GPUs:
Older Nvidia Cards CUDA VRAM FP32 TDP Virtualization Avg Used eBay US ≈
GTX 710 192 1–2 GB DDR3 ~0.25 TF 19W ❌ ~$30–$50
GT 720 192 1–2 GB DDR3 ~0.30 TF 23W ❌ ~$30–$60
GT 730 384 1–4 GB DDR3 ~0.55 TF 38W ❌ ~$40–$70
GT 740 384 1–4 GB DDR3 ~0.60 TF 49W ❌ ~$50–$80
GTX 645 384 1–2 GB GDDR5 ~0.75 TF ~64W ❌ ~$40–$70
GTX 650 384 1–2 GB GDDR5 ~0.80 TF 64W ❌ ~$40–$80
GTX 650 Ti / Ti Boost 768 1–2 GB GDDR5 ~1.5 TF 110W ❌ ~$60–$110
GTX 660 960 2 GB GDDR5 ~2.2 TF 140W ❌ ~$80–$130
GTX 660 Ti 1344 2 GB GDDR5 ~3.0 TF 150W ❌ ~$90–$150
GTX 670 1344 2 GB GDDR5 ~3.1 TF 170W ❌ ~$100–$160
GTX 680 1536 2–4 GB GDDR5 ~3.3–3.5 TF 195W ❌ ~$110–$180
GTX 690 (dual GPU) 2×1536 4 GB GDDR5 ~6.6–7.0 TF 300W ❌ ~$180–$280
GTX 760 1152 2–4 GB GDDR5 ~2.8 TF 170W ❌ ~$80–$140
GTX 760 Ti 1344 2 GB GDDR5 ~3.2 TF 170W ❌ ~$90–$150
GTX 770 1536 2–4 GB GDDR5 ~3.5 TF 230W ❌ ~$100–$160
GTX 780 2304 3 GB GDDR5 ~4.1 TF 250W ❌ ~$140–$220
GTX 780 Ti 2880 3 GB GDDR5 ~5.3 TF 250W ❌ ~$180–$260
GTX TITAN (Kepler) 2688 6 GB GDDR5 ~4.7 TF 250W ❌ ~$130–$200
GTX TITAN Black 2880 6 GB GDDR5 ~5.1 TF 250W ❌ ~$160–$260
GTX TITAN Z (dual GK110) 2×2880 12 GB GDDR5 ~10 TF (combined) 375W ❌ ~$300–$500


Note: Not recommended.

Nvidia 900 Series (Maxwell)

GPU (Maxwell) CUDA Cores VRAM FP32 TDP Virtualization Avg Used eBay US ≈
GTX 750 512 1–2 GB GDDR5 ~1.0 TF ~55W ✅ ~$30 – $60
GTX 750 Ti 640 2 GB GDDR5 ~1.3 TF ~60W ✅ ~$40 – $70
GTX 950 768 2 GB GDDR5 ~1.8 TF 90W ✅ ~$50 – $90
GTX 960 1024 2–4 GB GDDR5 ~2.4 TF 120W ✅ ~$60 – $110
GTX 970 1664 4 GB GDDR5 ~3.9 TF 145W ❌ ~$90 – $160
GTX 980 2048 4 GB GDDR5 ~5.0 TF 165W ✅ ~$110 – $190
GTX 980 Ti 2816 6 GB GDDR5 ~6.1–6.3 TF 250W ✅ ~$150 – $280
GTX TITAN X (Maxwell) 3072 12 GB GDDR5 ~6.6 TF 250W ✅ ~$250 – $400


Note: Also Not recommended. but most of these should work with vGPU unlock at least.

NVIDIA GTX 10 Series (Pascal)

Model VRAM FP16 FP32 TDP Idle Power Bandwidth Virtualization Avg Used eBay.com Price (≈)
GTX 1050 2 GB 29.10 GFLOPS 1.862 TFLOPS 75W ~8–12W 112 GB/s ✅ Unlock ~$50 – $80 (many used ~75 USD listed)
GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB 33.41 GFLOPS 2.138 TFLOPS 75W ~8–12W 112 GB/s ✅ Unlock ~$60 – $95 (common used range)
GTX 1060 3GB 3 GB 61.49 GFLOPS 3.935 TFLOPS 120W ~10–18W 192 GB/s ✅ Unlock ~$70 – $110 (used teen-range sale reports & community pricing)
GTX 1060 6GB 6 GB 68.36 GFLOPS 4.375 TFLOPS 120W ~10–18W 192 GB/s ✅ Unlock ~$80 – $120 (common actual eBay used prices)
GTX 1070 8 GB 101.0 GFLOPS 6.463 TFLOPS 150W ~12–20W 256 GB/s ✅ Unlock ~$90 – $140 (community eBay pricing)
GTX 1070 Ti 8 GB 127.9 GFLOPS 8.186 TFLOPS 180W ~15–25W 256 GB/s ✅ Unlock ~$110 – $180 (user report and typical used sale)
GTX 1080 8 GB 139 GFLOPS 8.873 TFLOPS 180W ~15–25W 320.3 GB/s ✅ Unlock ~$110 – $160 (recent used prices seen)
GTX 1080 Ti 11 GB 177.2 GFLOPS 11.34 TFLOPS 250W ~18–30W 484.4 GB/s ✅ Unlock ~$140 – $220 (many used listings around $150-$200)
NVIDIA TITAN X (Pascal) 3584 12 GB GDDR5X ~11.0 TF ~11.0 TF 250W ~10W ✅ Unlock ~$120 – $200


Note: Pascal Series Cards are FP32 ONLY so AI performance is not great, this includes the p4, p40 and quadro gen pascal cards.

NVIDIA GTX 16 Series (Turing)

GPU CUDA VRAM FP32 FP16 TDP Idle Virtualization Avg Used eBay.com Price (≈)
GTX 1650 896 4 GB GDDR6 ~3.0 TF ~6.0 TF 75 W ~8–10 W ✅ ~$75 – $130
GTX 1650 Super 1280 4 GB GDDR6 ~4.4 TF ~8.8 TF 100 W ~9–12 W ✅ ~$90 – $140
GTX 1660 1408 6 GB GDDR5 ~5.0 TF ~10.0 TF 120 W ~9–12 W ✅ ~$90 – $140
GTX 1660 Super 1408 6 GB GDDR6 ~5.0 TF ~10.0 TF 125 W ~9–12 W ✅ ~$115 – $140
GTX 1660 Ti 1536 6 GB GDDR6 ~5.4 TF ~10.8 TF 120 W ~9–12 W ✅ ~$110 – $160


Note: The turing GTX 16 series is the first Nvidia series with solid AI performance. this is basically the oldest card series you want to focus on for AI use cases.

