If you're okay with older homelab-esque equipment, the ERA, also on eBay as Calgary Computer Wholesale, often has really cheap rack mount stuff. This being said, the ERA is a pretty sketchy organization overall (it's closer to a small e-waste recycling business that takes advantage of its status to reduce liable taxes (with variable employee salaries equivalent to dividends) and take advantage of free volunteer labour, than an actual non-profit organization). Sometimes, provincial government surplus auction sites have rack mount equipment as well.
The X3 CPUs were essentially quad cores where one of the cores failed a quality control check. Using a higher end Mobo, it was possible to unlock the fourth core with varying results. This was a cheap consumer Acer prebuilt though, so I didn't have that option.
I had a old Acer SFF desktop machine (circa 2009) with an AMD Athlon II 435 X3 (equivalent to the Intel Core i3-560) with a 95W TDP, 4 GB of DDR2 RAM, and 2 1TB hard drives running in RAID 0 (both HDDs had over 30k hours by the time I put it in). The clunker consumed 50W at idle. I planned on running it into the ground so I could finally send it off to a computer recycler without guilt.
I thought it was nearing death anyways, since the power button only worked if the computer was flipped upside down. I have no idea why this was the case, the computer would keep running normally afterwards once turned right side up.
The thing would not die. I used it as a dummy machine to run one-off scripts I wrote, a seedbox that would seed new Linux ISOs as it was released (genuinely, it was RAID0 and I wouldn't have downloaded anything useful), a Tor Relay and at one point, a script to just endlessly download Linux ISOs overnight to measure bandwidth over the Chinanet backbone.
It was a terrible machine by 2023, but I found I used it the most because it was my playground for all the dumb things that I wouldn't subject my regular home production environments to. Finally recycled it last year, after 5 years of use, when it became apparent it wasn't going to die and far better USFF 1L Tiny PC machines (i5-6500T CPUs) were going on eBay for $60. The power usage and wasted heat of an ancient 95W TDP CPU just couldn't justify its continued operation.
Thanks for posting this—it’s a really interesting read. It reminded me of discussions I had in university about sex work, where some would argue that their work was empowering because they were “exploiting” men rather than being exploited themselves. The idea was that by commodifying their sexual attraction, they were working within the system to empower themselves, rather than trying to dismantle the bigger structural issues.
The femosphere seems to follow a similar logic: working within existing power dynamics rather than fighting to change them. But as the article points out, these spaces often end up reinforcing the same patriarchal ideas they claim to resist. Like, framing traditional or conservative practices—like relying on men for financial support—as empowering doesn’t actually challenge the system; it just works around it.
What really struck me was the part about “anti-feminist feminism.” It’s wild how these spaces can seem feminist on the surface but actually double down on inequality by focusing on individual gain over collective progress. It’s the same vibe as “girlboss feminism” but with an even more cynical edge. It’s all about “winning” against men, which feels very manosphere but flipped.
I get why women might be drawn to this, though. Liberal feminism has been all about individual empowerment and hasn’t really delivered on the bigger promises of gender equality. But, like the article says, just because something criticizes liberal feminism doesn’t automatically mean it’s good for women. It feels like a trap—appealing because it’s a rejection of the status quo but ultimately just repackaging the same old problems.
The radicalisation part is also super concerning. Even if the femosphere isn’t leading to real-world violence like the manosphere, it’s still fostering this toxic, “us vs. them” mindset. It’s a reminder of how extreme and polarised these online spaces can get.
This article really made me think about what the alternative is. Like, how do we create a version of feminism that actually addresses the frustrations drawing people to these spaces, but without the toxicity or regressive ideas? That’s the real challenge here, I think.
I really liked Miniflux and its clean design too too, but I found without an adequate categorization functionality, it quickly became overwhelming. Since I don't check my RSS reader as often as I should, it eventually got overwhelming and I had to switch to FreshRSS.
I feel deeply for him and the challenges he’s facing. His story is a powerful reminder for those still employed to take steps to secure long-term disability insurance. Circumstances like his—being thrust into hardship due to health issues and events beyond his control—highlight how fragile stability can be. While a career in politics is inherently uncertain, his experiences underscore just how quickly life can change.
My understanding is that the 2021 Corsair RM850x variant is manufactured and relabelled from a Channel Well Technology (CWT) PSU with Japanese capacitors from Nippon Chemi-Con (the RM-e variants use Taiwanese capacitors, I think from either Teapo or CapXon).
Check DeepCool and Thermalright for cooling options. I run Noctua too but they’re definitely not the best value.
Check FSP, Seasonic in case they have something for a PSU in the price range. They both actually make power supplies, rather than marketing like many of the other ones on that list. I have a Seasonic-made Corsair from 2012 still in use. Runs 24/7. Buy overspecced unit. The beefier it is, the cooler it runs, the less the fan spins / the longer capacitors last.
I ended up switching my CPU cooler to the Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO, since my PSU choice changed to the RM850x which has a top 29dB noise level. The log calculations made the Noctua D15s less appealing given the price point.
I’d install all the RAM I’d ever need on this machine because DDR5 is even more sensitive to chip differences than earlier standards. Also I have no idea who Team are. I would use Crucial since they actually make RAM chips. Keep in mind that using 4 DIMMs drops RAM speed dramatically on AM5. I think the AMD docs say 3600 or 3800 for 4 DIMMs. You could run them faster but you won’t get to the rated speed.
I also ended up buying a 64GB ram kit and will sell the 32GB kit I already purchased. You're right in noting that 2x DIMM is the best config.
Stay away from Gigabyte. Check what ASRock has if it makes more sense than MSI. I recently got their X870 Pro RS and it’s been great so far. Few PCIe slots on this one but there’s 2x USB 4 which seems to work well and it can be broken out to many USB 3 ports if needed. E.g. a 40 Gbps port can be split to 4x 10 Gbps ports or perhaps even to 7x 5 Gbps ports.
I was already hesitant about going Gigabyte since I know their brand reputation has tanked and their B650 board has horrible VRM. People on r/bapcsalescanada warned against the Gigabyte boards, even the Eagle AX option.
Thanks for all your input!
Thanks for all the input! I'm going to swap out the RM-e with the RM850x. The top dB of that PSU is still 29dB at high load, so I'll just compromise and swap out the Noctua D15S with the Thermalright Phantom Spirit.
Point taken and I will order a 64gb ram kit and sell the 32gb on FB Marketplace. Thanks for the input.
I'm not convinced my workload will really justify over 32GB of RAM yet, and there's 2 leftover RAM slots that I can always slot in additional memory down the road.
Point taken on the HDD, I thought that it would be possible to set up the HDD to just spin down when not in use but apparently the HDD I'm considering still has an annoying hum in idle. So that was a fair thing to challenge.
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China scary tho