Reading path
I'm scoping a build, is this for me?
Before you spend the money. The honest cost, the trade-offs, and what the finished thing actually looks like.
7 articles, in reading order
- Should You Buy a DGX Spark in 2026? The Honest Decision Tree
The literal decision tree. If you only read one piece before buying, this is it: where the Spark wins, where it does not, and the alternatives that are honest about themselves.
- Self-Hosted AI vs Cloud APIs: The Real Total Cost
The real cost comparison. Cloud API tokens versus owning the iron, with the figures every cost article handwaves.
- How Much Electricity Does Self-Hosted AI Actually Use? Lightbulbs, Bitcoin Miners, and Solar Panels
The running cost. Electricity, hardware amortization, and the solar math, no marketing numbers.
- Five DGX Spark Disasters I Survived (You Don't Have To)
What going wrong actually looks like. Five real failure modes from the first months of operation, so the war-story shape is on the table before the purchase.
- What I'd Buy in 2026 for €4,000: A Mid-Tier Sovereign AI Build
A representative budget tier. Links to the full 2k / 4k / 8k / 15k series : different price points, same honest sourcing.
- 24 Hours Setting Up a Lenovo Legion Pro 7 Gen 10 As a Sovereign-AI Companion Box
A complete worked build, start to finish, on a real Lenovo Legion. The honest cost ledger, the laptop-versus-tower decision (and why the tower is the better capability-per-euro pick), and what the finished sovereign-AI box actually looks like once it runs.
- Sovereign AI Grid: What's Working and What Comes Next
Where the whole project is going, so you can judge if the direction matches yours.