Question How to connect peripherals to distant PC

[Calicifer]

I had an idea to place my computer further back from my desk. I'm thinking to put it on display in my room. However, this would leave my peripherals too far away. I could buy dozens of cable extenders for each connection, but that would create a lot of cable management and another problem how to hide all those cables.

I thought of a device which acts like a data hub (there are similar devices to buy) where you insert multiple cables into it and it has just one output. I would need something similar where I could plug in all computer cables into one hub, connect two hubs with a single transfer cable and then at another end have same number of outputs which I could use to output my devices to my computer case. When I wrote all of this down it seems so overly complex for seemingly bizarre benefits, just like me.

Is there such device? Or otherwise, could you direct me to ideas and how other people handle PC cable extension. Since I'm an PC enthusiast, I prefer solutions which look great as otherwise, I could just use a lot of extenders to get an ugly looking result.

 

[Aeacus]

Most neat looking solution: wireless peripherals.

Least cables used: local remote KVM device over USB.
Further reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KVM_switch#Local_remote_(Including_KVM_over_USB)

Edit:
3rd option is using portable PC instead, e.g laptop.

 

[Calicifer]

Thank you. The issue with wireless stuff is that I need for all my hardware to be wireless. For starters, monitors. Then sound card also aren't wireless and from that it escalates further. It is bit of a headache to find everything wireless.

 

[Aeacus]

I need for all my hardware to be wireless. For starters, monitors.

Easy, albeit costly fix: bigger monitor = further viewing distance.
Cheaper version of it would be buying TV, e.g 55" and use that as PC's monitor. But you won't be getting 60+ Hz with this one, unless you buy expensive TV.

Then sound card also aren't wireless

While it isn't wireless, many headsets are. And if you use speakers instead, sound travels well further away and there are speakers out there with remote (for volume adjustment), unless you adjust volume from Win settings.

--

Though, out of curiosity, why do you need your PC to be in one corner of the room while you are at the opposite corner?

 

[Calicifer]

Because I'm not sure if table which I'm going to buy will have enough room to fit a case which I got. I managed to snap GB-AC700G computer case with 300 euros discount before local retailer got wise and raised its price to an appropriate level. Now it is in my room and it is a lot bigger than I had imagined it to be. To top it off, it weights 15 kg on its own. I imagine putting one of those 11 kg motherboards and pranking my friend with my pc. I would dare him to lift it and when he would struggle I would make a joke about how only the worthy can use its power in reference to Thor hammer. I could literally fit my whole current computer into it, turn on case fans and I bet it would even make my current computer run better this way.

So, my original problem is that I cannot find a good looking table which would extend over a corner. There is one ''gamers table'' which just looks poor to me. There is another wooden table with a cupboard. I'm not certain if there will be enough place on it to place my PC. I do not want to place my PC on a table itself, because I'm planning to run triple monitor set up. I need a lot of space on it and I'm not sure if I will have it on a table or a cupboard itself. So, I'm thinking if there is a possibility to neatly place this computer little further away to be more like a showpiece. Computer will not be far apart, but it will be further apart than included cables can reach it. I'm just not sure by how much. I might need 1 meter more or 5 meters more. Maybe I won't need it at all if I could fit it on a table without my table looking crowded.

You did offered a wifi solution. This could work, but sadly I already invested into some hardware. I had a dream as a poor student to have a proper keyboard. Finally one model was developed which was perfect to me. That is Corsair K100. Then I'm still not certain how I will be able to handle high refresh rates on my monitors with wifi or even if my G7 could support such a thing. Another issue is that I'm a bit of an audiophile. Just a little bit, I have a sound card, a little more expensive headset than usual and I'm kinda weary about using wireless connection. I do not know if it will be fine. I have no doubts that over youtube and video games it will be fine. However, I do and can notice a difference between flac and youtube. I'm afraid that I will notice some quality loss when I'm listening to music.

So, there was a lot, but I believe I fully explained my reasoning of why I want to use cables. I could use a lot of peripherals as wireless and I will give greater consideration to Wifi when I will be refreshing my other gear.

 

[Aeacus]

Because I'm not sure if table which I'm going to buy will have enough room to fit a case which I got. I managed to snap GB-AC700G computer case with 300 euros discount before local retailer got wise and raised its price to an appropriate level. Now it is in my room and it is a lot bigger than I had imagined it to be. To top it off, it weights 15 kg on its own. I imagine putting one of those 11 kg motherboards and pranking my friend with my pc. I would dare him to lift it and when he would struggle I would make a joke about how only the worthy can use its power in reference to Thor hammer. I could literally fit my whole current computer into it, turn on case fans and I bet it would even make my current computer run better this way.

So, my original problem is that I cannot find a good looking table which would extend over a corner. There is one ''gamers table'' which just looks poor to me. There is another wooden table with a cupboard. I'm not certain if there will be enough place on it to place my PC. I do not want to place my PC on a table itself, because I'm planning to run triple monitor set up. I need a lot of space on it and I'm not sure if I will have it on a table or a cupboard itself. So, I'm thinking if there is a possibility to neatly place this computer little further away to be more like a showpiece. Computer will not be far apart, but it will be further apart than included cables can reach it. I'm just not sure by how much. I might need 1 meter more or 5 meters more. Maybe I won't need it at all if I could fit it on a table without my table looking crowded.

Are you aiming for a setup similar to this;
(random image from the net)

Same setup could be mirrored, where PC is on the left side of the table.

