The Reclaimed Node Blog
Practical guides to building a homelab — picking hardware, choosing software, and putting reclaimed gear to work.
Building a 4-GPU EPYC Workstation on DDR4
Why we built on EPYC 7402P and the ROMED8-2T: the newest EPYC platform on DDR4, four full x16 slots, and an open case built for airflow.
Oct 6, 2026 · 5 min read HomelabFour CMP 170HX Cards, One Server: 256GB of VRAM
Four mining cards unlocked to 64GB each, running GLM-5.3-Flash on vLLM at up to 563 tokens per second. Build, first benchmarks and thermals.
Oct 6, 2026 · 3 min read HomelabMac Studio vs. a 64GB NVIDIA CMP 170HX: Local AI Image Generation Head-to-Head
Same model, same prompts, same seeds. An Apple M5 Ultra Mac Studio takes on a mining-only NVIDIA card unlocked to 64GB, and wins every image.
Oct 5, 2026 · 6 min read HomelabLocal AI Image Generation on a 64GB NVIDIA CMP 170HX
Qwen Image 2512 at full bf16 precision, entirely in VRAM. No quantization, no offloading.
Sep 26, 2026 · 6 min read HomelabThe Ultimate Homelab BMC Showdown: Dell iDRAC vs. HPE iLO vs. Lenovo XCC
Comparing out-of-band management platforms for enterprise servers—licensing, interfaces, firmware updates, and fan noise.
Sep 15, 2026 · 10 min read HomelabUnlocking a “Mining-Only” GPU on Enterprise Server Hardware
Two CMP 170HX cards, a Dell firmware wall that no setting could move, and the fix that sidestepped it entirely.
Sep 10, 2026 · 7 min read HomelabWhat Exactly Is a Homelab? (And What Can You Use It For?)
Your personal, dedicated space to play, break, and build things with computer hardware and software.
Sep 06, 2026 · 5 min read HomelabHomelab Hardware Breakdown: How to Choose Your Gear
Balancing power bills, room noise, and project goals across old PCs, mini PCs, enterprise servers, and Pis.
Sep 06, 2026 · 6 min read HomelabHomelab Software Breakdown: Operating Systems, Virtualization, and Containers
Proxmox, TrueNAS, Ubuntu Server, and Docker — picking the software foundation that matches your goal.
Sep 06, 2026 · 6 min read