---
title: "I started my home lab with a full-size PC, and now I can't imagine using anything else"
url: https://daily.dev/posts/i-started-my-home-lab-with-a-full-size-pc-and-now-i-can-t-imagine-using-anything-else-11myb0gxo
source_url: https://www.xda-developers.com/your-first-home-lab-should-be-with-a-full-size-pc-and-heres-why
type: article
source: "XDA Developers"
published: 2026-06-02T12:01:55.321Z
updated: 2026-07-02T02:12:38.172Z
tags: ["docker", "homelab", "proxmox", "self-hosting", "truenas"]
reading_time: 6
upvotes: 1
comments: 0
language: en
---

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# I started my home lab with a full-size PC, and now I can't imagine using anything else

**[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 6 min read · 1 upvotes · 0 comments

## Summary

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.

## Full article

daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: <https://www.xda-developers.com/your-first-home-lab-should-be-with-a-full-size-pc-and-heres-why>

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Tags: [#docker](https://daily.dev/tags/docker), [#homelab](https://daily.dev/tags/homelab), [#proxmox](https://daily.dev/tags/proxmox), [#self-hosting](https://daily.dev/tags/self-hosting), [#truenas](https://daily.dev/tags/truenas)

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