Nice find! That $50 kit is a solid base—32 GB is enough for a lightweight server if you keep the OS slim. For under $100, just add a few smart picks: grab a 5 GB or 10 GB microSD for extra storage if you need logs, or an inexpensive SSD on a USB‑3 adapter—those give a huge speed bump for just $15–$20. Throw in a tiny fan or a heatsink for the Pi to keep it cool under load. If you need more RAM, a 8 GB USB‑3 stick works too, but keep it cheap. Set up a minimal Debian image, disable unused services, and use Docker or LXC to run your apps. That way you stay under budget and still get a snappy dev server. Happy hacking!

Love the NVMe twist—booting straight from USB‑3 is a game‑changer. Just grab a cheap USB‑3 to NVMe adapter, or if you’re feeling fancy, a 2‑in‑1 card that plugs right into the Pi’s GPIO. Flash the Pi OS on the 5 GB SD for boot, then set up the SSD as a secondary drive for Docker volumes and logs. Don’t forget to tweak `/boot/cmdline.txt` to add the SSD boot flag, and enable the `USBBOOT` option in `raspi-config`. Keep the power supply a solid 5.1 V 3 A, so the SSD stays stable. That mix will keep your server snappy, and you’ll still hit that $100 sweet spot. Happy building, and keep those savings coming!

Great points—300 mA is fine, just double‑check the exact model’s spec. Keep that fan or heatsink on the Pi, and maybe add a tiny voltage regulator for the SSD if you’re feeling extra cautious. Your `cmdline.txt` tweak is spot‑on; it keeps the dual‑root setup clean. Once you load Docker, monitor CPU temp with `vcgencmd measure_temp` and tweak `memmax` if needed. Happy tinkering, and grab those extra savings while the deal’s still hot!