NVIDIA RTX 20 Series (Turing)

GPU CUDA VRAM FP32 FP16 TDP Idle Virtualization Avg Used eBay.com Price (≈)
RTX 2060 1920 6 GB GDDR6 6.5 TF 6.5 TF 160W ~8W ✅ Unlock ~$170 – $200
RTX 2060 Super 2176 8 GB GDDR6 7.2 TF 7.2 TF 175W ~9W ✅ Unlock ~$180 – $230
RTX 2070 2304 8 GB GDDR6 7.5 TF 7.5 TF 175W ~9W ✅ Unlock ~$200 – $250
RTX 2070 Super 2560 8 GB GDDR6 9.1 TF 9.1 TF 215W ~9W ✅ Unlock ~$220 – $270
RTX 2080 2944 8 GB GDDR6 10.1 TF 10.1 TF 215W ~10W ✅ Unlock ~$240 – $300
RTX 2080 Super 3072 8 GB GDDR6 11.2 TF 11.2 TF 250W ~10W ✅ Unlock ~$250 – $320
RTX 2080 Ti 4352 11 GB GDDR6 13.4 TF 13.4 TF 250W ~11W ✅ Unlock ~$300 – $380
NVIDIA TITAN RTX 4608 24 GB GDDR6 16.3 TF 32.6 TF 280W ~12W ✅ Unlock ~$600 – $800

NVIDIA RTX 30 Series (Ampere)

Model VRAM FP32 FP16 TDP Est. Idle Bandwidth Virtualization Avg Used eBay.com Price (≈)
RTX 3060 12GB 12 GB 12.74 TFLOPS 12.74 TFLOPS 170W ~8–12W 360 GB/s ❌ ~$200 – $280 (eBay used listings around $220–$280)
RTX 3060 Ti 8 GB 16.20 TFLOPS 16.20 TFLOPS 200W ~10–15W 448 GB/s ❌ ~$220 – $300 (pre-owned listings & reports ~$220–$290)
RTX 3070 8 GB 20.31 TFLOPS 20.31 TFLOPS 220W ~9–15W 448 GB/s ❌ ~$240 – $300 (community price reports for used)
RTX 3080 10 GB 29.77 TFLOPS 29.77 TFLOPS 320W ~9–15W 760 GB/s ❌ ~$320 – $500 (used prices reported ~$320–$500)
RTX 3080 Ti 12 GB 34.10 TFLOPS 34.10 TFLOPS 350W ~12–16W 912 GB/s ❌ ~$450 – $650+ (reports ~$450+)
RTX 3090 24 GB 35.58 TFLOPS 35.58 TFLOPS 350W ~15–20W 936 GB/s ❌ ~$600 – $800+ (pricing trend ~$600+)

NVIDIA RTX 40 Series (Ada Lovelace)

GPU CUDA VRAM FP32 FP16 TDP Idle Virtualization Avg Used eBay.com Price (≈)
RTX 4060 3072 8 GB GDDR6 128-bit 15.1 TF 15.1 TF 115W ~7W ❌ ~$220 – $300 (active used listings ~$230–$300)
RTX 4060 Ti 8GB 4352 8 GB GDDR6 128-bit 22.1 TF 22.1 TF 160W ~8W ❌ ~$250 – $350 (used/Refurb shows ~$250–$350)
RTX 4060 Ti 16GB 4352 16 GB GDDR6 128-bit 22.1 TF 22.1 TF 165W ~8W ❌ ~$280 – $380 (used 16 GB variants ~$280+)
RTX 4070 5888 12 GB GDDR6X 192-bit 29.1 TF 29.1 TF 200W ~10W ❌ ~$350 – $500+ (used pricing broader range on eBay)
RTX 4070 Super 7168 12 GB GDDR6X 192-bit 35.5 TF 35.5 TF 220W ~10W ❌ ~$400 – $550+ (used listings suggest ~$400+ typical)
RTX 4070 Ti 7680 12 GB GDDR6X 192-bit 40.1 TF 40.1 TF 285W ~11W ❌ ~$450 – $650+ (commonly listed used)
RTX 4080 9728 16 GB GDDR6X 256-bit 48.7 TF 48.7 TF 320W ~13W ❌ ~$700 – $1,000+ (used listings vary widely)
RTX 4090 16384 24 GB GDDR6X 384-bit 82.6 TF 82.6 TF 450W ~16W ❌ ~$1,400 – $2,000+ (many used listings in this range)

NVIDIA RTX 50 Series (Blackwell)

GPU CUDA VRAM FP32 FP16 TDP Idle Virtualization Avg Used eBay.com Price (≈)
RTX 5050 2560 8 GB GDDR6 128-bit 13.17 TFLOPS 13.17 TFLOPS 130W ~12W ❌ ~$350 – $450 (used listings like MSI RTX 5050 ~$450)
RTX 5060 3840 8 GB GDDR7 128-bit 19.18 TFLOPS 19.18 TFLOPS 145W ~13W ❌ ~$250 – $350 (used eBay listings for RTX 5060 shown ~$274)
RTX 5070 6144 12 GB GDDR7 256-bit 30.87 TFLOPS 30.87 TFLOPS 250W ~14W ❌ ~$500 – $600 (used eBay listings show ~$550 for RTX 5070)
RTX 5080 10752 16 GB GDDR7 256-bit 56.28 TFLOPS 56.28 TFLOPS 360W ~15W ❌ ~$800 – $1,200+ (used availability limited; high pricing trends)
RTX 5090 21760 32 GB GDDR7 512-bit 104.8 TFLOPS 104.8 TFLOPS 575W ~20W ❌ ~$2,300 – $4,500+ (eBay listings show high priced flagship cards; scalpers reported significantly above MSRP)

NVIDIA Quadro / Professional GPUs

GPU (Maxwell Quadro / Tesla) CUDA Cores VRAM Approx FP32 TDP Use Case Avg Used eBay US ≈
Quadro M4000 1664 8 GB GDDR5 ~2.6 TF ~108W Workstation ~$65 – $80
Quadro M5000 ~2048 8 GB GDDR5 ~3.2 TF ~180W+ Workstation $80
Quadro M6000 3072 12 GB GDDR5 ~4.5–5.0 TF ~250W High-end Workstation $500
Tesla M4 1024 4 GB GDDR5 ~1.8–2.2 TF ~50–75W Server / Compute $45-55
Tesla M6 1536 8 GB GDDR5 ~2.2–3.2 TF ~75–100W Server / Compute No active eBay listings found
Tesla M10 2560 (4×640) 32 GB GDDR5 ~5.2 TF ~225W Multi-GPU Compute $75-100
Tesla M40 3072 12 GB GDDR5 ~5.8–6.8 TF ~250W Compute Accelerator ~$84 – $108
Tesla M60 4096 (2×2048) 16 GB GDDR5 ~7.4–9.6 TF ~225–300W High-Density Compute $60-70
Pascal based Quardo VRAM FP16 (half) FP32 (float) TDP Idle Power (typical) Bandwidth Virtualization Avg. eBay.com Used Price
Quadro P5000 16GB 138.6 GFLOPS 8.873 TFLOPS 180W ~15–20W (256-bit GDDR5X) ✅ ~$300 – $450 (many listings around ~$250-$349)
Quadro P6000 24GB 197 GFLOPS 12.63 TFLOPS 250W ~20–25W 432.8 GB/s ✅ ~$550 – $700 (common used around ~$548-$694)
Quadro GP100 16GB HBM2 20.69 TFLOPS 10.34 TFLOPS 235W ~25–30W 732.2 GB/s ✅ ~$300-$330 (typical Quadro GP100 used price)
Quadro GV100 32GB HBM2 33.32 TFLOPS 16.66 TFLOPS 250W ~25–30W 868.4 GB/s ✅ ~$900+ (used GV100 listings often near or above ~$900)
Quadro RTX 6000 24GB GDDR6 32.62 TFLOPS 16.31 TFLOPS 260W ~22–30W 672.0 GB/s ✅ ~$1,000 – $1,399 (common used around ~$1,019-$1,390)
Turing based Quardo VRAM FP16 (half) FP32 (float) TDP Idle Power Bandwidth Virtualization Avg Used eBay.com Price (USD)
Quadro RTX 8000 48 GB GDDR6 32.62 TFLOPS 16.3 TFLOPS 260W ~20–30W (est.) 672 GB/s‡ ✅ ~$1,975 – $2,875
Quadro RTX 6000 24 GB GDDR6 32.62 TFLOPS 16.31 TFLOPS 260W ~20–30W (est.) 672 GB/s‡ ✅ ~$990 – $2,000
Quadro RTX 5000 16 GB GDDR6 22.30 TFLOPS 11.15 TFLOPS 230W ~15–20W (est.) 448 GB/s‡ ✅ ~$449 - $600
Quadro RTX 4000 8 GB GDDR6 14.24 TFLOPS 7.119 TFLOPS 160W ~12–18W (est.) 448 GB/s‡ ✅ ~$180 - $220

