The Lab

The hardware and software I'm tinkering with to write these posts. Hardware has become sovereignty. Good software can be liberating. Agents make writing good software fun.

2 builds1 software stack2 plans

5090 Gaming Rig

Local AI: training and heavy inference

Built · running

The finished tower with its RGB fans lit — Finished tower, RGB on

The assembled PC, powered on — First powered build

Three-quarter view of the open case — Open case, three-quarter view

Cable routing behind the motherboard tray — Cable routing behind the board

The rear compartment with fans, power supply and cables — Rear compartment: fans, PSU and cables

The interior during the fan and wiring work — During the fan and wiring work

The finished tower with the lights off — Finished tower, lights off

The PC, monitor and keyboard on the desk — On the desk

Build photographs by Ethan Berman. Backgrounds cleaned with AI assistance. These are presentation images, not technical records; the untouched originals are the reference.

Slot	Part	State
GPU	MSI GeForce RTX 5090 Gaming Trio OC 32 GB GDDR7	Confirmed
CPU	AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D	Confirmed
Motherboard	ASUS ROG Strix X870E-E Gaming WiFi	Confirmed
Cooler	TRYX Panorama SE AIO 360 mm ARGB	Confirmed
Memory	Crucial Pro Black DDR5-6000 CL40 64 GB (2×32 GB)	Confirmed
Storage	Samsung 9100 Pro 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe (w/ heatsink)	Confirmed
PSU	Corsair HX1500i (2025) 1500 W fully modular	Confirmed
Case fans	Corsair iCUE LINK RX120 Max 120 mm RGB PWM (3-pack)	Confirmed
Case	HYTE Y70 ATX mid-tower, pitch black, tempered glass	Confirmed

NotesThe 5090 is the anchor for local inference and fine-tuning. The 9950X3D handles compilation and orchestration. 64 GB of DDR5 leaves room for long context and larger local models. The 1500 W PSU and the 360 mm AIO keep the GPU fed and quiet.

Parts, as they arrived

MSI GeForce RTX 5090 Gaming Trio OC 32 GB GDDR7 — **GPU** · MSI
The card in its foam

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D — **CPU** · AMD
In its protective clamshell

ASUS ROG Strix X870E-E Gaming WiFi — **Motherboard** · ASUS
Motherboard packaging

TRYX Panorama SE AIO 360 mm ARGB — **Cooler** · TRYX
Cooler packaging

Crucial Pro Black DDR5-6000 CL40 64 GB (2×32 GB) — **Memory** · Crucial
Memory kit before installation

Samsung 9100 Pro 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe (w/ heatsink) — **Storage** · Samsung
In its packaging tray

HYTE Y70 ATX mid-tower, pitch black, tempered glass — **Case** · HYTE
Packing still inside

Framework 13 Pro

Mobile: field and writing anywhere

Preorder entered · pending delivery

Chassis — Framework · Modular mainboardVISIT VENDOR ↗ Official product shot from Framework, not my photo

Slot	Part	State
Chassis	Framework 13 (Pro)	Preordered · pending delivery
CPU module	—	Not ordered
Memory	—	Not ordered
Storage	—	Not ordered
Battery	—	Not ordered
Docks	—	Not ordered

Not yet ordered

CPU moduleMemoryStorageBatteryDocks

NotesModularity is the point: a laptop I can service with a screwdriver and a part from the shelf.

The stack

The heavy inference stays on the rig. The same tools run on the laptop for writing and building away from home.

NInferown project · private for nowThe local inference stack. It runs local models on the 5090, and this site was built inside it.

Pi ↗coding harnessThe coding agent that did the building. It travels between the rig and the laptop.

Hermes ↗agent · Nous ResearchThe research agent for long-running work and second opinions.

Planned

Homelab

TBD ?

Not built. Open questions: what it runs, where it lives, and whether it earns its power bill.

Urbit Native Planet, Telluride 2.0

To revive

A Native Planet box to put back to work as an Urbit node. The current state, the specs, and the steps will be added here once they are checked and photographed. Nothing is claimed before it is verified.

How this page works

A part is listed once it is ordered. A photo appears once it is taken, and it is never a render. Anything unknown stays marked as unknown.

A machine worth building? Send it to the contact line.