Thank you for reading this post.
My name is Brian and I'm a developer from New Zealand. I've been interested in computers since the early 1990s. My first language was QBASIC. (Things have changed since the days of MS-DOS.)
I am the managing director of a one-man startup called Digital Core (NZ) Limited. I have accepted the "12 Startups in 12 Months" challenge so that DigitalCore will have income-generating products by April 2024.
This blog will follow the "12 Startups" project during its design, development, and deployment, cover the Agile principles and the DevOps philosophy that is used by the "12 Startups" project, and delve into the world of AI, machine learning, deep learning, prompt engineering, and large language models.
I hope you enjoyed this post and, if you did, I encourage you to explore some others I've written. And remember: The best technologies bring people together.
Abstract.
I document my home office setup — the physical workstations, networking gear, and creative tools I rely on every day to build, test, and deploy software as a solo developer. Each piece of hardware serves a specific purpose in my pipeline, and I explain how they fit together.
An Introduction.
A tech startup needs PC hardware that is fit for purpose, and a business plan that addresses an identified problem found through surveys, probes, investigations, and/or a Client commission. I never write software unless it will solve an issue. My home office is where I turn validated headaches into deployed solutions — it is the physical foundation of my solo developer AI software company.
Developer Desk.
My developer desk is the primary location where I write code, build Rust binaries, compile Web Assembly targets, manage my git repositories, fine-tune and post-train open-weights base AI models with MIT or Apache 2.0 licenses, and ideate on future technology deployments.
My recent makeover has contributed significant improvements to my productivity because my desk now houses four machines that are optimised for different workloads:
- DevLab has a Ryzen5 2600 6C/12T (Cores/Threads) CPU, 64GB RAM, and an NVIDIA RTX 3060 with 12GB VRAM. I use this machine to create Python scripts and WASM (Web Assembly) browser binaries that are built with Rust. The CPU handles compilation queues efficiently, while the RTX 3060 accelerates CUDA workloads during data processing.
NOTE: The label printer, sitting on top of the DevLab PC, is available to every PC on the network.
- EvoLab is the GMKtec Evo-X2 with the MAX+ 395 16C/32T APU (Accelerated Processing Unit), 128GB unified memory, an integrated Radeon 8060S iGPU, an NPU (Neural Processing Unit) with 50 TOPS (Trillions of Operations per Second), and a system-wide total of 126 TOPS. I use this machine to fine-tune and post-train base AI models that are released under MIT and Apache 2.0 licenses. The unified memory architecture lets me load large AI models without splitting across discrete GPU VRAM pools.
- MacLab is the Mac Mini with the M4 4P/6E (Performance/Efficiency) CPU, 10-core GPU, and a 16-core NPU with 38 TOPS. I use this machine to create AI-based media assets — images, audio, video, music, websites, and Swift apps — for branding, marketing, and automated social responses. The Neural Engine accelerates CoreML models, which speeds up on-device inference for media pipelines.
- PiLab53 is a Raspberry Pi5 SBC (Single Board Computer) with a quad-core 64-bit Arm Cortex-A76 CPU, VideoCore VII GPU, and 8GB RAM. I run persistent services on this small computer: PiHole for network-wide ad-blocking and other, self-hosted services.
- FHD Screen Recorder for capturing hardware demonstrations and client-facing walkthrough videos.
Control Surface for providing:
USB connectivity,
KVM connectivity,
Network connectivity, and
HDD storage to the active KVM system.
NOTE: The HDDs store recovery images for system rollback procedures.
NOTE: Yes, cable management is a skill that constantly eludes me. Also, the 5-port HDMI switch (sitting on top of the 4-port KVM switch) sometimes fails to display a video signal. In ANY professional setting, "sometimes" is NOT an acceptable standard. A replacement HDMI switch was immediately ordered and, as soon as it arrives, the 5-port disappointment will be disassembled, either for analysis and fixing or for parts (although finding anything salvageable is unlikely).
System Screens.
Here are the screens from each system:
DevLab:
EvoLab:
MacLab:
Homelab Desk.