NVIDIA RTX A-Series (Professional GPUs)

GPU VRAM FP16 (half) FP32 (float) TDP Idle Power Bandwidth Virtualization Avg Used eBay.com Price (USD)
RTX A400 4 GB GDDR6 2.706 TFLOPS 2.706 TFLOPS 50W ~6–10W* 96 GB/s ✅ ~$180 – $220
RTX A2000 6GB 6GB GDDR6 7.987 TFLOPS 7.987 TFLOPS 70W ~7–10W 288 GB/s ✅ ~$300–$450
RTX A2000 (12GB) 12GB GDDR6 7.987 TFLOPS 7.987 TFLOPS 70W ~7–10W 288 GB/s ✅ ~$575–$650
RTX A4500 20GB GDDR6 23.65 TFLOPS 23.65 TFLOPS 200W ~13–18W 640 GB/s ✅ ~$1,295–$1,450
RTX A5000 24GB GDDR6 27.77 TFLOPS 27.77 TFLOPS 230W ~10–20W 768 GB/s ✅ ~$1,675–$1,900
RTX A6000 48GB GDDR6 38.71 TFLOPS 38.71 TFLOPS 300W ~8–12W 768 GB/s ✅ ~$4,250–$5,000


NOTE: Nvidia dropped the quadro name after turing now they are RTX A-series.

NVIDIA Tesla Series

GPU VRAM FP16 (half) FP32 (float) TDP Idle Power (typical) Bandwidth Virtualization Avg Used eBay.com Price (≈)
Tesla P4 8 GB 89.12 GFLOPS 5.704 TFLOPS 75W ~6–10W 192.3 GB/s ✅ ~$65 – $100 – Tesla P4 listings often show used cards in the $65–$100 range.
Tesla P40 24 GB 183.7 GFLOPS 11.76 TFLOPS 250W ~9–12W 384-bit GDDR5 ✅ ~$190 – $300+ – Multiple used Tesla P40 listings available between about $180 and $300.
Tesla P100 PCIe 12GB 12 GB HBM2 19.05 TFLOPS 9.526 TFLOPS 250W ~25–27W 549.1 GB/s ✅ ~$90 – $130 – Typical used cards around ~$100+ on eBay.
Tesla P100 SXM2 16GB 16GB HBM2 21.22 TFLOPS 10.61 TFLOPS 300W ~25–30W 732.2 GB/s ✅ ~$180 – $300+ – Listings vary based on adapter combos; typical range observed.
Tesla V100 PCIe 16GB 16 GB HBM2 28.26 TFLOPS 14.13 TFLOPS 300W ~20–30W 897.0 GB/s ✅ ~$300 – $500+ – Used listings frequently show V100 16GB cards around this range.
Tesla V100 PCIe 32GB 32 GB HBM2 ~28.26 TFLOPS ~14.13 TFLOPS 300W ~20–30W 897.0 GB/s ✅ ~$700 – $1,000+ – Larger-memory units on eBay.com trend significantly higher.
Tesla T4 16 GB 65.13 TFLOPS (8:1) 8.141 TFLOPS 70W ~8–12W 320.0 GB/s ✅ $750 – Used T4 cards often appear in this range on eBay.com.
Tesla L4 24 GB 30.29 TFLOPS (1:1) 30.29 TFLOPS 72W ~8–12W 192.3 GB/s ✅ $3,000
Tesla H100 80GB (PCIe / SXM5) 80 GB HBM3 204.9 TFLOPS 51.22 TFLOPS 350W ~30–40W (typical) ~2,000–3,350 GB/s ✅ ~$14,000 – $22,500+
Tesla H100 NVL 94GB 94 GB HBM3 241.3 TFLOPS 60.32 TFLOPS 400W ~30–40W (typical) ~3,900 GB/s ✅ ~$25,000 – $33,000+
GPU VRAM BF16 BF16 FP16 (half) FP32 (float) TDP Idle Power (typical) Bandwidth Virtualization Avg Used eBay.com Price (≈)
Tesla A100 40GB 40 GB HBM2e 311.84 TFLOPS 155.92 TFLOPs 77.97 TFLOPS 19.49 TFLOPS 250W ~25–30W 1,555 GB/s ✅ ~$4,000 – $9,000
Tesla A100 80GB 80 GB HBM2e 311.84 TFLOPS 155.92 TFLOPs 77.97 TFLOPS 19.49 TFLOPS 300W ~25–30W 1,935 GB/s ✅ ~$8,500 – $18,500+
AMD GPUs:

AMD Radeon RX 5000 Series (RDNA1)

GPU VRAM FP32 FP16 TDP Idle (Typical) Bandwidth Virtualization Avg Used eBay.com Price (≈)
Radeon RX 5500 4GB GDDR6 128-bit 5.20 TFLOPS 10.40 TFLOPS 110W ~5–8W 224 GB/s ❌ ~$60 – $90 – early used listings for RX 5500 variants appear around ~$60-$90 on eBay.com (e.g., pre-owned RX 5500 XT/5500 cards).
Radeon RX 5500 XT 4GB 4GB GDDR6 128-bit 5.20 TFLOPS 10.40 TFLOPS 130W ~6–10W 224 GB/s ❌ ~$70 – $110 – eBay.com used RX 5500 XT 4GB listings often range ~$60-$110+.
Radeon RX 5500 XT 8GB 8GB GDDR6 128-bit 5.20 TFLOPS 10.40 TFLOPS 130W ~6–10W 224 GB/s ❌ ~$110 – $150 – Many pre-owned RX 5500 XT 8GB listings around ~$120-$130+ on eBay.com.
Radeon RX 5600 XT 6GB GDDR6 192-bit 7.19 TFLOPS 14.38 TFLOPS 150W ~8–12W 288 GB/s ❌ ~$120 – $200 – eBay.com shows RX 5600 XT used listings commonly around ~$140-$180+, though some show higher.
Radeon RX 5700 8GB GDDR6 256-bit 7.95 TFLOPS 15.90 TFLOPS 180W ~10–15W 448 GB/s ❌ ~$140 – $180 – eBay.com used RX 5700 marketplace listings often around ~$150+.
Radeon RX 5700 XT 8GB GDDR6 256-bit 9.75 TFLOPS 19.50 TFLOPS 225W ~12–18W 448 GB/s ❌ ~$140 – $200 – RX 5700 XT used cards commonly list around $145-$180+ on eBay.com.