As far as full-tower ATX cases go, i have them in use as well. My setups:

Left: My PC, with Corsair 760T V2 Black (full-tower ATX case)
Middle: Missus'es PC, with Corsair 750D Airflow Edition (full-tower ATX case)
Right: My old PC, kept for retro gaming, with Sharkoon DG7000-G Green (mid-tower ATX case)

Full specs with more pics in my signature.

You did offered a wifi solution. This could work, but sadly I already invested into some hardware. I had a dream as a poor student to have a proper keyboard. Finally one model was developed which was perfect to me. That is Corsair K100. Then I'm still not certain how I will be able to handle high refresh rates on my monitors with wifi or even if my G7 could support such a thing. Another issue is that I'm a bit of an audiophile. Just a little bit, I have a sound card, a little more expensive headset than usual and I'm kinda weary about using wireless connection. I do not know if it will be fine. I have no doubts that over youtube and video games it will be fine. However, I do and can notice a difference between flac and youtube. I'm afraid that I will notice some quality loss when I'm listening to music.

I'd suggest to 1st buy the table(s) and once you have that in place, then start looking into cable routing/hiding them.

As far as audiophile goes, i, myself, doesn't consider one be. Especially since i'm happy with built-in audio drivers my MoBo has. But then again, i can't play games in stereo, instead, i'm using Dolby 7.1 surround inside my Corsair Void Pro RGB USB headset. And yes, i know that it isn't the "true" 7.1 but instead software generated. But for me, this is enough, since i still get the surround sound in games that are supported. Oh, i also have 2.1 speakers with dedicated amp, for listening music/some games during day time. (My head/ears will tire when wearing headset all the time and i heard that headset causes baldness.)

Now, if i'd have more money, i'd go with Lian-Li DK-05F PC case,
specs: https://lian-li.com/product/dk-05f/

Since it looks cool and is also very practical, while freeing up the space PC case usually takes up.
This Lian-Li "PC case" would be another option for neat looking, but since you already have fancy PC case, not to mention the cost of Lian-Li PC case, it isn't worthwhile. Unless you really-really want it and have the funds as well.

 

[Ralston18]

@Calicifer

Is it viable/possible to sell the GB-AC700G computer case for at least what you paid for it or maybe even a bit more?

Then use the monies to buy another smaller/lighter computer case that makes the table problem moot.

= = = =

And google: " DIY computer desk table" . Filter to images.

(DIY meaning "Do it Yourself.)

You may find a direct solution or something that gives you another idea or two with regards to desk/table options.

Just my thoughts on the matter.

 

[Aeacus]

Then use the monies to buy another smaller/lighter computer case that makes the table problem moot.

You may find a direct solution or something that gives you another idea or two with regards to desk/table options.

To add to the thought; one option would be wall mounting PC case. Looks nice and doesn't take up any table/floor space.
E.g Thermaltake Core P5, among many.
Tt open cases lineup: https://www.thermaltake.com/product...product_list_limit=30&product_list_order=name

But with wall mounted case or smaller case, OP can't prank his friend.

 

[Ralston18]

Wall mounts are a viable option. And could be well suited for the stated requirements.

However, landlord, school, roommates, parents, etc. may take a dim view of any such installations.... And a wall mount is by definition somewhat permanent.

Wanted to take a look at the cases but the link is not opening for me. Just a blank "New Tab" window and nothing else happens.

= = = =

That all said, wall mounts of any sort can be problematic with respect to initial installation and any future maintenance/repairs.

For the most part, I am increasingly wary about any such products: So much dependency on the design and quality of the wall mount product (brackets, screws, wall anchors, etc.), the mounter's skill set with respect to such DIY projects. Instructions also often poorly written and/or otherwise unclear.

Common mistake being to rely on wall anchors only into the drywall/sheet rock versus proper length wood screws into the center of the wall studs. Seldom find wall studs where they need to be......

Then there is always the wall itself.... Does not take much for some walls to start disintegrating once holes are drilled and the whole mounting setup catastrophically collapses.

Pranks aside: he may need his friends help to pick up the pieces.....

Just my thoughts and caveats on the matter.

 

[Aeacus]

Wanted to take a look at the cases but the link is not opening for me. Just a blank "New Tab" window and nothing else happens.

Just tried myself right now and i got "Connection timed out" on both the link i shared and on http://www.thermaltake.com/ itself. I guess Tt has their webpage down for some reason.

That all said, wall mounts of any sort can be problematic with respect to initial installation and any future maintenance/repairs.

For the most part, I am increasingly wary about any such products: So much dependency on the design and quality of the wall mount product (brackets, screws, wall anchors, etc.), the mounter's skill set with respect to such DIY projects. Instructions also often poorly written and/or otherwise unclear.

Common mistake being to rely on wall anchors only into the drywall/sheet rock versus proper length wood screws into the center of the wall studs. Seldom find wall studs where they need to be......

Then there is always the wall itself.... Does not take much for some walls to start disintegrating once holes are drilled and the whole mounting setup catastrophically collapses.

True. However, wall mounting PC isn't any different from wall mounting TV. And some such wall mounted PC cases use the VESA mount, with is standard across all monitors (and perhaps can be found on some TVs as well).

 

[Calicifer]

Wall mounts are a viable option. And could be well suited for the stated requirements.

However, landlord, school, roommates, parents, etc. may take a dim view of any such installations.... And a wall mount is by definition somewhat permanent.

