Episode 59: Homelab Hardware Showdown: Rack Servers vs Workstations vs Mini Clusters

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Crowbar Kernel Panic

Bo McCoy

60 episodes

1 month ago

certainly entertaining and hopefully helpful we strive to cover the topics at the heart of the Linux gamer. From Proton to Vulkan, from Linux native to voiding the warranty. We discuss news and updates from the Linux community, our gaming habits and wanderings along with reviewing a game each week.

All content for Crowbar Kernel Panic is the property of Bo McCoy and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

Episode 59: Homelab Hardware Showdown: Rack Servers vs Workstations vs Mini Clusters

Crowbar Kernel Panic

1 hour 3 minutes 18 seconds

2 months ago

Episode 59: Homelab Hardware Showdown: Rack Servers vs Workstations vs Mini Clusters

Welcome back to Crowbar Kernel Panic! 🚀
In this episode, we dive into the three main “lanes” of homelab hardware and help you decide which one makes sense for your space, budget, and goals:

Lane 1: Refurb Enterprise Rack — the loud, hot, datacenter monster 🏢

Lane 2: Workstation Builds — the “Goldilocks” option for power and sanity ⚖️

Lane 3: Low-Power Mini Clusters — silent bookshelf datacenters 📚

We compare cost, noise, power draw, expandability, and real-world use cases. Plus, we talk through subscriber comments, Kubernetes setups, and share some personal homelab stories (including when things go hilariously wrong).

If you’re thinking about building your own homelab, or just want to hear about the trade-offs, this episode is for you.

👉 Join the Discord for discussion and advice: https://discord.gg/Nx6HgaAuZ3
👉 Follow along with the GitHub configs: https://github.com/bomccoy/homelab-proxmox-k3s