Share Your Homelab. Shape What's Next.

Share your real homelab setup, exchange ideas, and help guide future ZimaBoard & ZimaOS development.

Join the Reddit Challenge

This challenge is for everyone

This isn't a contest for experts only.

If you've ever built, tweaked, or experimented with your homelab or self-hosted setup, this challenge is for you.

Share your real-world setup, learn from others, and be part of a community that values curiosity, creativity, and practical experience - not competition.

How to Join

01

Join the Reddit challenge

Visit the giveaway post on r/minilab and join the discussion.This challenge runs entirely on Reddit - no extra sign-ups required.

02

Share your thoughts or setup

Leave at least one valid comment sharing your homelab setup, use case, or feedback on ZimaBoard 2 / ZimaOS. Photos, ideas, and real experiences are all welcome.

03

Stay tuned for results

Winners are selected randomly from eligible comments and announced after the challenge ends.Make sure your Reddit DMs are open so we can contact you.

Quick tip

Add at least one screenshot, photo, or video, plus a short note about how you use ZimaOS. You can post in r/homelab, r/selfhosted, r/HomeServer, r/ZimaBoard, or any community you like.

Rewards & Community Perks

We believe sharing knowledge should feel rewarding - whether you win a prize or not.

Rewards
  • Run Plex, Pi-hole, Proxmox, or even Minecraft - 24/7, cool and silent.
    ZimaBoard 2 handles media streaming, firewalls, homelabs, and AI containers with ease. Low power, high reliability.
  • Native SATA & PCIe - no hats, no hassles.
    Plug in 2.5" HDDs/SSDs, install a 10G NIC, GPU, or NVMe adapter. It's ready for your personal storage or expansion needs.
  • Dual 2.5G Ethernet built-in.
    Ideal for fast local NAS, low-latency remote access, or routing multiple network services at home.
  • Run what works for you - ZimaOS, TrueNAS, Proxmox, Debian, pfSense…
    Users love testing different OS setups for backups, Plex servers, Docker labs, or cluster builds.
  • Small, hackable, and kind of cute. Many call it's a mini server that looks like a toy but runs like a beast." Perfect for creative DIYers and tech lovers.
  • Powerful Single‑Board Server for DIY Labs & NAS
    A compact x86 platform built for home servers, network storage, media streaming, virtualization, and developer projects - low power, high reliability.
  • Flexible PCIe Expansion
    Plug in NVMe SSDs, 10G NICs, GPUs, or other PCIe cards with no "hats" or add‑on boards required - perfect for custom storage, networking, and custom workloads.
  • Silent & Rugged Design
    Passive cooling keeps temperatures low with no fans, making ZimaBlade ideal for 24/7 operation in living rooms, home offices, or lab racks.
  • Modular NAS & Storage Capability
    Combine with SATA adapters, HDD trays, or NVMe devices to build powerful NAS solutions, Plex servers, backup arrays, or container hosts.
  • Supports Your OS of Choice
    Works with a wide range of operating systems including ZimaOS, TrueNAS SCALE, Debian, Ubuntu, Proxmox, and more - great for both beginners and advanced users.
  • Highly Rated by the Community
    Users praise its performance, ease of use, and value: "excellent power efficiency," "very good performance for the price," "great community support".
Community Perks

For full technical specifications, visit the official ZimaOS page

  • Basic Benefits Built‑In
    ZimaOS gives you remote access, shared storage (Samba), LAN/cloud mounts, photo & data backup workflows, and flexible custom app support - everything you need to centralize and manage your data securely.
  • 3‑2‑1 Backup Strategy Support
    Built‑in tools make it easy to follow best practices for data protection - local copy, remote copy, and offline backup. So your important files are continually protected.
  • Custom Apps & Virtual Machines
    Install from our app store, run your own containers, or launch full VMs using ZVM - ideal for developers, home labs, or business use cases.
  • Advanced Network & System Controls
    Fine‑grained network settings, user management, and system administration tools give you full control over your home cloud environment.
  • Plus Version - Unlock Unlimited Core Features
    With ZimaOS Plus, all limits are removed. Unlimited Users, unlimited Apps, unlimited Disks, unlimited Devices.
  • Works With What You Know
    Support for popular storage and server technologies (Samba, containers, virtualization) means you can integrate ZimaOS into existing workflows or learn as you grow.
  • Designed for Real Use Cases
    Whether you're building a backup server, media hub, NAS, virtualization host, or developer sandbox, ZimaOS adapts to your needs - from beginner setups to advanced homelab labs.

Stay in the loop

New challenges, winner updates, and fresh build ideas - straight to your inbox.

From the community, for the community.

Community Showcase

Real builds and ideas shared by our community.

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • Choose Standard for personal cloud, media libraries, backups, and lighter self-hosting or editing workflows. Choose Pro if you want more CPU headroom, 10GbE, and faster SSD expansion for heavier multitasking or more demanding active projects. Choose Creator Pack if you need the most powerful setup, with 64GB RAM, 1TB SSD, and dedicated GPU support for more advanced creative or AI workflows.

  • Yes. ZimaCube 2 is built on standard hardware and follows a zero-lock-in approach. It comes with ZimaOS Plus preinstalled, while remaining compatible with a wide range of other operating systems and self-hosting setups. This openness is also a core part of the official product positioning.

  • ZimaCube 2 uses a redesigned thermal system built for cooler and quieter operation. According to the recent launch materials, full-load CPU temperatures are reduced by nearly 30%, while system noise stays around 30 dB.

  • For many everyday workflows, especially lighter or single-stream 4K work, Standard is generally a solid fit. If your setup involves heavier multitasking, faster shared storage needs, or more demanding editing workloads, Pro offers more headroom with a stronger processor, 10GbE, and faster SSD expansion.

  • The 7th bay is designed for high-speed SSD expansion. On Standard, the shared bandwidth is around 800 MB/s, which is generally suitable for lighter active workflows and fast-access storage. On Pro and Creator Pack, the 7th bay reaches around 3200 MB/s, making it better suited for more demanding editing, scratch storage, and performance-focused workflows.

  • Yes. A practical setup is to use faster SSD storage for active projects, while keeping larger-capacity drives for long-term storage and archive. This matches creative workflows well and makes ZimaCube 2 easier to use as both active workspace and long-term storage.

  • ZimaCube 2 is compatible with most mainstream hard drive brands and capacities on the market. You can check the full compatibility list here: Compatibility List

  • Inside the chassis, ZimaCube 2 supports low-profile GPUs for SFF single-slot or dual-slot installation, with TDP below 75W. For larger or higher-power graphics cards, we recommend using an external GPU dock.