Wanted to take a look at the cases but the link is not opening for me. Just a blank "New Tab" window and nothing else happens.

= = = =

That all said, wall mounts of any sort can be problematic with respect to initial installation and any future maintenance/repairs.

For the most part, I am increasingly wary about any such products: So much dependency on the design and quality of the wall mount product (brackets, screws, wall anchors, etc.), the mounter's skill set with respect to such DIY projects. Instructions also often poorly written and/or otherwise unclear.

Common mistake being to rely on wall anchors only into the drywall/sheet rock versus proper length wood screws into the center of the wall studs. Seldom find wall studs where they need to be......

Then there is always the wall itself.... Does not take much for some walls to start disintegrating once holes are drilled and the whole mounting setup catastrophically collapses.

Pranks aside: he may need his friends help to pick up the pieces.....

Just my thoughts and caveats on the matter.

I had recently purchased an apartment, so I'm not concerned about such things. About wall mounts, the issue is due to how I had organized my furniture, I have my place set where my hardware will be. It is in a corner. On my left is a giant window going through most of the room, in front of me is table, monitors and wall. To the right is middle of a room, cupboard for clothes.

It is something similar, but my current set up is oriented to where this PC is. I also would need to buy special case for it. I do not find it too attractive, I did purchased LG C1 TV and wall mounted it in my sitting-room though. It is the best way to mount a TV in my opinion. As for walls, I'm living in post Soviet republic and apartment made back then. Walls are made out of thick bricks, I'm not worried at all about them breaking.

@Calicifer

Is it viable/possible to sell the GB-AC700G computer case for at least what you paid for it or maybe even a bit more?

Then use the monies to buy another smaller/lighter computer case that makes the table problem moot.

There might be some money in that. I could sell it for 100 euros cheaper in an aftermarket as a new product. I did not done anything with a case, I even have original packaging in place. Though, I do like this computer case and I do not know any computer case which I would want more than this one. There are one possibly with OLED screen, another is open case, it is cool looking, but I read comments that dust will be a massive problem with such open design cases. Other than that, I cannot see anything which I would like. I do enjoy these more aggressive looking computer cases, because I always liked when my PC looks unique. Even when I was a poor student, I picked up

This case, because back in 2012-2014 I still saw a lot of those ugly, plastic computer boxes. I wanted something unique and this was computer case which offered the most character per buck!

As it comes today, I considered a computer case below. However, I had read commends that these are dust magnets with their open design. I'm not sure how it true it was, this case was my second choice. I followed price of this one and Aorus case. This case in particular was also underpriced in my market until inventory ran out and new resupply came with an appropriately high price. I followed their prices for a while and with help of notifications, I managed to snatch Aorus case at a perfect opportunity. Otherwise, I would had went with this one, because normally Aorus C700 has an insane 500 price tag.

Then I was looking for computer case with OLED screen. I did not looked too much into it, but I could not find one which would be fully programmable and at realistic price. All high end PC cases are still missing those features. There is probably something I missed. There are cases with display there and here, but they all miss the mark. I found a computer case which has a low luminosity screen going through its entire side. It could even used to game, but I do not like how it covers what is inside of my PC. Also, that screen is not of high enough quality.

I just read that Thermalake announced new PC case with LCD display (picture below), but that again misses the mark. I want high quality screen which I could program. No cheap LCD nonsense, I need OLED with decent size and tastefully integrated into the case.

People do this kind of stuff with some case modding and auxiliary screens:

It seems that what I need is still in the future. Like water cooling, when I wanted as a kid, it was still all about ''do it yourself from aquarium store'' kind of thing. I'm feeling de Javu right now.

Anyways, in the end I went with this case and I'm quite happy with it. It is an aggressive looking case. It is an unique case which looks differently than all the other computer cases today. I always wanted to have little bit of uniqueness about stuff I own. It is also important that it looks like a showpiece. I want my computer not to be just a case where I store PC parts, but something I can display with pride. A lot of PC cases are beautiful these days, especially with their RGB lighting. However, they do not look unique, they do not look impressive. This case has just right amount of balance between being too gamey and cringe to being unique and more than just a box like all the other computer cases.

Btw: I will reply to other comment next day.

 

[Aeacus]

Wanted to take a look at the cases but the link is not opening for me. Just a blank "New Tab" window and nothing else happens.

Just checked and Tt site is back online.

I always wanted to have little bit of uniqueness about stuff I own. It is also important that it looks like a showpiece. I want my computer not to be just a case where I store PC parts, but something I can display with pride.

I also like "fancy" cases. E.g looks wise, to me, Circle CT Phoenix has quite unique looks;

Few more images on amazon listing: https://www.amazon.in/Circle-Gaming-Phoenix-Transparent-Panel/dp/B01LYCIVNC

But among DIY PC cases, V8 PC case is best looking IMO. It is also dual-PC build;

Front -> Side

More images: https://www.techeblog.com/v8-engine-computer-case/

--

Since choosing a PC case is personal choice, to each their own. For example, i don't like solid front panel cases at all. Not only they greatly restrict frontal airflow, they also look like tasteless, bland boxes. To me, PC case needs to have "flare" even when there isn't anything in it. Since you can always add RGB fans/LED strips and other eyecandy to it.

I want high quality screen which I could program. No cheap LCD nonsense, I need OLED with decent size and tastefully integrated into the case.

If you're good on DIY, there are ways to do that. E.g here's one such guide;

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQCzIJzI2R8


To me, that is way too much DIY and i'd rather wait for more user friendly solutions to hit the market.