AMD Radeon RX 6000 Series (RDNA2)

GPU VRAM FP32 FP16 TDP Idle (Typical) Bandwidth Virtualization Avg Used eBay.com Price (≈)
Radeon RX 6500 XT 4GB GDDR6 64-bit 5.77 TFLOPS 11.54 TFLOPS 107W ~5–8W 144 GB/s ❌ ~$70 – $160 – multiple eBay.com used listings show 4GB RX 6500 XT cards commonly ~$60–$150+ USD (e.g., $63.99–$150+).
Radeon RX 6600 8GB GDDR6 128-bit 8.93 TFLOPS 17.86 TFLOPS 132W ~6–10W 224 GB/s ❌ ~$140 – $200 – used RX 6600 listings typically around $150–$180+ USD on eBay.com (e.g., $155, $180).
Radeon RX 6600 XT 8GB GDDR6 128-bit 10.60 TFLOPS 21.20 TFLOPS 160W ~7–12W 256 GB/s ❌ ~$170 – $250 – various RX 6600 XT used listings roughly $175–$250+ USD on eBay.com.
Radeon RX 6650 XT 8GB GDDR6 128-bit 10.79 TFLOPS 21.58 TFLOPS 176W ~7–12W 280 GB/s ❌ ~$200 – $300 – limited direct data, but common used RX 6650 XT listings appear around ~$200–$300 USD on eBay.com.
Radeon RX 6700 10GB GDDR6 160-bit 10.37 TFLOPS 20.74 TFLOPS 175W ~10–15W 320 GB/s ❌ ~$200 – $300+ – representative used RX 6700 XT (similar generation) listings often around $270–$340 (RX 6700 used may trend similar).
Radeon RX 6700 XT 12GB GDDR6 192-bit 13.21 TFLOPS 26.42 TFLOPS 230W ~12–18W 384 GB/s ❌ ~$250 – $350+ – used RX 6700 XT listings frequently show prices roughly ~$249–$340+ USD on eBay.com.
Radeon RX 6750 XT 12GB GDDR6 192-bit 13.31 TFLOPS 26.62 TFLOPS 250W ~12–18W 432 GB/s ❌ ~$250 – $350+ – some used listings for RX 6750 XT show ~$270+, suggesting similar mid-upper RDNA2 pricing.
Radeon RX 6800 16GB GDDR6 256-bit 16.17 TFLOPS 32.34 TFLOPS 250W ~15–22W 512 GB/s ❌ ~$280 – $380 – used cards from the same generation often list ~$285–$380+ USD on eBay.com (approximate from 6800 XT comparables and 6800 listings).
Radeon RX 6800 XT 16GB GDDR6 256-bit 20.74 TFLOPS 41.48 TFLOPS 300W ~15–25W 512 GB/s ❌ ~$350 – $450 – common used RX 6800 XT listings around $379–$450+ USD on eBay.com.
Radeon RX 6900 XT 16GB GDDR6 256-bit 23.04 TFLOPS 46.08 TFLOPS 300W ~18–28W 512 GB/s ❌ ~$400 – $600+ – used listings for RX 6900 XT often show ~$400–$600+ USD on eBay.com.
Radeon RX 6950 XT 16GB GDDR6 256-bit 23.65 TFLOPS 47.30 TFLOPS 335W ~18–30W 576 GB/s ❌ ~$450 – $650+ – used RX 6950 XT listings commonly around $450–$650 USD on eBay.com.

AMD Radeon RX 7000 Series (RDNA3)

GPU VRAM FP32 FP16 TDP Idle (Typical) Bandwidth Virtualization Avg Used eBay.com Price (≈)
Radeon RX 7600 8GB GDDR6 128-bit 21.75 TFLOPS 43.50 TFLOPS 165W ~7–12W 288 GB/s ❌ ~$160 – $230 – Used RX 7600 ended around $170 USD in recent eBay sold listings.
Radeon RX 7600 XT 16GB GDDR6 128-bit 22.57 TFLOPS 45.14 TFLOPS 190W ~8–14W 288 GB/s ❌ ~$250 – $320+ – Used RX 7600 XT listings like one at $289.99 USD show typical current ranges.
Radeon RX 7700 XT 12GB GDDR6 192-bit 35.17 TFLOPS 70.34 TFLOPS 245W ~15–22W 432 GB/s ❌ ~$350 – $480 – eBay shows mixed used listings and price variations; typical offers often cluster around $350–$480+.
Radeon RX 7800 XT 16GB GDDR6 256-bit 37.32 TFLOPS 74.64 TFLOPS 263W ~18–25W 624 GB/s ❌ ~$450 – $600+ – U.S. eBay used/pre-owned typical prices often seen ~$450–$550+.
Radeon RX 7900 GRE 16GB GDDR6 256-bit 40.35 TFLOPS 80.70 TFLOPS 260W ~18–25W 576 GB/s ❌ ~$450 – $650 – Used GRE variants likely track similar to other RX 7900 series pricing (e.g., XT) on eBay.com.
Radeon RX 7900 XT 20GB GDDR6 320-bit 51.48 TFLOPS 102.96 TFLOPS 300W ~20–30W 800 GB/s ❌ ~$600 – $800+ – Pre-owned listings often show around $600–$800+ USD on eBay.com.
Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24GB GDDR6 384-bit 61.39 TFLOPS 122.78 TFLOPS 355W ~20–35W* 960 GB/s ❌ ~$690 – $1,300+ – Used reference editions have been listed near $690 USD, while higher-end OC units approach $1,300+.

