Homelab

Homelab Gear: My Setup + The Best Homelab Hardware to Buy (2026)

The exact hardware I run in my homelab — UniFi networking, mini PCs, GPUs, NAS, and more — plus the best budget and premium alternatives at every tier. A curated homelab shopping list.

The exact hardware I run in my homelab, plus the best alternatives at every budget — networking, compute, local AI, storage, and the desk gear around it. Every link goes straight to Amazon.

How to read this: “I RUN THIS” = actually in my rack right now. Everything else is the community-standard best-in-class pick at each price tier — the gear I’d buy, not a padded list. Links are Amazon affiliate (you pay the same, I earn a small cut). Prices are rough AED guides — check the live price. I don’t badge “Amazon’s Choice” because those change daily and vary by country; these are the real best picks regardless.

Ordered & shipped by Amazon.ae Prime delivery where eligible Amazon 30-day returns Amazon checkout — I never see your details

Everyday Gear One-Click Stacks Gateways Access Points Switches Cables Mini PCs GPUs AI Accelerators Storage/NAS Single-Board RAM/Power Desk

🖥️ My Current Rig

The actual gear running my homelab today.

One-Click Stacks

Complete setups, added to your Amazon cart in one click — remove anything you already own before checkout. Prices are rough guides; the cart shows live prices.

Starter HomelabDocker, Pi-hole, media server — the first box

~AED 1,360 total

My Network StackThe UniFi setup running my house right now

~AED 1,400 total

Local AI StarterEverything to run 7-8B LLMs at 35+ tok/s

~AED 2,650 total

Family Photo VaultImmich on a NAS — replace Google Photos

~AED 3,050 total

Everyday Gear — Small Stuff Every Homelab Needs

The low-cost items that make the rest of the lab work. All cheap, all things I’d hand you from my own drawer.

Gateways & Routers

The heart of the network.

Access Points (WiFi)

Coverage — one gateway, as many APs as your house needs.

Switches

Ports + PoE. 2.5GbE is the upgrade that actually matters in 2026.

Ethernet Cables

Don’t overpay — Cat 6 is fine for most, Cat 7/8 for headroom.

Mini PCs & Servers

The Proxmox/Docker workhorse. 16-32GB RAM, NVMe, 2.5GbE.

GPUs for Local AI

VRAM is everything. Not sure what you need? Use the Hardware Checker.

AI Accelerators

Edge inference for Frigate and light ML tasks.

Storage & NAS

Where your photos, media, and backups live.

Single-Board Computers

The cheap always-on utility boxes.

RAM & Power

The two things people under-buy.

Desk & Peripherals

What you actually touch every day.

Affiliate disclosure: links use my Amazon tag. It costs you nothing extra and never changes what I recommend. See my Affiliate Disclosure and Editorial Policy.