And here's guide on making small sensor panel, by JayzTwoCents;

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTdniu3gn3Y

 

[Ralston18]

I just want my workspace, cases, etc. to be functional so I do not get into all of the cosmetic aspects.

Not my thing at all but I can and do admire the work and effort that goes into such things. Along with the final results.

So if you like doing so, can do so, and can afford it: indulge...

Enjoy.

 

[Calicifer]

Are you aiming for a setup similar to this;
(random image from the net)

Same setup could be mirrored, where PC is on the left side of the table.

Yes, it is something like this. My station is located like this, but I have only like 2,2 meters of space. I might need to locate my PC and table on the left. I'm not against having cables like seemingly this guy. but I do want a tidy looking connections.

As far as full-tower ATX cases go, i have them in use as well. My setups:

Left: My PC, with Corsair 760T V2 Black (full-tower ATX case)
Middle: Missus'es PC, with Corsair 750D Airflow Edition (full-tower ATX case)
Right: My old PC, kept for retro gaming, with Sharkoon DG7000-G Green (mid-tower ATX case)

I see you have Corsair mechanical keyboard. I also got one, but K100 variant. Back when I wanted keyboard there wasn't an ideal one to me until they released K100 variant. It was everything I ever wanted from a keyboard and I'm happy with it. I use additional macro keys for recording and it is a very useful feature to me. It is easier to use and I do not need to memorize nonsensical key combinations to record, save last minute or take picture. Corsair software also mostly works fine, sometimes I have issues with it not activating Geforce Experience recording, but after reinstallation it works just fine.

I also wanted to keep my retro PC. My first one is somewhere in my house. I need to show some love to it. The one I'm using now, I got almost 10 years ago as an upgrade from my parents. I wanted to keep it a retro PC, but I just grinded it down. My GTX 760 died, I accidentally damaged CPU socket after numerous tests with few CPUs how they perform prior and after delid. System infrequently hangs and essentially crashes due to that. My PC really needs to go to the retirement, but due to GPU apocalypse I had to push it longer for few more years. I also do not think that now is a good time to jump in. I want Meteor lake, I want natively supported 64GB 6400 MHz Ram. I want to wait for full 10 generations before I upgrade my CPU. I want to purchase AMD 7000 series, because back when I was looking for an upgrade, it was either Nvidia GTX 600 series or AMD HD 7000 series. There are so much symbolism for me with next gen hardware.

I'd suggest to 1st buy the table(s) and once you have that in place, then start looking into cable routing/hiding them.

That is another problem, I do not see any tables to buy which would do what I want. I have one which has everything I would want, but it isn't great.

It is something which I should probably look into more, but in my country I could not find any table which would suit my needs. I was joking to my friends that I will have to import my bloody table from Japan!

As far as audiophile goes, i, myself, doesn't consider one be. Especially since i'm happy with built-in audio drivers my MoBo has. But then again, i can't play games in stereo, instead, i'm using Dolby 7.1 surround inside my Corsair Void Pro RGB USB headset. And yes, i know that it isn't the "true" 7.1 but instead software generated. But for me, this is enough, since i still get the surround sound in games that are supported. Oh, i also have 2.1 speakers with dedicated amp, for listening music/some games during day time. (My head/ears will tire when wearing headset all the time and i heard that headset causes baldness.)

I have Creative sound blaster ae-7. I always wanted a sound card, back then when motherboards used to have a shoddy sound support. I finally completed one of my dreams, but I rarely use it. The issue is that a lot of games have issues with sound cards as they do not know or have settings for sound output. Modern, AAA games of course have no trouble, but old ones usually have issues. I do not notice difference when listening music from youtube. With sound card it then gets complicated as you have to get looseless format audio. You cannot just convert, because you cannot get data from nothing. More obscure bands do not even have formats like flac on the internet, so you have to hunt down their CD, sometimes from second hand sellers and then extract audio files from discs. It can get very time consuming very fast. Though, I do feel that music is quite more lively when I listen it in flac format. I also had confirmed that it is real, objective difference when I managed to finally hear the lyrics singer was saying. In a lot of songs I cannot understand some parts of their lyrics. However with my new sound card, I could finally hear it. I also could clearly separate each instrument. However, at the same time I started noticing mistakes which musician makes in their audio recordings. It is a double edge sword as it can make you notice mistakes in the audio.

As for video games, I do feel an improvement, but you need game with good sound design. The first time I noticed it was when I was playing Risk of Rain 2. I heard Golem steps and I jumped on a cliff ready to face him. I became confused, because I was hearing him, but he wasn't anywhere nearby. Then I discovered him being over the cliff. I ran to him and killed it. I noticed how bad audio design is in games after installing this card as I could hear golem from further away, could intuitively pin point his direction and game had failed to properly place enemy where I was hearing him to be. Risk of Rain 2 has no code to handle sound coming from obstacles, so a huge cliff would not block footsteps of a Golem which had resulted in my confusion! It is a lot of stuff just about sound cards.

Though, I do not see purpose for anyone to get such high end stuff as most people do not need it. They only need to get amplifiers for their headphones, because I always had trouble driving anything beyond 80 Ohms with my motherboard.

Now, if i'd have more money, i'd go with Lian-Li DK-05F PC case,
specs: https://lian-li.com/product/dk-05f/

Since it looks cool and is also very practical, while freeing up the space PC case usually takes up.
This Lian-Li "PC case" would be another option for neat looking, but since you already have fancy PC case, not to mention the cost of Lian-Li PC case, it isn't worthwhile. Unless you really-really want it and have the funds as well.