AMD Radeon RX 9000 Series (RDNA4)

GPU VRAM FP16 (half) FP32 (float) TDP Idle Power (typical) Bandwidth Virtualization Avg Used eBay.com Price (≈)
AMD Radeon RX 9600 8GB GDDR6 ~42.9 TFLOPS ~21.4 TFLOPS ~132W ~10–15W 288 GB/s ❌ ~$250 – $350 – while direct used listings are sparse, similar RX 9000-series boards suggest this rough range on eBay.com based on market pricing trends and adjacent model data.
AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 8GB 8GB GDDR6 51.3 TFLOPS 25.6 TFLOPS 150W ~12–18W 320 GB/s ❌ ~$280 – $380 – eBay.com shows various used/near-new RX 9060 XT 8GB listings (e.g., Gigabyte ~$299.99 USD for used) suggesting a ~low-$300s range.
AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB 16GB GDDR6 51.3 TFLOPS 25.6 TFLOPS 160W ~12–18W 320 GB/s ❌ ~$360 – $550 – eBay.com used listings for 9060 XT 16GB show examples around ~$425–$480 USD (pre-owned); higher end reflects condition/brand.
AMD Radeon RX 9070 16GB GDDR6 72.25 TFLOPS 36.13 TFLOPS 220W ~18–28W ~640–896 GB/s ❌ ~$450 – $650+ – similar RX 9070 eBay.com used listings and comparative search results suggest typical used prices around $500+ USD.
AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB GDDR6 97.32 TFLOPS 48.66 TFLOPS 260–304W ~20–30W 640 GB/s+ ❌ ~$600 – $800+ – eBay.com has used/pre-owned RX 9070 XT listings (e.g., PowerColor ~$699 USD) with a broad range depending on condition.

AMD Pro/Compute GPUs

GPU VRAM FP16 (half) FP32 (float) TDP Idle Power (typical) Bandwidth Virtualization Avg Used eBay.com Price (≈)
Radeon Instinct MI25 16GB HBM2 24.58 TFLOPS 12.29 TFLOPS 300W ~30–40W 436.2 GB/s 🟡 ~$90 – $180

Suggested OS:

#1 Proxmox - For virtualization, self-hosting and all around general usage. it can even be used for gaming and other high performance tasks such as AI within VMs/Containers.

QubesOS - For heightened Security / Pirvacy and a compartmented OS on a single PC via the Xen hypervisor base. features some very interesting methods for security and is worth checking out if you value security / privacy as your top priority.

Proxmox related content:

Proxmox Forums

Additional Resources:

Proxmox VE Helper scripts - Hundreds of scripts to quickly setup a wide range of projects on proxmox.
ProxMenux - Seperate Dashboard / CLI menu with more information & management options handy for proxmox management.

VMs:

OSX-KVM

Tutorials:

XDA - A beginner's guide to setting up Proxmox
Proxmox Beginner Tutorial: How to set up your first virtual machine on a secondary hard disk.

GPU related:
Simultaneous Intel GVT-G and Nvidia PCIe GPU Passthrough in Proxmox
nvidia:
Jellyfin LXC with Nvidia GPU transcoding and network storage
intel:
Enable Mediated Intel iGPU (GVT-g) for VM's in Proxmox (with Plex)
[Guide] Jellyfin + remote network shares + HW transcoding with Intel's QSV + unprivileged LXC

General info/helpful:

XDA - I tried gaming on a VM hosted on a Proxmox server – here’s how it went
XDA - Running Proxmox VMs with GPU passthrough is much easier than it used to be
Windows Gaming VM on Proxmox: Performance Optimization in MSFS 2020

Qubes Related content:

Additional Resources:
Qubes - Community Guides - a List of Guides directly from the QubesOS Community.
Qubes network server - Turn your Qubes OS machine into a network server
saltstack configs - This let's you declaratively manage your whole system.
Ansible plugins for QubesOS - Ansible module and connection plugin for Qubes OS

Tutorials:

Qubes OS installation guide
XDA - Qubes OS is the perfect operating system for security-conscious users
QubesOS setup & configuration - Instructions, scripts and files for installing and configuring QubesOS (including VPN and Crpto wallet suggestions.)
Disposables:
How to use disposables - A disposable is a stateless qube, it does not save data for the next boot. These qubes can serve various uses cases that require a pristine environment

Other OS related:

Windows:
Windows Ansible Playbook - AME Playbooks: AME Wizard NOTE: if you ever need to uninstall a playbook, you'll need to reinstall Windows.
windows-playbooks - Windows setup and configuration via Ansible.
AtlasOS - AtlasOS - Github - An open and lightweight modification to Windows, designed to optimize performance, privacy and usability.
ReviOS Playbook - A lightweight, stable, and performance-focused customized version of Windows that enhances privacy and compatibility
Redress Server PlayBook - Windows server 2022 -
RapidOS - RapidOS is a powerful modification for Windows 10/11 that radically transforms the OS through deep customization, while maintaining rock-solid stability through the AME Beta playbook system.
Rapid - A tailor-made modification of Windows designed for maximize Gaming performance and latencies.

Windows Group Policy:
Group Policy settings to improve privacy/security
30 Critical Group Policy Settings to Secure & Optimize Windows -
Privacy and security baseline for personal Windows 10 and Windows 11 -
Windows On Reins - Wor is a Powershell script to harden, debloat, optimize, enhance privacy, avoid fingerprinting and improve performance on Windows 10 and 11.
PC-Optimization-Hub - collection of various resources devoted to performance and input lag optimization

Filesystems:

XFS vs EXT4: Which Linux File System Is Better?

Beyond what is covered in the article:

  • XFS: In my experience, XFS is more reliable for long-term data storage. I’ve lost files to long-term storage on EXT4, particularly media files, so for that purpose, XFS is preferred.
  • EXT4: For operating system disks (e.g., laptop), EXT4 works well. However, EXT4 has a space reservation system (typically 5%), which means you automatically lose a chunk of disk space as the disk size grows. XFS, on the other hand, doesn’t reserve space, so you can fill it more efficiently.

Note: Avoid using XFS on top of XFS in virtual machines (VMs). It doesn’t nest/stack well. Instead, use EXT4 on top of XFS if you need to stack file systems.

ZFS - The Zettabyte File System

What is ZFS?

ZFS is a robust and highly reliable file system with several advanced features:

  • Compression: Supports 1z4, gzip, zstd, and more.
  • Deduplication: Requires significant memory and RAID setups for optimal performance.
  • Self-healing RAID: Uses hashing and is self-healing in RAID configurations.
  • Copy-on-write (CoW) Verification: Files are verified before being written to disk and every time they are read, with various checksum options.
  • Scalability: Scales incredibly well, ideal for large datasets.
  • Raw Filesystems: Allows VM disks to be written directly into the filesystem, functioning like containers.
  • Live VM Copying: Can copy live virtual machines.
  • Superior Performance Potential: Can deliver high-performance results when properly configured.
  • Advanced Configurations: Offers complex options for highly specific use cases.

Performance & Usage Considerations for ZFS

ZFS is extremely reliable, especially in RAID environments with at least 2+ disks. However, if performance isn’t critical, it can work well on a single disk, though it may be slower and require more RAM.

ZFS is made for data centers, and has a steep learning curve, but its extensive features make it a solid choice for advanced users.

BTRFS as an Alternative to ZFS

BTRFS Overview

BTRFS offers some similar features to ZFS, such as hash support and ZSTD compression, but it is generally less reliable. It’s easier to use compared to ZFS, but for certain use cases, it may not be as dependable.

For example, a large number of small file writes can cause BTRFS to crash, leading to potential data loss (e.g., for databases, torrents, or VMs). Although BTRFS is a copy-on-write system, it’s not as robust as ZFS.

