u/fffjjj11

Hi to all 😄 I intend this post as a discussion about how do you organise your hardware so it can help me make a decision.

• I use PCs basically for 3 functions:
• Homelab / Homeserver. This currently runs on Proxmox and I have several LXCs running there. I save my data here and it's also my Jellyfin server.
• Work. In Windows. Office suite and some coding. Sometimes, I a need GPU for doing image recognition or training AI prediction models. I use my gaming Gaming PC or laptop for this. Sometimes I need Linux too, I have a USB SSD for that.
• Gaming. I mostly play solo games. I'm not interested in multiplayer right now. I use Eden too for Switch games.

Currently, I have 2 PCs for this.

My old PC as a server with i5 10th gen, 64GB RAM, 1 TB NVME, 2 8TB HDDs and a GTX 1080.

PC Gaming with Ryzen 7500F, 32GB RAM, 2TB NVME, 1TB SSD, RTX 3080 Ti, PSU 1500W.

I would like to unify this all in Proxmox. I thought it could be a good idea since I can have one better PC rather than 2. But I'm not sure how Windows will work (with a monitor attached directly to the GPU) as a VM in Proxmox. What are your experiences with peripheral management? What are the disadvantages over my current setup using this approach?

Basically I would like to include an LLM at home and as I can only afford good GPUs in one system I'm exploring this so I have dual-GPUs (I'll buy another one and pair it with the RTX 3080 Ti) and my only option now is to have it on Windows which is not as convenient. Is it easy to automate turning VMs on and off with a USB remote or something like that?

When I need to code I would just use a Linux VM and connect via SSH with my laptop to this new server.

My idea is to sell my old PC except drives and buy a MoBo with dual x8 PCIe, a GPU and if I had enough money, sell the 7500F for a 9900X second hand. I'm a bit worried about the 32GB of RAM but I don't have many options unless I give up on PCIe 5.0 and I buy a 5900X.

Does anyone have experience with this or a similar setup? I would like to know your experiences

I have recently bought a Pocketbook Inkpad One (247€) and I would like to share my thoughts about it. Feel free to ask me anything. As a side note, I have only tried a Kobo Elipsa 2E second hand that I bought and returned to CEX because the pen didn't work properly (it was non-original). That's the only similar device I have used (besides an 7yo Kobo).

- It's on the big size, a bit heavy but excellent to read pdfs and comics (I wish it has colours). It's very thing and I'm surprised that it's feels well built.

- The screen is better for me than the one I saw in the Kobo (I know both models use the same one but that was my impression). The color of the light can be change (in contrast to the Kobo). I like the color of it better too.

- You can personalise gestures while reading epubs (this is kind of hidden in the general settings). I like this a lot. In general it's way more customisable than the Kobo. Now if I double tap power button, it opens all the apps in the background. It can be used to turn on/off light and other tasks.

- The software feels a bit slow sometimes (it happened too with the Kobo so I guess it's normal in this type of devices).

- Zoom is good in pdfs, except when there is an image (for some strange reason), that it makes a weird move, refreshes and then stays in place correctly. Althought I didn`t feel that I needed to zoom in any pdf I tried for the moment.

- Cloud works as the Kobo, you need to upload books and pdfs to an specific folder in Dropbox. The other option is the app and it's quite decent too. It syncs much faster than the Kobo.

- There is a web browser. It's not unsable but it isn't great. BUT, it makes possible that I use eBiblio in Spain without the need of a PC (I haven't tried yet though). It has an app for Libby but I can't use it as in Spain we have another system. Also, it's great to google an specific word from an ebook without the distractions of the phone. (you can do it directly from the epub and go back again).

- The worst aspect of it is undoubtedly note taking with the pen. Maybe for quick notes on PDFs and epubs is okay but the app is basically unusable. Pen lag is noticeable but you can get use to it. It has limited options, which for me it's okay, I just wanted hand witting as I was on paper. You can choose the size of the sheet of paper, like A4, A5... different templates, "colors", width of the pen... The usual stuff. Pen isn't the most accurate one but it's enough for me. So far, decent.

The thing is that palm rejection is BAD. Dots appear under your hand while you write. And I don't get it why they didn't copy Kobo for example. You can't write in the Kobo note app with your hand and I think that's a great idea. The other really bad topic is zooming and moving in the app. As you can write with the hand and in order to move, you always need to pinch with 2 fingers. And it's impossible to be precise! It has an easy solution but I'm frustrated cause I know they won't implement it.

- The pen is meh. It needs to be charged via usb-c and the eraser button only works in the note app! It's difficult at first to find the button. It's magnetic.

- Notes on epubs and pdfs have a dedicated category in the main screen so you can easily see them. It's quite good.

- The ergonomics are better for me than the Kobo as a like to hold it with 2 hands. The Kobo has a larger bezel to grab it but I didn't like it.

The summary is that it is an excellent e-reader for just read but at this moment unusable to take handwriting notes at least for me.

I was trying to read and take notes in the same device on a budget. I returned the Kobo (I bought it for 205€ and the pen would cost me 55€) without trying notes cause its app doesn't let you choose paper size and I feel I needed more options (and speed) to make it my primary note-taking device. So as this e-reader is much better as just read I have chosen it. eBiblio in the device, web browser, the better screen, warmth light, better feel overall (it's better built than the Kobo that feels cheap as fck) and that it is brand new made my decision. I'll stick with my surface to take notes for the moment.