It is an unique and useful product, but it is not for me. It does not generate that "I want it" feeling in me. As you put it, it is practical, but it is not exciting to spend that kind of money on it. You should spend your money on this instead! Now this is exciting!

Also, I do not see what justifies such a price. Table is a good investment, but I have a feeling that manufacturer are targeting people who do not care about the price tag and I do not like to be taken for a ride like that! Those chairs also fall into same category. They are more meant for influencers to take pictures in rather than a consumer. I'm all in paying for something valuable, but those top of the line products to me seems so overpriced that I'm just wasting my money. They also come with various issues. Those super high end monitors are good example, you are paying several thousands of euros and you still do not get everything you want. They can lack ports, premium materials. Often they have quality control issues and might simply not work as advertised. While early adopters are critical in the industry, I'm simply not one of them.

Even with my new fancy computer case I have some issues. Considering if I would pay full price for it, there are little things here and there in which I'm disappointed. First, confusing and cheap manual. Lack of spares. Difficult to remove glass, it should be magnetic even without those common screws. Fans are okay, but they are not of Noctua level quality. There are also superficial scratches seemingly done by machining during manufacturing process. While this case is worth every euro I spent for it, I do not believe it is premium enough to justify price tag which stores want to sell it at.

 

[Calicifer]

Just checked and Tt site is back online.



I also like "fancy" cases. E.g looks wise, to me, Circle CT Phoenix has quite unique looks;

Few more images on amazon listing: https://www.amazon.in/Circle-Gaming-Phoenix-Transparent-Panel/dp/B01LYCIVNC

That looks great, but also it looks cheap. I love the aesthetic, but from photos, quality of a case seems low, that is, made from common materials. These cases also have an issue that they often are little known and often sold out. Your example is sold out. My Aorus case also had minimal advertisement and is not available at many retailers.

You posted link to amazon. There are lot of good looking cases, but the issue is that they all look alike to me. I want something unique, something which you would not find anywhere else. All those computers on amazon look similar to each other to me. This is why I was attracted to computer cases which I showed before. They look apart, reviewers often comment on their unique and even polarizing looks. I like my computer case, because it is different than all the other cases.

There is also an issue with build quality. I found some unique looking cases from China. However, when I was watching reviewers assembling them, they all look cheap to me. They also often have very aggressive, ''gamey'' look. It would be great to get it as a teenager. Back then I was all in on stuff like that only if someone could buy it for me. However now my tastes shifted that can no longer like that.

But among DIY PC cases, V8 PC case is best looking IMO. It is also dual-PC build;

Front -> Side

More images: https://www.techeblog.com/v8-engine-computer-case/

--

Since choosing a PC case is personal choice, to each their own. For example, i don't like solid front panel cases at all. Not only they greatly restrict frontal airflow, they also look like tasteless, bland boxes. To me, PC case needs to have "flare" even when there isn't anything in it. Since you can always add RGB fans/LED strips and other eyecandy to it.

I saw those videos when I was doing my research. I also saw these cases. They are great looking, but you need to make them yourself. I could not see anything remotely as cool being sold commercially. I know that such DIY stuff is expensive. You can expect any complicated DIY costs are starting from a thousand euros. Even placing something as simple as monitor to your PC will take dozens of hours. It is more as a hobby on which to spend time.

To me, it requires just too much time investment and I just want to purchase this stuff. Even simple, already commercially available products can take quite a bit of time. I just installed AIO water cooler and it took 3 hours and I'm still not done. I do not have appropriate connections to motherboard for RGB control. So, I need to order adapter. I purchased bed with LED lighting. It does not include battery or AA holder. So, I had to look for quite a bit until I found power source which is recommended for my leds. Even stuff which you purchase can get complicated and time consuming very fast and I would like to spend my time on my other activities than tinkering with with PCs all day long.

 

[Aeacus]

It is something which I should probably look into more, but in my country I could not find any table which would suit my needs. I was joking to my friends that I will have to import my bloody table from Japan!

One option, if it's possible in your area, is to contact a carpenter and order custom made desk from them.

This is something, i've considered myself, since none of the store tables are fitting to my needs. Sure, it may cost me a bit more and take more time as well, but end result would be exactly to my needs, while also having a very good fit with the rest of furniture/available space i have.

What i, personally, am aiming for, is similar to this:

But made out of solid wood, perhaps oak. And haven't decided on the color yet.

I see you have Corsair mechanical keyboard. I also got one, but K100 variant. Back when I wanted keyboard there wasn't an ideal one to me until they released K100 variant. It was everything I ever wanted from a keyboard and I'm happy with it. I use additional macro keys for recording and it is a very useful feature to me. It is easier to use and I do not need to memorize nonsensical key combinations to record, save last minute or take picture. Corsair software also mostly works fine, sometimes I have issues with it not activating Geforce Experience recording, but after reinstallation it works just fine.

I have Corsair Strafe RGB with Cherry MX Silent switches. And i love this KB, since it doesn't have the additional macro keys, instead, it stays true to the original full KB layout. Sadly, Corsair doesn't make Strafe RGB KBs anymore, instead, they revised it and now sell Strafe MK.II RGB, that i got for my missus (with same Cherry MX Silent switches).

