diff --git a/default.nix b/default.nix
index 066f435..2505a00 100755
--- a/default.nix
+++ b/default.nix
@@ -12,6 +12,10 @@ in {
     ]
     ++ (mapModulesRec' (toString ./modules) import);
 
+  environment.variables = {
+    NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNFREE = "1";
+  };
+
   nix = {
     package = pkgs.nix;
 
@@ -32,11 +36,23 @@ in {
         "nix-community.cachix.org-1:mB9FSh9qf2dCimDSUo8Zy7bkq5CX+/rkCWyvRCYg3Fs="
       ];
     };
+
+    optimise.automatic = true;
+    gc = {
+      automatic = true;
+      dates = "weekly";
+      options = "--delete-older-than 30d";
+    };
   };
 
-  # set our git revision inside `nixos-version`
+  system.stateVersion = mkDefault "23.11";
   system.configurationRevision = with inputs; mkIf (self ? rev) self.rev;
 
+  boot = {
+    kernelPackages = mkDefault pkgs.linuxPackages_latest;
+    kernelParams = [ "pci_aspm.policy=performance" ];
+  };
+
   time.timeZone = mkDefault "America/Los_Angeles";
 
   i18n.defaultLocale = mkDefault "en_US.UTF-8";
@@ -47,10 +63,6 @@ in {
     unrar unzip
     micro
     curl wget
-    # im pretty sure removing this breaks nixos-rebuild
-    # have fun
     git
   ];
-
-  system.stateVersion = mkDefault "23.11";
 }
diff --git a/flake.nix b/flake.nix
index a0b28de..fc5a260 100755
--- a/flake.nix
+++ b/flake.nix
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@
     home-manager.url = "github:nix-community/home-manager";
     home-manager.inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs";
 
+    hardware.url = "github:nixos/nixos-hardware";
+
     vscode-server.url = "github:nix-community/nixos-vscode-server";
   };
 
diff --git a/hosts/nixos-server-reid/default.nix b/hosts/nixos-server-reid/default.nix
index 0c62ff6..d6c9ed7 100755
--- a/hosts/nixos-server-reid/default.nix
+++ b/hosts/nixos-server-reid/default.nix
@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 { config, lib, pkgs, ... }:
 
-let
-
-in {
+{
   imports = [
     ./hardware.nix
     ./webapps/default.nix
@@ -51,5 +49,6 @@ in {
   };
 
   # enable network manager - probably not the best on a single server but Oh Well
+  # perhaps i could move it next to my router for easier ethernet access
   networking.networkmanager.enable = true;
 }
diff --git a/hosts/nixos-server-reid/hardware.nix b/hosts/nixos-server-reid/hardware.nix
index 25b9143..9d69a64 100755
--- a/hosts/nixos-server-reid/hardware.nix
+++ b/hosts/nixos-server-reid/hardware.nix
@@ -1,33 +1,34 @@
-{ config, lib, pkgs, modulesPath, ... }:
+{ inputs, config, lib, pkgs, modulesPath, ... }:
 
 {
-  imports =
-    [
-      (modulesPath + "/installer/scan/not-detected.nix")
-    ];
+  imports = [
+    inputs.hardware.nixosModules.common-pc-ssd
+    inputs.hardware.nixosModules.common-pc
+    # uses mkDefault to set to a patched kernel,
+    # but it conflicts with one of our mkDefault settings
+    #inputs.hardware.nixosModules.raspberry-pi-4
 
-  boot = {
-    initrd.availableKernelModules = [ "xhci_pci" "ehci_pci" "ahci" "usbhid" "usb_storage" "sd_mod" "sdhci_pci" ];
-  initrd.kernelModules = [ ];
-  kernelModules = [ ];
-  extraModulePackages = [ ];
-  # TODO: move bootloader, networking, boot speed to another file?
-    kernelPackages = pkgs.linuxPackages_latest;
-    loader = {
-      # use u-boot over grub
-      grub.enable = lib.mkForce false;
-      generic-extlinux-compatible.enable = true;
-    };
-  };
+    (modulesPath + "/installer/scan/not-detected.nix")
+  ];
 
-  fileSystems."/" = {
-      device = "/dev/disk/by-uuid/44444444-4444-4444-8888-888888888888";
+  # use better power management for a device that's always on
+  powerManagement.cpuFreqGovernor = lib.mkDefault "ondemand";
+
+  boot.initrd.availableKernelModules = [ "xhci_pci" "ehci_pci" "ahci" "usbhid" "usb_storage" "sd_mod" "sdhci_pci" ];
+  boot.initrd.kernelModules = [ ];
+  boot.kernelModules = [ ];
+  boot.extraModulePackages = [ ];
+
+  # for some god forsaken reason, generic-extlinux-compatible doesn't disable grub like systemd-boot does
+  boot.loader.grub.enable = false;
+  boot.loader.generic-extlinux-compatible.enable = true;
+
+  fileSystems."/" =
+    { device = "/dev/disk/by-uuid/44444444-4444-4444-8888-888888888888";
       fsType = "ext4";
+      options = [ "noatime" "nodiratime" "discard" ];
     };
 
-  swapDevices =
-    [ ];
-
   # Enables DHCP on each ethernet and wireless interface. In case of scripted networking
   # (the default) this is the recommended approach. When using systemd-networkd it's
   # still possible to use this option, but it's recommended to use it in conjunction
@@ -37,5 +38,4 @@
   # networking.interfaces.wlan0.useDHCP = lib.mkDefault true;
 
   nixpkgs.hostPlatform = lib.mkDefault "aarch64-linux";
-  powerManagement.cpuFreqGovernor = lib.mkDefault "ondemand";
 }
diff --git a/hosts/nixos-server-reid/webapps/default.nix b/hosts/nixos-server-reid/webapps/default.nix
index 3e2adc0..336a23f 100755
--- a/hosts/nixos-server-reid/webapps/default.nix
+++ b/hosts/nixos-server-reid/webapps/default.nix
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ in {
           locations."/f/".extraConfig = ''
             add_header Access-Control-Allow-Origin "*";
           '';
-          # we should perhaps add something to help with this in staticsites?
+          # TODO: we should perhaps add something to help with this in staticSites?
           extraConfig = ''
             error_page 404 /404.html;
           '';
diff --git a/modules/users.nix b/modules/users.nix
index f3116f0..a4c836c 100755
--- a/modules/users.nix
+++ b/modules/users.nix
@@ -1,9 +1,8 @@
 { options, config, lib, pkgs, ... }:
 
 with lib;
-let
-
-in {
+{
+  # TODO: what the hell is this
   options = {
     user = mkOption {
       type = types.attrs;
@@ -35,10 +34,6 @@ in {
         description = "(XDG) Configuration files managed by home-manager";
       };
     };
-    configDir = mkOption {
-      type = types.path;
-      default = ../config;
-    };
   };
 
   config = {
@@ -56,16 +51,6 @@ in {
       xdg.configFile = mkAliasDefinitions options.home.configFile;
     };
 
-    environment = {
-      sessionVariables = {
-        XDG_CACHE_HOME = "$HOME/.cache";
-        XDG_CONFIG_HOME = "$HOME/.config";
-        XDG_DATA_HOME = "$HOME/.local/share";
-        XDG_BIN_HOME = "$HOME/.local/bin";
-        XDG_DESKTOP_DIR = "$HOME";
-      };
-    };
-
     users.groups = mapAttrs (_: _: {}) config.normalUsers;
 
     users.users = mapAttrs (username: user: (mkMerge [