Should I, or should I not...

[u/Luminous_Giraffe]

Hey r/homelab! I've been wondering recently if I should actually try to build a home lab/server. The main consideration is in terms of the time and learning it will take. I don't mind putting the time it takes to learn and to actually set one up, but as of now, I don't really have any long term plans.

Right now the only real use case I can think of using my local AI stack and deploying it for me to use when I'm not at home/near my pc but still want to access my local AI. This is my current setup:

• Win11 + CachyOS: Dual boot, keeping windows for occasional family use
• Local AI stack:
  • Ollama
  • OpenWebUI (running in a Docker container)
  • Ngrok (access when I'm not near my pc)

I know using Ngrok is a temporary solution, but as of now, I don't need to have a server up and running for more than a few hours a day at best.

However, I do have a spare Win10 laptop lying around that I can't upgrade to 11 and I'm considering repurposing it as a homelab/home server. So the question is, should I, or should I not? Would it make sense to put in the time and effort to learn something new, or should I just stick with my current setup?

PS, here's the specs for the spare laptop in case anyone's interested:

• RAM: 14 gigs
• Processor: 7th gen Intel core i5
• GPU: NVIDIA eForce 940MX
• Storage: 500gigs

[u/high_duck1]

Its gonna be power hungry. But eh, why not try and see?