Nice to be of your help.

How’s OpenWRT to use and install. Though pretty experienced with linux. This is the first time trying to do the hardcore networking stuff.

I read on OPNSense guide it needs 2gb ram to run, it would be difficult to even get a 1gb ram for it. Not to say expensive too.

I have an old Raspberry Pi as PiHole and another Pihole running on as a virtual machine. I have an ryzen PC running as a NAS and Jellyfin.

I was trying to get a half decent PC to make a firewall router out of.

Thanks i was planning to put OpenWRT or DD WRT on it ditching Windows XP

Would be cooler if u do it in C

Maybe do a cmos reset

That’s a lot to learn.

Me too.

What benefits to running it as an VM rather than on bare metal.

I was doing that but I have a Windows PC on the network and have fucked up Samba too many times to be confident to do it again.