Updated 4 Sep 2026. Start with gear you already have. The buy notes are for later.

About Labthrift

A friendly guide for a first home lab. Start with gear you already have. How-tos, what OS to put on the old PC, how to spend the first weekend, and what is worth money later.

A home lab is a quiet setup you leave on. You don't need to buy anything to start. An old laptop, or a retired OptiPlex from Marketplace, is enough. The how-tos cover that first computer, what OS to put on it, and how to get through the first weekend. Labthrift is here if you don't already speak that language. When you buy something, one product, and a skip. The live site is labthrift.com.

What's in a buy note

Most notes are three parts. Some notes are tutorials. They walk through a job in order, and there is no buy table on those pages.

• What to buy. A short table. The highlighted row is the pick if you don't want to compare every option.
• Skip. The gear that looks tempting and is the wrong job.
• Sources. The maker and store pages the numbers came from. Prices move. Check the live listing before you click.

I haven't used this unless the note says so. Specs are from the maker.

Privacy

labthrift.com is static notes. No accounts on the main site. No marketing trackers. No affiliate talk.

Optional Lab plan lives on plan.labthrift.com. Username and a passkey only. No email. No identifying info beyond the handle and the passkey. Data stays in your plan. Export or delete anytime.

House jobs stay on the house network: Pi-hole, the file share, local chat on the old PC. Lab plan does not run those for you.

Topics

Start with Getting started if you are new. The other notes hang off these topics.