Before my Corsair mechanical KB, i used common membrane PS/2 KB for decades. So, the jump in quality, comfort and price tag was huge. E.g my PS2/2 port KB costed me €12, while my Corsair KB costed me €178. Though, i still have my PS/2 KB, since at some times, it is needed to access/navigate BIOS, when PC doesn't detect USB KBs.

I also wanted to keep my retro PC. My first one is somewhere in my house. I need to show some love to it. The one I'm using now, I got almost 10 years ago as an upgrade from my parents. I wanted to keep it a retro PC, but I just grinded it down. My GTX 760 died, I accidentally damaged CPU socket after numerous tests with few CPUs how they perform prior and after delid. System infrequently hangs and essentially crashes due to that. My PC really needs to go to the retirement, but due to GPU apocalypse I had to push it longer for few more years. I also do not think that now is a good time to jump in. I want Meteor lake, I want natively supported 64GB 6400 MHz Ram. I want to wait for full 10 generations before I upgrade my CPU. I want to purchase AMD 7000 series, because back when I was looking for an upgrade, it was either Nvidia GTX 600 series or AMD HD 7000 series. There are so much symbolism for me with next gen hardware.

Not sure if you checked my PC specs, but in my retro PC, i actually have Club3D Radeon HD 7770 Ghz Edition GPU. It's most what is needed for it. Back in the day, it had Radeon HD 5450, which is terrible GPU.

Oh, and in my Haswell build (missus'es PC), i actually have GTX 760. Now, i do have a spare GTX 1060 3GB (MSI Gaming X version), that was left over after i upgraded to GTX 1660 TI (also MSI Gaming X version) and while i could upgrade GTX 760 to GTX 1060 3GB, the color theme doesn't match. Build theme is black & blue, while MSI Gaming X is black & red. Latter is build theme for my main PC, Skylake, so it was perfect fit.

At current moment, i'm thinking to get GTX 1650 or similar for my missus'es PC. But then again, she doesn't game as much/hard as i do and there isn't any real need. Other than getting power consumption down (from 170W to 75W) and better aesthetics (latter of which she doesn't care about much, but i do).

But for future, i'm slowly starting to look into overhauling both of our PCs, since neither of the two support Win11. (Which is such a BS from Micro$oft. 😡) For ~3 years, we can manage with Win10 but once Win10 support ends, we have to upgrade our hardware. Currently looking at 11th gen Intel (i5-11600K) with Z-series MoBo and other bits. Price tag, per 1 PC upgrade, is essentially €1000, while re-using: PC case, case fans, PSU, GPU and disk drives.
I'm not that into 12th gen, with their issues of P- and E-cores, not to mention the crossover to very expensive DDR5 RAM. And AMD Ryzen series is completely off the table for me, since none of them have iGPU, which is a must for me (unless i go for weaker APU).

As for video games, I do feel an improvement, but you need game with good sound design.

Most of the times, and as i've grown older, i now prefer simple, casual games. Never liked AAA games and while i have few (e.g Cyberpunk 2077), i haven't even installed it, despite buying it last January.
A game with very good sound design, that i've played a lot, is Generation Zero. Two best parts of it, to me, are sound design (since the surround sound it can produce, is very accurate direction wise) and in-game lore.

You should spend your money on this instead! Now this is exciting!

It does look, cool, yes but i don't like using it. Especially when lying down. I'd get a feeling that the heavy monitors will fall onto my face. And overall, i'm not that kind of person who needs to lay down to use the PC. To me, using PC means sitting straight, behind it. Not lounging somewhere like a sack of potatoes.

Also, I do not see what justifies such a price. Table is a good investment, but I have a feeling that manufacturer are targeting people who do not care about the price tag and I do not like to be taken for a ride like that! Those chairs also fall into same category.

All those fancy setup prices are composed with: 1/4 materials, 1/4 build time, 2/4 design price.

I remember when Corsair launched their "gaming chair", which offered same features as other, similar "race inspired" gaming chairs, while costing double or more. Essentially, paying very high premium price for Corsair logo on your chair,
Corsair gaming chairs lineup: https://www.corsair.com/eu/en/Categories/Products/Gaming-Chairs/c/Cor_Products_Gaming_Chairs

The gaming chairs we have, look much nicer, have most of the same features, while also having rocking feature (which Corsair chairs lack) and costed 1/3 of the Corsair chair.

Spoiler: Our gaming chairs. Click here to view

Pic taken when i gifted hers for Christmas few years ago.

Even with my new fancy computer case I have some issues. Considering if I would pay full price for it, there are little things here and there in which I'm disappointed.

I can't say that my Corsair 760T V2 Black is perfect for me either. For one, the included AF140L 140mm stock fans (all 3 of them) have such a poor performance that i had to replace them all. Also, while i do have 2-stage fan controller built-in, it isn't that great either, with essentially either 50% speed or 100% speed. So, i went and bought proper fan controller instead, that sits in one of the 5.25" external bays (Thermaltake Commander F6 RGB).
I actually bought such fan controllers for all of my 3 PCs, since i like the manual and individual control over my case fans, rather than messing around in BIOS.

Other than these two issues, 760T is a great case. I especially like the hinged side panels, that i can easily open and are very practical. Corsair 780T was another option but it looks too "round" for my taste.
Oh, custom to Corsair, they also have good spare parts inventory. So, when something breaks or you need to expand your PC (e.g additional drive cages), you can easily get them.

