I started my home lab with a full-size PC, and now I can't imagine using anything else
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An argument for using a full-size ATX desktop PC as your first home lab machine instead of a Raspberry Pi, mini PC, or used enterprise server. Key advantages include expandability (PCIe slots, drive bays, DIMM slots), x86 compatibility with the entire self-hosting software stack (Proxmox, TrueNAS, Docker images), and the ability to repurpose hardware you may already own. The post acknowledges real downsides — higher idle power draw (50–100W vs 3–8W for SBCs), more noise, and a larger physical footprint — but frames the ATX tower as the ideal learning platform before right-sizing to smaller, more efficient hardware once you understand your actual workload.
