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.
🖥️ My Current Rig
The actual gear running my homelab today.
I RUN THISUniFi Cloud Gateway UltraMy router/firewall. Runs the whole UniFi network stack, sips power, no license fees.~AED 500View on Amazon →I RUN THISUniFi U7 ProMy main access point — WiFi 7, handles the whole house.~AED 700View on Amazon →I RUN THISUniFi U6 ProSecond AP for coverage — WiFi 6, rock solid.~AED 550View on Amazon →I RUN THISUniFi U6 Long RangeCovers the far end of the house / outdoor edge.~AED 500View on Amazon →I RUN THISUniFi USW-Lite 8 PoEMy PoE switch — powers the APs over Ethernet, one cable each.~AED 400View on Amazon →I RUN THISNetgear Unmanaged SwitchCheap dumb switch for extra ports where I don’t need management.~AED 90View on Amazon →I RUN THISIntel NUC 13 ProMy Proxmox host — quiet, low-power, runs all my VMs and containers.~AED 2,800View on Amazon →
Gateways & Routers
The heart of the network.
TOP PICKUniFi Cloud Gateway UltraThe sweet spot: full UniFi controller built in, no subscription, tiny footprint.~AED 500View on Amazon →BUDGETGL.iNet Flint 2 (GL-MT6000)Best budget router — OpenWrt, fast, great if you don’t want the UniFi ecosystem.~AED 550View on Amazon →PREMIUMUniFi Dream Machine SEStep up: 8-port PoE + gateway + NVR + controller in one box.~AED 2,000View on Amazon →
Access Points (WiFi)
Coverage — one gateway, as many APs as your house needs.
TOP PICKUniFi U7 ProWiFi 7, the current do-everything AP. My main one.~AED 700View on Amazon →BUDGETUniFi U6 LiteCheapest UniFi AP that’s still great — perfect second/third AP.~AED 320View on Amazon →BEST VALUEUniFi U6 Long RangeWiFi 6 with extra reach — big rooms and outdoor edges.~AED 500View on Amazon →BEST VALUEUniFi U6+Solid, cheap WiFi 6 AP — verified in stock.~AED 450View on Amazon →
Switches
Ports + PoE. 2.5GbE is the upgrade that actually matters in 2026.
TOP PICKUniFi USW-Lite 8 PoE8-port managed + PoE — powers your APs and lives in the UniFi app.~AED 400View on Amazon →BUDGETTP-Link TL-SG108EBest cheap managed switch — VLANs and QoS for beginners.~AED 110View on Amazon →BEST VALUESODOLA 8-Port 2.5GbEThe real upgrade for 2026 — 2.5Gb everywhere for under a hundred.~AED 330View on Amazon →PREMIUMMikroTik CRS305-1G-4S+IN10GbE backbone on a budget — fanless, 4× SFP+.~AED 550View on Amazon →
Ethernet Cables
Don’t overpay — Cat 6 is fine for most, Cat 7/8 for headroom.
BUDGETCat 6 Ethernet (budget)All you need for 1Gb and most 2.5Gb runs. Don’t overspend.~AED 30View on Amazon →BEST VALUECat 7 EthernetShielded, good for 10Gb over longer runs. Solid middle ground.~AED 45View on Amazon →PREMIUMCat 8 EthernetMax headroom — overkill for most homelabs, but future-proof and cheap enough.~AED 60View on Amazon →
Mini PCs & Servers
The Proxmox/Docker workhorse. 16-32GB RAM, NVMe, 2.5GbE.
TOP PICKIntel NUC 13 ProMy Proxmox host — the reliable, quiet default.~AED 2,800View on Amazon →BUDGETBeelink SER5 (Ryzen 5)Best cheap homelab box — runs Proxmox + a stack of containers.~AED 900View on Amazon →BEST VALUEMinisforum UM790 Pro (Ryzen 9)More cores, more RAM headroom — great value workhorse.~AED 2,400View on Amazon →PREMIUMGEEKOM A9 MaxPremium: Ryzen AI 9, up to 128GB RAM, dual NVMe — a small server.~AED 3,500View on Amazon →
GPUs for Local AI
VRAM is everything. Not sure what you need? Use the Hardware Checker.
BUDGETRTX 3060 12GBThe local-AI entry point — runs every 7-8B model. Best $/VRAM.~AED 1,300View on Amazon →BEST VALUERTX 4060 Ti 16GB16GB unlocks 14B models — efficient, modern.~AED 2,000View on Amazon →BEST VALUERTX 3090 24GB (used)24GB for 27-34B models — unbeatable used value.~AED 3,000View on Amazon →PREMIUMRTX 4090 24GBFastest consumer card — real-time inference.~AED 7,000View on Amazon →
AI Accelerators
Edge inference for Frigate and light ML tasks.
BEST VALUEGoogle Coral USBFor Frigate NVR object detection — not Immich. Tiny, low power.~AED 350View on Amazon →BEST VALUEHailo-8L M.2More capable Coral alternative — 13 TOPS in an M.2 slot.~AED 150View on Amazon →PREMIUMNVIDIA Jetson Orin NanoStandalone edge-AI dev kit if you want a dedicated box.~AED 900View on Amazon →
Storage & NAS
Where your photos, media, and backups live.
TOP PICKSynology DS224+The default 2-bay NAS — perfect for a family photo/media library.~AED 1,400View on Amazon →BEST VALUEWD Red Plus 4TBNAS-rated drive — buy two for RAID 1.~AED 450View on Amazon →BUDGETSamsung 990 EVO 1TBGreat-value NVMe for a mini-PC boot/cache drive.~AED 350View on Amazon →PREMIUMSamsung 990 Pro 2TBFastest NVMe — VM datastore that never bottlenecks.~AED 850View on Amazon →
Single-Board Computers
The cheap always-on utility boxes.
TOP PICKRaspberry Pi 5 8GBPi-hole, Home Assistant, DNS, VPN — the always-on utility box.~AED 370View on Amazon →BUDGETPi 5 Active Cooler + CaseKeep the Pi 5 cool and quiet — don’t run it bare.~AED 60View on Amazon →PREMIUMPi-KVM v4 MiniIP-KVM — control any headless box’s BIOS over the network.~AED 600View on Amazon →
RAM & Power
The two things people under-buy.
Desk & Peripherals
What you actually touch every day.
TOP PICKLogitech MX Keys SThe homelab desk keyboard — quiet, multi-device, backlit.~AED 450View on Amazon →BEST VALUELogitech MX Master 3SThe mouse. Multi-device, silent clicks, flow across machines.~AED 400View on Amazon →PREMIUMLogitech MX Mechanical MiniIf you want mechanical + the MX ecosystem.~AED 550View on Amazon →BUDGETLogitech MK270 ComboCheap, reliable wireless combo for a headless-box corner.~AED 90View on Amazon →
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.