You may call me old, but i'm one of those few, who actually values and needs external 5.25" bays. Not only to house the CD/DVD writer (which i do have) but also because 5.25" bay has so much utility to it. I have 3x bays and all are populated (CD/DVD writer, fan controller and SD/microSD 9in1 card reader). Sadly, almost none of the newer cases offer those bays anymore. I guess most people doesn't want their PCs to be as practical as they could be.

There is also an issue with build quality. I found some unique looking cases from China. However, when I was watching reviewers assembling them, they all look cheap to me.

Yeah, that's the other side of PC case manufacturing. They make poor cases but make them look "fancy", so that it appeals to people and they can sell them. With PC cases, and in my opinion, two best build quality brands are Phanteks and Corsair. With Corsair, you need to look towards high-end models, since Corsair also produces cheap PC cases. So, it could be quite an ordeal to find aesthetically and practically matching case for you.

To me, it requires just too much time investment and I just want to purchase this stuff. Even simple, already commercially available products can take quite a bit of time. I just installed AIO water cooler and it took 3 hours and I'm still not done.

While i do like tinkering with my PCs, i'm not that handy to make my own PC case. So, in that sense, i too, would like to buy already made components and then assemble it.
Overall, i find the time spent with tinkering with my PCs enjoyable. When i bought CableMod custom sleeved power cables, to switch out stock power cables, the cable management took me solid 4 hours and i loved it. Best part, i got to do it 3 times, since i have 3 PCs and i bought CableMod custom sleeved power cables to all of them, matching their color theme. Of course, i didn't install them all in one go,

 

[Calicifer]

One option, if it's possible in your area, is to contact a carpenter and order custom made desk from them.

This is something, i've considered myself, since none of the store tables are fitting to my needs. Sure, it may cost me a bit more and take more time as well, but end result would be exactly to my needs, while also having a very good fit with the rest of furniture/available space i have.

What i, personally, am aiming for, is similar to this
...
But made out of solid wood, perhaps oak. And haven't decided on the color yet.

Your option looks better, but in my local market there is simply no such tables. I had checked out local craftsmen. There is a market for them. They usually build stuff which is different to this, but they can design and create something I want. Probably it would be cooler if I make a sketch for them of what I want. Come to think of, even if carpenter will be more expensive, it will be cheaper than those enthusiast level gear. I bet, you could make yourself an ideal table with glass to house your PC cheaper with someone making your custom table! I mean, if you are not living somewhere where hiring someone is super expensive, I bet they could make you a glass table for less than 3 grand!

Custom PCs and custom tables is something which is surprisingly rare. I barely can find any cool pictures on the internet. One cool idea which I found was a guy who made an isolated fauna under his table, complete with plants and bugs. It is something which looks great, but you have to like the idea.

Oh, and in my Haswell build (missus'es PC), i actually have GTX 760. Now, i do have a spare GTX 1060 3GB (MSI Gaming X version), that was left over after i upgraded to GTX 1660 TI (also MSI Gaming X version) and while i could upgrade GTX 760 to GTX 1060 3GB, the color theme doesn't match. Build theme is black & blue, while MSI Gaming X is black & red. Latter is build theme for my main PC, Skylake, so it was perfect fit.

When my GTX 760 broke down, I purchased GTX 1060 6GB in an aftermarket. It is good enough for most games I play, but can't provide high refresh rates. It does not matter as much for old games, because most of them have bad in game engines or are simply outdated which prevents them having high refresh rates. It doesn't matter as when I'm starting to hit high refresh rates with my newer GPU, my old 4'th gen i5 starts to throttle performance.

But for future, i'm slowly starting to look into overhauling both of our PCs, since neither of the two support Win11. (Which is such a BS from Micro$oft. 😡) For ~3 years, we can manage with Win10 but once Win10 support ends, we have to upgrade our hardware. Currently looking at 11th gen Intel (i5-11600K) with Z-series MoBo and other bits. Price tag, per 1 PC upgrade, is essentially €1000, while re-using: PC case, case fans, PSU, GPU and disk drives.
I'm not that into 12th gen, with their issues of P- and E-cores, not to mention the crossover to very expensive DDR5 RAM. And AMD Ryzen series is completely off the table for me, since none of them have iGPU, which is a must for me (unless i go for weaker APU).

Microsoft tends to only produce worthwhile upgrades every second major OS. I started from XP. Vista was a disaster. It also in Lithuanian means hen. Who wants an operating system named after chicken? Not me! Then there was Windows 7 to which I reluctantly upgraded well after XP stopped being supported. After that Windows 8 versions were a disaster and Windows 10 was again decent. Windows 11 is pointless. Windows 12 looks like you won't be able to own your PC anymore. So, I will have to wait for a modified version to be released as a freeware. Wink, wink. If it is not a worthwhile upgrade then, I might wait even longer for Windows 13. The thing with jumping to newer OS is that a lot of hardware and software might start having issues. There is simply no incentive for an user to jump to new operating system. He is not used to it. It is objectively worse than a previous one. I'm looking at you Windows 10 with two control panels, splitting computer settings through two different screen. I never got used to you and never will. I only reluctantly upgrade when OS is no longer supported. Especially since I loved XP, I played on it until some software and game makers ceased its support.

Most of the times, and as i've grown older, i now prefer simple, casual games. Never liked AAA games and while i have few (e.g Cyberpunk 2077), i haven't even installed it, despite buying it last January.
A game with very good sound design, that i've played a lot, is Generation Zero. Two best parts of it, to me, are sound design (since the surround sound it can produce, is very accurate direction wise) and in-game lore.

