They aren't as expensive as you'd expect[1][2] ($70-$200). Hell, you could use a RPi for many use cases.
In my case, my homelab is my laptop (which I connect to from my desktop). I don't actually have a server blade lying around (although those can also be relatively cheap when big cloud upgrades their servers).
In my case, my homelab is my laptop (which I connect to from my desktop). I don't actually have a server blade lying around (although those can also be relatively cheap when big cloud upgrades their servers).
[1]: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=dell+optiplex+3040+micr... [2]: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=intel+nuc&_udhi=200&_ud...