Compact business desktops like others have mentioned are great. Depending on your needs, I also like using older or used laptops. They’re still power efficient if you get a recent processor model, people sell them for fairly cheap used, and sometimes having an attached keyboard and display is more convenient than having to hook up a crash cart

Makes sense. I think you’d be fine with pretty much any modern(post DDR4) motherboard/CPU combo these days. I feel Linux hardware support is only really shakey if you’re using a SoC without upstream patches or if you’re using brand new hardware/laptops. With that being said if you’re running a lot of containers on one host have you looked into docker compose or kubernetes(k8s)? Maybe k8s is overkill for home use, but both offer support to restart containers if a health check fails. With k8s you also can spread out containers across multiple physical node, so you could just add a second RPI and “double” your resources.

For $350-500 you could easily get a used desktop and processor with 16-32 gb ddr4. But it sort of depends on your home lab goals and workloads. Do you need a lot of storage? Are you CPU bound or memory bound? Some people will suggest used Dell/HP servers, and they’ll look affordable, but keep in mind enterprise gear will eat power and is usually loud. Personally I’d go for a used AMD 5800 or 5900 processor and mobo, install your favorite Linux, and call it a day. AMD processors don’t have quick sync which makes them slightly worse for plex hosting but better for everything else.

Yeah you’re good, I think it’s the sugar and corn syrup in soda that makes them not hydrating while seltzer still is

Teslas have some serious issues and shortcomings. And I say that as an owner. FSD is a mess and I don’t trust it. The model 3 has some very opinionated design choices. I don’t like how it’s frameless. The interior is nowhere near as nice as cars in the same price range. There’s only 2 usb ports and you need to use one of them for dashcam storage. Maintenance is a pain in the ass to DIY. They remove key features over OTA updates(they took away radar sensors for parking in older model 3s).

However, if you’re in the market for a used EV under 30k, you’ve only got basically 3 options: a rwd model 3, a leaf, or a bolt. The model 3 is the only one of those that has fast charging and can be taken on any sort of longer road trip. And they’re cheap to charge at home. And even if you’re shopping new, I’m fairly sure the base model 3 is the cheapest EV on the market if you qualify for the full tax credit.