BTRFS Use Case Example

In testing, I ran a Ubuntu VM with BTRFS and compressed roughly 5.5GB of OS files down to 2.8GB using ZSTD compression (level 9 specified in the /etc/fstab configuration).

  • ZSTD Compression:
    • Optimal Levels: Use ZSTD level 3 or higher for meaningful compression. Levels 9-11 increase compression time exponentially with minimal benefits.
    • Recommended Levels: A level of 5-7 provides a good balance between performance and compression ratio.

Using These Filesystems with Proxmox

All these filesystems (XFS, ZFS, and BTRFS) can be utilized on Proxmox, a homelab virtualization server platform.

Helpful links:

ZFS:
ZFS Guide for starters and advanced users. Concepts, pool config, tuning, troubleshooting
Solaris 10: ZFS Evil Tuning Guide
ZFS - how to use a file as a ZIL
OpenZFS Summit highlights Fast Dedup and RAIDZ Expansion
Fast Dedup, tested and reviewed
Fast Dedup Review Guide

Useful Software:

Awesome Lists:

  • Curated List of Awesome Lists - A collection of curated "awesome" lists covering a wide variety of topics, providing valuable resources and tools for almost every field of interest.
  • Awesome Programs and Tweaks for Windows, macOS, and Linux - A curated collection of programs and tweaks to enhance the functionality, performance, and usability of Windows, macOS, and Linux systems.
  • Awesome List of Windows Software - A curated list of useful and essential software for Windows users, covering a wide range of categories and needs.
  • Awesome List of Linux Software - A comprehensive list of open-source software and tools for Linux users, including productivity, development, and system management applications.
  • Awesome List of macOS Software - A curated collection of software and tools for macOS, ranging from productivity applications to development utilities and system enhancements.
  • Awesome Privacy - A curated collection of privacy-focused software and tools designed to enhance your online and offline privacy and security.
  • Awesome Piracy - A curated list of resources and tools related to piracy, including websites, software, and services for accessing pirated content.

RDP:

Gaming:

File Management:

File Sharing:

  • croc - Easily and securely send files between computers.

File Compression:

  • 7-Zip - A popular open-source file compression tool that supports various archive formats and offers high compression ratios.
  • 7-Zip ZSTD - A fork of 7-Zip that adds support for the Zstandard (ZSTD) compression algorithm, offering faster speeds and higher compression ratios.
  • Compactor - A tool for compressing files and directories, designed for efficiency and easy use with high-quality compression techniques.
  • CompactGUI - A graphical user interface for the Compact tool, which allows users to compress files and folders using the Windows built-in compression features.

Caching:

Firewall/Networking:

Host Power Management:

  • Linux: PowerTop - Tweak host for power savings.

Media Conversion:

  • Hybrid - A multi-purpose video conversion tool that integrates various encoders and applications, allowing easy media conversion from various formats.
  • HandBrake - A widely-used open-source video transcoder that supports GPU acceleration for faster encoding and includes support for modern codecs like AV1.

Documents:

  • Recoll - A powerful, open-source desktop search tool that can index and search the contents of various document formats. It supports a wide range of file types and is great for organizing and retrieving personal documents locally.

Windows Tweaks & Privacy:

  • Windows 10/11 Optimization & Customization Guide - A comprehensive guide that helps optimize and customize Windows 10/11 for improved performance, privacy, and overall system experience.
  • Microsoft Edge Removal - A tool to fully remove Microsoft Edge from Windows, ensuring it is completely deleted and no longer part of your system.
  • OneDrive-Uninstaller - A tool for completely uninstalling OneDrive from your system, preventing it from syncing and taking up system resources.
  • Dism++ - A powerful system tool for managing Windows image files, providing options for system cleanup, privacy tweaks, and optimizations.
  • Blackbird - A privacy-focused tool that disables tracking, telemetry, and other unwanted data collection by Windows, offering enhanced privacy on your system.
  • 10AntiSpy - A privacy-focused tool for disabling unwanted Windows 10 features such as telemetry, Cortana, and other data collection mechanisms.
  • UWT4 - A comprehensive tweak tool for Windows 10 that allows you to customize various system settings and privacy options, improving performance and security.
  • Win10BloatRemover - A tool that helps you remove bloatware and unwanted apps from Windows 10, freeing up space and improving system performance.
  • Intelligent Standby List Cleaner - A tool to reduce system stuttering and improve performance by clearing the standby memory list, optimizing RAM usage.
  • Destroy Windows 10 Spying - A privacy tool designed to disable telemetry, tracking, and data collection features in Windows 10 for improved privacy and control.

Windows 7:

  • Windows 7 ESU Patching - A guide for patching Windows 7 Extended Security Updates (ESU) to keep receiving updates and security patches after official support ends.
  • Windows 7 Service Pack 2 - A community-driven project to create an unofficial Windows 7 Service Pack 2, adding new features, bug fixes, and improvements to Windows 7.
  • Windows 7 SP4 Unofficial - An unofficial Service Pack 4 for Windows 7, designed to enhance the system with additional updates and fixes after the official support ended.
  • Windows-7 on Modern Hardware - A guide for installing and running Windows 7 on modern hardware, with advice on drivers, patches, and compatibility tweaks.
  • Windows 7 Fan-Made Survival Guide - A fan-made survival guide for using Windows 7 in the modern era, offering tips, tweaks, and tools to keep Windows 7 functional and secure.

Linux Filesystems on Windows:

  • WinBtrfs - A Windows driver for the Btrfs filesystem, allowing access to Btrfs partitions and data from a Windows environment.
  • OpenZFS on Windows - A project to bring OpenZFS support to Windows, enabling ZFS filesystems to be used on Windows systems.
  • EXT4 for Win - A driver for accessing EXT4 partitions on Windows, offering full read/write support for EXT4-formatted drives.

Warning: These drivers are experimental and may not be stable. There is a risk of data corruption, crashes, or other issues when using Linux filesystems on Windows. It is highly recommended to use these tools only with backup copies of your important data, and avoid using them for critical or production environments.

SelfHosted:

Why Self-Host: A Philosophy

Self-hosting isn’t just a technical exercise—it’s a deliberate choice to reclaim agency in a world where digital infrastructure increasingly dictates how we live, learn, and connect. This section explores the philosophical underpinnings of running your own services, drawing on decades of critical thought about education, technology, and power. The goal is to help you understand why self-hosting matters beyond the practical benefits of privacy and control.

The Tools of Learning (and Unlearning)

In 1947, Dorothy L. Sayers delivered a prescient lecture at Oxford titled “The Lost Tools of Learning.” She argued that modern education had abandoned the medieval trivium, grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric, which taught students how to think rather than merely what to think. The result, she warned, was a population easily swayed by propaganda, unable to distinguish fact from opinion, and incapable of independent reasoning. ( Sayers, Dorothy L. “The Lost Tools of Learning.” Oxford, 1947. [Reprinted in The Lost Tools of Learning (Methuen, 1948).])

