GoKawiilRedditor builds Proxmox home server entirely from landfill e-waste finds
A Reddit user known as Tsuto says weekly visits to their county landfill's electronics recycling area have yielded enough discarded SSDs, HDDs, GPUs, RAM and even a laptop to assemble a working Proxmox home lab server. The rig combines scavenged parts—mirrored 256GB SSDs, a 1TB SSD, and three 2TB HDDs in RAID1 for ZFS storage—with a Core i7-7700 and 64GB of RAM bought separately on Amazon. Tsuto also salvaged an Asus ROG laptop with a GTX 860M GPU, fixed with a $25 replacement battery, for casual gaming.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The find highlights how much usable hardware, including RTX 3060-class GPUs, AM4 parts and DDR4 memory, is still being discarded even as retail shortages push prices higher for the same components. It underscores a growing e-waste reclamation trend among hobbyists building home labs on minimal budgets amid tight component supply.
- Tsuto built a full Proxmox server almost entirely from landfill-sourced parts.
- Discarded components included SSDs, HDDs, GPUs, RAM and a repairable Asus ROG laptop.
- The story reflects ongoing PC component shortages driving scavenging and reuse trends.
ASUS ROG Strix G15 Laptop — Discover the ASUS ROG Strix G15 Laptop, a powerful gaming machine that can be a versatile tool for both work and play. Its robust build and impressive specs make it perfect for casual gaming, content creation, or even as a portable home lab device—just like the one scavenged from the landfill in the article. Upgrade with a new battery and enjoy its gaming and multitasking capabilities wherever you go!
See ASUS ROG Strix G15 Laptop on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: tomshardware.com — Mark Tyson, 2026-09-14
Published there as: “Dumpster diver builds home lab Proxmox server from weekly landfill runs for SSDs, HDDs, GPUs, and even RAM — weekly e-waste raids net multi-drive Proxmox server and Asus ROG laptop”
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