wiki/docs/hardware.md

icon	tags
material/harddisk	Evergreen

Hardware

Computers

/// abstract | Philosophy I like full-sized form factor builds for expandability, ease of maintenance, and generally cheaper and more available used parts.

Similarly, I prefer air-cooling over water-cooling for better reliability and repairability.

And I hate RGBs. ///

=== "Desktop PC"

My PC runs ![Windows 11](https://assets.tylernguyen.wiki/logos/Windows11.svg){ .twemoji } Windows 11 and is mostly use for gaming.

- __BenQ Zowie XL2566K__

  I mostly play VALORANT so the 25" size and 360Hz refresh rate goes well together. I don't recommend this monitor, however, as it is 1080p and a TN panel. My dream monitor would be a 25" 1440p OLED at 360Hz.

- __GIGABYTE X570S AORUS Master__
- __AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D__
- __Noctua NH-D15 chromax.Black__

  _AM4_ is more than adequate for my fidelity and performance needs right now. I don't intend to upgrade to _AM5_. The next platform upgrade would likely be AM6 or Intel's equivalent.

- __Fractal Torrent__
- __EVGA RTX 3080 Ti FTW3 Ultra__
- __Sabrent Rocket 4.0 Plus__
- __Crucial P3 3.0 4TB__
- __be quiet! Dark Power 12 1000W__

=== "Server"

My home server runs :simple-unraid:{ .unraid } Unraid. The primary usage is for media archival and consumption. It also hosts my :simple-homeassistant:{ .homeassistant } Home Assistant, :simple-gitea:{ .gitea } Gitea, and :simple-mastodon:{ .mastodon } Mastodon instance. See [:material-server-network-outline: .wiki/self-hosted](self-hosted.md).

- __Fractal Meshify 2 XL__

  I maxed out this case with 20 3.5" drives. I'll start to rotate out older and smaller capacity drives on upgrades for next few years. On the next platform upgrade (in ~5 years), I'll probably move to a rackmounted form factor.


- __ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming X__
- __AMD Ryzen 9 3950X__
- __Noctua NH-D15 chromax.Black__
- __PNY RTX 4000__
- __Micron 32GB DDR4-3200 ECC UDIMM 2Rx8 CL22 MTA18ASF4G72AZ-3G2R__
- __178TB of mixed 3.5" drives__: retail, shucked, and used

  Main data array (150TB), formatted in XFS and runs with 2 drives (_2x_ 14TB) as parities.

  /// tip
  [Disk Prices (US)](https://diskprices.com/) is convenient price checking/tracking tool for WD external drives.
  ///

- _2x_ __1TB WD SN750 NVMes__

  Primary cache that holds app and configuration data. They are formmatted in :simple-openzfs:{ .openzfs } ZFS and run in RAID1

- _2x_ __2TB Crucial MX500 2.5"__

  Secondary cache used for temporary data and faster decrompression. They are formated in btrfs and run in RAID0.

- __be quiet! Dark Power 12 1000W__

=== "Laptops"

- __Apple 14" Macbook Pro M3 Max__, 36GB unified memory

  This is my de-facto workhorse. The hardware and form factor is perfect for my use case. I plan on renewing AppleCare for it when it expires and don't intend on upgrading for the foreseeable future.

- __Lenovo Thinkpad X1C6__

  This was my old laptop and used for about 6 years. It runs macOS, see [.wiki/projects/x1c6-hackintosh](projects/x1c6-hackintosh/README.md).

Mobile

• iPhone 14 Pro

It's an iPhone, nothing more, nothing less. It's much more powerful than what I use it for, especially since I don't care for photos. The battery life is what matters most to me. Should Apple releases a new iPhone Mini, I'd likely swap to that.

• iPad Mini 6th Gen

I use the iPad Mini to read the web, comics, mangas, and the occasional textbooks. It's also how I watch movies and shows on the treadmill.

• Kobo Clara BW

This is my default device for reading books. And since the majority of my book-reading are before bedtime, it lives primarily on my headboard or nightstand.

Runs :octicons-git-branch-16:{ .foreground } koreader/koreader { .twemoji } { .twemoji } { .twemoji } { .twemoji }

Consoles

• Steam Deck OLED LE

I love my Steam Deck OLED. I previously had a standard Steam Deck and cannot recommend the OLED model enough. I use it at my desk, in bed, and on travel. I play mostly indie and emulated titles on it.

• Nintendo Switch OLED

• AMBERNIC RG35XXSP

  Runs MuOS instead of the stock operating system.

Miscellaneous

• Apple AirTag
• Yubikey 5C

/// tip Yubikey can also be used for :simple-gnuprivacyguard:{ .gnuprivacyguard } GnuPG and SSH.

See :octicons-git-branch-16:{ .foreground } drduh/YubiKey-Guide { .twemoji } { .twemoji } { .twemoji } { .twemoji } ///