My homelab desk is the staging ground for my next physical upgrade. This section will provide all of the gruesome details once I (find the time to) deploy my hardware design.
I/O Shelves.
I have scheduled another physical upgrade to my I/O shelves that house the printing, networking, and storage infrastructure that connects to every PC and SBC (Single Board Computer):
A LAN-based, and wireless, colour laser printer for
making coffeeprinting A4 pages.A WiFi modem that acts as the wireless gateway for connecting WiFi devices (iPhones, Android devices, Smart TVs, etc.) to the Internet.
A four-drive NAS in RAID-5 that stores active projects, dataset snapshots, and archives. RAID-5 provides fault-tolerant redundancy for a single-drive failure thanks to parity stripes and, with a connected HDD, an automated backup routine.
A new, four-port mini PC running pfSense or OPNsense that will handle subnet routing, LAN segmentation, and firewall policies. I will separate my wired, development LAN from my WiFi WLAN so that a breach in one zone cannot spread to the other zone.
Many Distractions.
My home office doubles as a creative studio. When I need a break from the terminal (or all the PC systems are busy churning through their prompts), the following distractions keep my hands busy and my mind refreshed:
- Electric and bass guitars — I play through a small modelling emulator when I am blocked on a design problem and I use the recordings as simple looped tracks that are later used as video soundtracks.
MIDI keyboard — I sketch quick melodies and chord progressions for AI music prompts.
Reaper DAW — Selected, and pending, replacement for the Reason DAW.
Water colours — I paint thumbnail concepts for UI mock-ups and branding mood boards.
Digital art and animation — I create sprite sheets, logos, and motion graphics in Inkscape, Krita, Blender, Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve Studio, and Blackmagic Design Fusion Studio.
Each activity pulls me away from the screen long enough for an insight to surface naturally.
Results.
With this setup I can develop software, fine-tune AI models, produce media assets, and manage infrastructure — all from a single desk. At this early stage, I do not need a co-working space, a second office, or a dedicated server rack (although aluminium frames for reconditioned Dell or Lenovo PCs are on my build list as I collect these hardware systems). The four workstations let me parallelise my tasks: DevLab compiles Rust binaries, EvoLab trains AI models using LoRA, MacLab renders video clips and other media assets, and PiLab53 hosts PiHole, serves local DNS lookups, and runs other network services. I have eliminated every external dependency, except for the power outlet and the fibre ONT (Optical Network Terminal).
Analysis.
The biggest lesson I have learned from building this office is that hardware specialisation saves time. A general-purpose desktop that tries to do everything ends up doing nothing quickly. By assigning each machine a clear role — compilation, AI training, media production, infrastructure — I keep context-switching overhead near zero. The trade-off is upfront cost and desk space, but for a solo startup, these are one-time investments that pay for themselves inside a single project cycle.
The second insight is that creative cross-training matters. The guitars, MIDI keyboard, and art supplies are not idle distractions — they are my reset mechanism. I have measured my own output: a fifteen-minute guitar session after a stalled debugging session yields a solution within the next hour far more consistently than pushing through the wall. The office is deliberately designed to support my technical, business, and creative rhythms.
Conclusions.
My home office is the engine room of my solo developer AI software startup. Every workstation, every network device, and every creative tool exists because it solves a specific problem in my workflow. I do not carry overhead — I carry capacity.
Until next time: Be safe, be kind, be awesome, kia kaha!!
Document Details: My Home Office.
Document Subtitle: The Desks of Destiny.
Document Version: v0.5.1
Document Author(s): Brian King
Document Attributions: Not applicable
Hash Tags: #HomeOffice, #SoloDev, #SoftwareDevelopment, #Homelab, #SelfHosted
SEO Title: My Home Office: An AI Developer's Setup Guide
SEO Description: A walk-through of my home office PCs where I describe how each machine powers my AI developer workflow which empowers my AI technology startup.
Document Creation Date: Thursday, 20 August 2026
Last Update: Friday, 21 August 2026
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