Sayers’ critique resonates today. The internet, once hailed as a democratizing force, has become a battleground for attention, where algorithms shape our beliefs and platforms monetize our confusion. Self-hosting is a way to reclaim the tools of learning: you decide what software to run, what data to keep, and what communities to engage with. It’s an exercise in grammar (knowing your hardware and software), dialectic (understanding network architecture and security trade‑offs), and rhetoric (sharing your setup and knowledge with others). In essence, self-hosting is a practical return to the trivium.

The Dead Internet: A Cautionary Tale

A growing body of internet folklore—often called the “Dead Internet Theory”—suggests that much of what we encounter online is not human-generated at all. Posts, comments, even entire news articles may be produced by bots or AI, designed to manipulate discourse and manufacture consent. While the theory remains speculative, its core observation is undeniable: automated accounts flood social media, astroturf campaigns shape political narratives, and search results are gamed by SEO spam.

When you self-host, you step out of this hall of mirrors. Your file server, your chat system, your media stream—these are real interactions with real data, untouched by algorithmic curation. You no longer need to wonder whether the comment praising a product is a bot or the article you’re reading was written by a language model. Self-hosting restores a sense of authenticity to your digital life.

IlluminatiPirate. “Dead Internet Theory: Most of the Internet is Fake.” Agora Road, 2021. Archived at https://forum.agoraroad.com/index.php?threads/dead-internet-theory-most-of-the-internet-is-fake.3011/

The Architecture of Control

R. Buckminster Fuller, in his 1983 book Grunch of Giants, described the rise of supranational corporations as an invisible “gross universe cash heist”—a system designed to concentrate wealth and power by exploiting humanity’s ignorance of its own technological potential. Fuller argued that the real wealth of the world is not money but know-how, and that corporations had monopolized that know‑how for their own benefit.

Fuller’s analysis extends naturally to the internet. A handful of companies control the platforms we use daily, the data we generate, and the algorithms that decide what we see. They have the know‑how—and the incentive—to shape our behavior for profit. Self-hosting is a way to reclaim that know‑how, to build your own small corner of the network using open tools and shared knowledge. It’s a practical act of decentralization, a counterweight to the Grunch.

Fuller, R. Buckminster. Grunch of Giants. St. Martin’s Press, 1983.

Surveillance and Censorship: The Evidence

Government and corporate overreach are not theoretical. In 2024, DARPA launched the TRACTOR program to automatically translate legacy C code into Rust, citing memory‑safety vulnerabilities as a national security concern.[1] While the goal is laudable, it also illustrates how deeply the state invests in controlling the software that underpins critical infrastructure. Meanwhile, platforms like YouTube have explicitly called for governments to pass laws enabling more aggressive censorship of “harmful” content,[2] and Google has been caught demoting search results for sites that discuss Islamic terrorism.[3]

These examples show that centralized platforms are not neutral conduits; they are active participants in shaping discourse. When you host your own services, you insulate yourself from arbitrary content moderation and surveillance. Your data stays on your hardware, accessible only to those you trust.

  1. Lemos, Robert. “DARPA Aims to Ditch C Code, Move to Rust.” Dark Reading, Aug. 13, 2024. https://www.darkreading.com/application-security/darpa-aims-to-ditch-c-code-move-to-rust

  2. Nolan, Lucas. “Google Speech Code: YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki Calls on Governments to Censor the Internet.” Breitbart, Feb. 16, 2022. Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20240810192332/https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2022/02/16/google-speech-code-youtube-ceo-susan-wojcicki-calls-on-governments-to-censor-the-internet/

  3. Greenfield, Daniel. “Google Warns Freedom Center to Censor Mentions of Islamic Terror.” FrontPage Magazine, Mar. 29, 2024. https://www.frontpagemag.com/google-warns-freedom-center-to-censor-mentions-of-islamic-terror/

Ethical Responsibility

Beyond personal benefit, self-hosting carries an ethical dimension. Centralized platforms have been used to facilitate human trafficking, child exploitation, and other crimes. A 2021 report found that Facebook was the primary recruitment tool for sex traffickers in the United States, with 59% of online recruitment occurring on the platform.[1] Lawsuits have forced courts to recognize that platforms can be held liable when they knowingly benefit from such exploitation.[2]

By running your own services, you avoid supporting a system that profits from—or at least fails to adequately prevent—these abuses. You also gain the ability to create safe, private spaces for communities that might otherwise be vulnerable to harassment or exploitation on mainstream platforms.

  1. De Chant, Tim. “Facebook is a hub of sex trafficking recruitment in the US, report says.” Ars Technica, June 10, 2021. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/06/facebook-is-a-hub-of-sex-trafficking-recruitment-in-the-us-report-says/

  2. Cipriano, Andrea. “Facebook Liable for Human Trafficking Connections: Court Ruling.” The Crime Report, June 28, 2021. Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20240810163040/https://thecrimereport.org/2021/06/28/facebook-liable-for-human-trafficking-connections-court-ruling/

The Problem of Software Bloat

Modern software is often far larger and slower than necessary. As Isaac Lyman noted in a Stack Overflow blog post, “apps are slower than they used to be. And exponentially larger without a corresponding increase in value.” The reasons are complex: market pressure to add features, the expectation that software should be free (leading to ad‑supported models that consume resources), and the sheer convenience of using bloated frameworks.

Self-hosting lets you choose lean, well‑crafted software. The homelab community values efficiency—witness the popularity of Alpine Linux, minimalist Docker images, and lightweight services like Audiobookshelf or Jellyfin. By running your own stack, you reject the “more is better” mentality and embrace software that respects your hardware and your time.

Lyman, Isaac. “Is software getting worse?” Stack Overflow Blog, Dec. 25, 2023. https://stackoverflow.blog/2023/12/25/is-software-getting-worse/

Conclusion: A Modern Trivium

Self-hosting is not merely a technical hobby; it is a way of thinking and living. It requires you to learn the grammar of your system—the hardware specs, the configuration files, the network topology. It demands dialectic—the ability to troubleshoot, to reason about security, to weigh trade‑offs. And it invites rhetoric—the sharing of your knowledge through documentation, forums, and open‑source contributions.

In an age of manufactured consent, algorithmic manipulation, and corporate surveillance, self-hosting is an act of resistance. It is a declaration that you will not be a passive consumer of digital services, but an active participant in building the kind of internet you want to inhabit.

This section is meant to be a living document—add your own insights and references as you discover them. The homelab is not just a collection of hardware; it’s a statement about how you choose to live in the digital world.

Audiobooks & Podcasts:

  • Audiobookshelf - An open-source self-hosted solution for managing and listening to audiobooks. It offers a clean interface and supports syncing across devices.

Audiobookshelf Apps:

  • Android App: Audiobookshelf Android App - An official Android app for accessing your Audiobookshelf library, providing seamless audiobook management and playback.
  • iOS Apps:
    • Audiobooth - An iOS app for listening to audiobooks from Audiobookshelf. Note: Currently does not support podcasts.
    • Plappa - A podcast app that integrates with Audiobookshelf, providing support for podcasts as well. Note: Can be glitchy and has heavy battery drain issues when managing large libraries, but podcasts work at least.

