The current homelab hardware is functioning well and there are no major issues that require immediate replacement. However, the platform is beginning to show its age, and upgrading the core components would provide additional performance headroom, faster storage, increased virtualization capacity, and an improved experience for all users utilizing Plex, Docker services, game servers, and other hosted applications.

The goal of this build is to modernize the platform while maintaining a compact footprint and providing room for future expansion.

* Core Build Total: $5,129.25 * Stretch Goal Total: $1,432.93 * Complete Build Total: $6,562.18

* Significantly improved Docker container performance. * Faster Plex metadata generation and media processing. * Additional CPU capacity for future services and game servers. * Faster storage performance through PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs. * Approximately 80TB of raw storage capacity before RAID overhead. * Increased virtualization and container density. * Optional GPU acceleration for Plex transcoding, AI workloads, and future media services. * Additional RAM capacity for larger workloads and improved caching performance. * Greater power headroom for future hardware expansion.

* The current server hardware remains fully functional and reliable. * This upgrade is focused on increasing performance, responsiveness, storage capacity, and future scalability. * Stretch goal items are optional and can be added after the core platform is completed. * I intend to pay for most of this myself, but if people want to help, I am game.