DIY PC constructing is a no-fly zone in 2026. (Thanks, RAM.) Now what?

I don’t sometimes make New Yr’s resolutions, however 2026 is a particular exception. You’ll be able to thank stratospheric reminiscence costs for that—and a little bit scare that occurred proper earlier than Christmas. Micro Middle briefly marked a handful of SSDs on the market at their urged record worth, alarming DIY PC builders with the considered $600+ 2TB NVMe drives.

I lived a couple of potential lifetimes within the quick interval earlier than Micro Middle restored its actual costs. That’s, I imagined a number of potential paths for what I’d do if I couldn’t afford PC constructing. Extra particularly: What I might have enjoyable doing.

Being a {hardware} fanatic is extra than simply devotion to the pastime, in my ebook. It includes a sure perspective about expertise general—a deep appreciation and curiosity in what these issues can do at full blast. Limiting myself to focusing solely on new PC elements cuts out a lot of what I may dive into. 

So I believed awhile on what “full blast” would imply for me in 2026, a possible yr of constructing drought. I narrowed it to 2 essential angles:

• What hobbies adjoining to PC constructing have I let languish or uncared for?
• May I discover new or various makes use of for the {hardware} I have already got?

Then I considered what will get my consideration, and in what methods. Mechanical keyboards and elaborate homebrew NAS setups could be too costly for me to choose up as constructing hobbies…however not as areas for higher studying. Nothing’s stopping me from plunging down the rabbit gap of deeply absorbing the ins and outs with none hands-on time.

And if I want a extra instant undertaking, I may lastly sit down with each Jellyfin and Plex, in addition to my media assortment, and eventually correctly rip all the things for native streaming. As I’ve supposed to do for literal years now. (Yeah…)

However I’ll confess, I’d discover tinkering with my current {hardware} rather more attention-grabbing than diving into media software program. I’ve a lot of it readily available already, and in true proto-hoarder style, I’m reluctant to present it up. Particularly after I don’t know if I may afford to interchange it. Particularly when 2026 will seemingly be one other Yr of Linux.

So listed here are my resolutions, so as of agency plans:

1. Begin at the least one Linux undertaking. (I say begin as a result of I don’t know if success is feasible for my preliminary purpose: To transform my outdated beloved Chromebook eventually.) Use at the least one or two distros for a couple of months.
2. Broaden my data in areas I do know much less and even nothing about. Networking is at present a high contender. So is rolling my very own NAS with outdated elements and outdated drives, simply to see how I’d prefer it.
3. Try a repurposing that isn’t typical for the {hardware}. (For instance: Repurposing an Android-based E-Ink pill as a second display screen.)
4. If profitable with Decision #1, try to convert remaining relevant {hardware} to Linux.

If 2026’s theme is “Now we have ____ at house,” then you already know what? I’m going to attempt to benefit from the expertise. We touched on this concept briefly on the finish of our closing TFN episode of the yr, once we completed making all of our 2026 predictions. On a regular basis I might usually spend on new expertise, I can repurpose to changing into smarter and savvier about current expertise. I discover that fairly thrilling nonetheless.

On this episode of The Full Nerd

…We’re on break! We’ll be again in January, reside from CES 2026!

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Our channel now contains our NEW reveals too—dive into episodes of Twin Boot Diaries and The Full Nerd: Further Version throughout this vacation downtime!

And in the event you want extra {hardware} speak throughout the remainder of the week, come be part of our Discord neighborhood—it’s filled with cool, laid-back nerds. We’ve been chatting a bunch these days and it’s all good vibes.

This week’s streamlined nerd information

Only a small handful of hyperlinks for this vacation break version—a little bit mixture of nostalgia, confusion, and hope. You understand, how I begin each new yr. (Principally kidding.)

Subsequent week shall be a deluge of stories, because of CES 2026, so I determine we will all take it simple on studying whereas we nonetheless can!

Mateusz Dach

• Oddly particular: The Raspberry Pi was a part of the banned gadgets record at New York Metropolis’s mayoral inauguration. Huh.

• Miss Unix v4? It’s again: Nicely, kind of. You’ll be able to at the least take pleasure in some nostalgia because of the College of Utah and software program engineer Mark Riedstra.

• Hm, Brad might need to recalibrate his recommendation: GeForce Now subscriptions now universally have a 100 hour cap on gameplay. That undoubtedly adjustments its worth. But in addition, in the event you’re capable of recreation greater than 100 hours a month, please share your life ideas as a working grownup.

• Nanobots, roll out: I select to be excited by the prospect of medical developments, reasonably than dwell on the opportunity of dystopian organic warfare.

Wishing you all a cheerful new yr—I’m trying ahead to seeing what is available in 2026, with all of you alongside. Catch you subsequent week!

~Alaina

This article is devoted to the reminiscence of Gordon Mah Ung, founder and host of The Full Nerd, and government editor of {hardware} at PCWorld.