AI:

  • Text: Ollama - A tool to run LLMs (Large Language Models) on your own machine, enabling private and customizable AI instances.
  • Images: EasyDiffusion - A user-friendly interface for running Stable Diffusion locally to generate high-quality images.
  • Images: Forge-WebUI - A web-based interface for managing and controlling AI model deployments on your own server.
  • multi: Koboldcpp - KoboldCpp is an easy-to-use AI text-generation software for GGML and GGUF models, inspired by the original KoboldAI.
  • TTS: Kokoro FastAPI - A Text-to-Speech service built with FastAPI, allowing fast and efficient text-to-speech conversion using AI models.
  • DeepResearch: Local Deep Research - Local Deep Research achieves ~95% on SimpleQA benchmark (tested with GPT-4.1-mini). Supports local and cloud LLMs (Ollama, Google, Anthropic, ...). Searches 10+ sources - arXiv, PubMed, web, and your private documents. Everything Local & Encrypted.

Additional AI Resources:

Text:
UGI/Uncensored General Intelligence Leaderboard - Measures a model's knowledge of sensitive topics and its ability to follow instructions when faced with controversial prompts.

UGI Scoring: UGI is the combination of: 
Knowledge of sensitive information:
    Hazardous: Knowledge of topics that LLMs probably shouldn't assist with.
    Entertainment: Knowledge of adult or controversial entertainment and media.
    SocPol: Knowledge of sensitive socio-political topics.
W/10 👍 (Willingness/10): How far a model can be pushed before it refuses to answer or deviates from instructions.
    W/10-Direct: Measures if the model directly refuses to respond to certain prompts.
    W/10-Adherence: Measures if a model deviates from instructions, which can be a form of refusal or a lack of instruction following capabilities.

A model with a high UGI, but low W/10 for example may be able to help provide you with an significant amount of accurate information on sensitive topics, but will see it as educational and will refuse to form the information into something against its values.

NatInt 💡: Natural Intelligence

Measures a model's general knowledge and reasoning capabilities across a range of standard and specialized domains. NatInt is the combination of:

Textbook: Measures knowledge of standard, factual information like history, statistics, math, and logic.
Pop Culture: Knowledge of specific details from things like video games, movies, music, and internet culture.
World Model: Tasks that test a model's understanding of real-world properties and patterns.
    Cooking (% Error): Predicts needed ingredient amounts for recipes.
    GeoGuesser (km Error): Identifies a location based on a description of its surroundings.
    Weight (% Error): Estimates the weight of various objects based on their description.
    Music (Error): Predicts a song's musical attributes (like bpm and loudness) based on its lyrics.
    Show Recommendation Score: A model's ability to predict what rating out of ten a person will rate a TV show based on their previous ratings.
        Show Rec MAE: The mean absolute error between the model's predicted ratings and the user's true ratings.
        Show Rec Correlation: Measures how well the model's predictions trend with the user's true ratings.
        Show Rec Std Dev Error: The absolute difference between the spread of the model's predictions and the spread of the true ratings.
Writing ✍️

A score of a model's writing ability, factoring in intelligence, writing style, amount of repetition, and adherence to requested output length. The score attempts to match the average person's preferences. Optimal values are displayed in parentheses in the column headers for the metrics used in the formula (e.g., 'Readability Grade (~5.5)'). These values were estimated using human feedback through model preference.

Models that are not able to consistently produce writing responses due to irreparable repetition issues, broken outputs, or constant refusals are not given a writing score. Writing Metrics

NSFW/Dark Lean: Measures the tonal direction a model takes when doing creative writing, from SFW to explicit (NSFW) and from lighthearted to violent/tragic (Dark). NOTE: A high or low number does not mean it is high or low quality. These two metrics solely measure frequency.
Stylistic Metrics:
    Readability Grade: The estimated US school grade level needed to understand the text.
    Verb/Noun Ratio: The ratio of action words (verbs) to naming words (nouns).
    Adj&Adv %: The percentage of descriptive words (adjectives and adverbs) out of total words.
    Dialogue %: The percentage of sentences in the model's response that is dialogue when writing stories.
Repetition Metrics:
    Lexical Stuckness: Measures if the model gets 'stuck' using a limited vocabulary in parts of its writing.
    Originality: Measures how unique a model's writing outputs are by comparing the word usage and themes used across different writing prompts.
    Semantic Redundancy: Detects when the same concept is expressed multiple times with different wording.
Length Adherence:
    Length Error %: The average percentage difference between a user-requested word count and the generated word count.
    Exceeded %: The percentage of times the model responds with more words than requested.
Style Adherence: How closely the model is able to match the writing style of a given example.
Political Lean 📋 Political Metrics 
Political Lean 📋: Measures a model's political alignment based on its responses to the 12axes test. The Political Lean metric uses a simplified version with the Assimilationist-Multiculturalist, Average(Collectivize-Privatize & Planned-LaissezFaire), and Progressive-Traditional axes. The score ranges from -100% (Left) to 100% (Right).
12axes Ideology: The closest matching political ideology from the 12axes test.
Aggregate Scores:
    Govt: Higher = State authority, Lower = Individual liberty
    Dipl: Higher = Global outlook, Lower = National interests
    Econ: Higher = Economic equality, Lower = Market freedom
    Scty: Higher = Progressive values, Lower = Traditional values

Cloud

☁️ Cosmos - Secure and Easy Selfhosted Home Server. Take control of your data and privacy without sacrificing security and stability (Authentication, anti-DDOS, anti-bot)
CryptPad - Open Source E2EE Collaborative office suite
NextCloud - Self-Hosted Cloud

Media Streaming:

  • Jellyfin - An open-source media server for managing and streaming your media content to various devices.
  • Plex - A media server platform that allows you to stream and organize your media collection from your own server.
  • Emby - Another media server platform, offering advanced features for content management and streaming.
  • seerr - free and open source software application for managing requests for your media library. It integrates with the media server of your choice: Jellyfin, Plex, and Emby. In addition, it integrates with your existing services, such as Sonarr, Radarr.
  • Radarr - An automatic movie collection manager that works with your media server for a seamless experience.
  • Sonarr - A TV series manager for downloading, organizing, and streaming your favorite shows automatically.
  • Tautulli - A monitoring tool for your Plex server, providing detailed analytics and statistics on your media server's usage.

Documents:

  • Ubooquity - A lightweight and easy-to-use home server for managing and streaming eBooks and comics. Ideal for personal digital libraries.
  • OpenReader-WebUI - Read documents in realtime with high-quality TTS; or extract audiobooks. Use your own Kokoro-FastAPI, Deepinfa API, or Open AI API endpoint. .

Media Conversion:

Metasearch Engines:

  • SearXNG - SearXNG is a free internet metasearch engine which aggregates results from various search services and databases. Users are neither tracked nor profiled.

Virus Scanners:

  • Malice - Malice's mission is to be a free open source version of VirusTotal that anyone can use at any scale from an independent researcher to a fortune 500 company. (officially archived but still worth a mention.)

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