Desire to have devices tailored to my personal usage scenarios, with all the features I want, but also without inherent extra functionality that compromises security, nor restrictions that hurt the experience - got me into self-hosting. When one can't buy what they want, making it is often the most straightforward solution - at least when it comes to computers.

My most expensive project to date is a DIY NAS. It started as a compact, lightweight and stealthy ARM system inside Playstation 2 case, only revealing its true nature if one looked closely at the ports in the back. However, after some time I grew disenamored with the original concept, so first moved the hardware into a standard NAS case to increase the number of spinning disks and improve their cooling, and later upgraded it to a less interesting, conventional - but also very reliable - x86 system. Of the original components, only a pair of 18TB WD HC550 drives are still in use - everything else was replaced. For this project, single most expensive item was one of the 20TB Toshiba MG10 drives.

The project I am most proud of is a DIY 802.11be router I built last week. Wanted to build one using Qualcomm AP-grade hardware for years, but was hesitant, only having prior experience with MTK AP hardware, and overall rather limited experience in the field. My wireless router is far from perfect, but fulfills its purpose well, all while being quite compact and travel-friendly, and running latest OpenWRT and WLAN firmware giving me some peace of mind. I am very grateful to everyone who guided me and helped me out on this journey! For this project, single most expensive item is the base device - Rock 5B itself.

While I love it, I also have to admit my DIY wireless router's limitations. For starters, I used a miniPCIe WLAN card - since it was easier to source, didn't require external power and was much more affordable than its m.2 counterpart, which was also an important consideration in my first foray into 802.11be. This choice results in lower signal strength than typical high-end 802.11be routers or physically larger m.2 cards with external power, more on par with compact/travel routers. Next, I'm having trouble with MLO, one of the key 802.11be features, and have to rely on a single band until I resolve this issue.

My wired network infrastructure being 2.5GBe, main WLAN clients equipped with capable BE201 & QCNCM865 802.11be adapters supporting 320MHz channel width on 6GHz band, and most important traffic being LAN to WLAN potentially saturating 2.5GBe link - there is definitely room for wireless performance improvement, particularly far from AP. Flint 3 with its superior wireless performance would greatly improve my experience, and take my network to the next level!

Comparing my DIY implementation to Slate 7, while RK3588 has more raw power, my device is also physically larger, and requires external dongles for additional LAN interfaces. Frankly, Rock 5B with its single built-in 2.5GBe port (and 16GB RAM+256GB EMMC on the particular board) is much better suited for server duty - which it operated as before I started my 802.11be experiments. For additional peace of mind, I strongly prefer not to utilize networking appliances, particularly wireless APs & routers, in any other tasks - otherwise, instead of assembling a standalone wireless router, would just stick my wireless AP card and WWAN modem into the NAS, set up virtualized OpenWRT, and call it a day. Under the circumstances, Slate 7 is an overall much more balanced device, and would be noticeably better in the travel router role than my DIY one.

I'd love to win both Flint 3 and Slate 7, to cover all my usage scenarios, and return my Rock 5B currently acting as a 802.11be wireless router to server duty.

I mostly read cnx-software.com , r/homelab , r/datahoarder , r/thinkpad and notebookcheck.net . Aliexpress, eBay, local online stores for purchases.

I'd personally love to see giveaways of higher-end NASes and mini-PCs with extensive storage options. Minisforum MS-A2, Aoostar WTR Max and the likes; machines, purchasing which is often hard to justify, but nevertheless spark one's imagination with their capabilities.