I had made a list on Steam of all the games which I wanted to play in my childhood and beyond, but never did or did not completed. Then I write long and detailed review. I'm planning to even start making video reviews about them. It is more about me overcoming my fear of my voice and being able to be an apex nerd which can quote youtube when he has an argument online.

Now I play Heroes of the Storm a lot, but this is kind of game which you play for a while and stop, because I do not want to be stuck doing one and the same thing. I do play at the moment Stalker: Call of Pripyat. I have Baldur's Gate to complete afterwards. Homeworld 1 Remastered Edition. World of Goo and Barotrauma too. I recently completed Galactic Civilizations III. I still have a list of over 50 games which I want to complete and those are just major games which I wanted to play. Though, I'm about to complete longest games this year, so next year I will be going through games at a lot quicker pace.

The thing with games is that you play them to experience something. Since creating an experience takes a great designer which is like finding a great artist, modern, giant companies are ill suited in creating good games which stand test of time. They are more for kids and casuals to play who do not have decades long experience in video games. When I look at new games, I see nothing unique in them which I did not saw being done better in other games. Most prominent example is Fallout New Vegas. There simply was not a greater 3D Fallout game since. No modern sandbox game of this nature comes even close. All I see are flashier graphics, but they do not have so finely crafted experience. I heard that in Red Dead Redemption 2 you are literally tortured for 3 hours straight in cinematics and tutorials until you are allowed to play. That is a horrible experience! In Fallout New Vegas you are shot in the head! Bam, that is an explosive start which gives you great motivation to start playing. This game is leagues ahead in how it starts to Red Dead Redemption 2. Then comes to why you are playing. I find world in New Vegas a lot more iconic, memorable, interesting. Why I enjoy playing it? Because it has amazing writing. New games literally had ruined any respect I had for game designers and writers. I thought you had to have expertise in writing in order to write professionally. After seeing nonsense in those games, I have no desire to play them. This is why I'm generally not interested in new games, because there is always something done previously which is better in every way except for maybe graphics. It is kind of sad that I already become a grandpa telling kids how they know nothing, but it is true!

I remember when Corsair launched their "gaming chair", which offered same features as other, similar "race inspired" gaming chairs, while costing double or more. Essentially, paying very high premium price for Corsair logo on your chair,
Corsair gaming chairs lineup: https://www.corsair.com/eu/en/Categories/Products/Gaming-Chairs/c/Cor_Products_Gaming_Chairs

The gaming chairs we have, look much nicer, have most of the same features, while also having rocking feature (which Corsair chairs lack) and costed 1/3 of the Corsair chair.

I would be willing to pay that much more if quality would be there. However, often it is just branding. You need to look at very specific cases where brand actually means something. You would think that there would be a small, niche business opportunity at creating high quality, exclusive design consumer goods with great customer support. However, wherever I look, companies are cutting corners. Either luxury consumer brand has crappy, massively overpriced fridges and then rest of its stuff are fine. Why it does not care that some of its products are crap? I now need to be weary of all company's products. In a same manner, I would be happy to pay more for a good product, but they often are from same manufacturers, using same materials and technologies to do the same stuff. It shows that company has no pride, no respect for its work and it is just cynical marketing which is pulling all the weight. Aorus brand is a nice example. It all feels so forced about them. Their computer case which I got is so rough around the edges. Identical parts and materials to the cheaper computer cases. It lacks extensive thought put into design. It does not come with its own quality manual, serial number. CEO did not thanked me for buying me and did not told me a little sob story how proud they are of their life's achievements.

Noctua did all of this. When I purchased their fan, I had cheap off brand fan to compare to and distinction between the two was obvious. While it might be because I did not had two fans circulating air in and from my computer, but when I put Noctua fan, my computer from running hot turned cold and its fan was imperceivable to surrounding noise coming from other fans.

I can't say that my Corsair 760T V2 Black is perfect for me either. For one, the included AF140L 140mm stock fans (all 3 of them) have such a poor performance that i had to replace them all. Also, while i do have 2-stage fan controller built-in, it isn't that great either, with essentially either 50% speed or 100% speed. So, i went and bought proper fan controller instead, that sits in one of the 5.25" external bays (Thermaltake Commander F6 RGB).
I actually bought such fan controllers for all of my 3 PCs, since i like the manual and individual control over my case fans, rather than messing around in BIOS.

Other than these two issues, 760T is a great case. I especially like the hinged side panels, that i can easily open and are very practical. Corsair 780T was another option but it looks too "round" for my taste.
Oh, custom to Corsair, they also have good spare parts inventory. So, when something breaks or you need to expand your PC (e.g additional drive cages), you can easily get them.

You may call me old, but i'm one of those few, who actually values and needs external 5.25" bays. Not only to house the CD/DVD writer (which i do have) but also because 5.25" bay has so much utility to it. I have 3x bays and all are populated (CD/DVD writer, fan controller and SD/microSD 9in1 card reader). Sadly, almost none of the newer cases offer those bays anymore. I guess most people doesn't want their PCs to be as practical as they could be.

My computer has an internal CD/DVD drive. It came very handy several times through its lifespan. With newest computer, I will be sure to get external CD/DVD drive. It is something which you do not need until you need it and then it is extremely convenient. Other times it is crucial. For example, I do purchase music from obscure bands and extract music from their CDs to my computer. You cannot get higher quality music from anywhere else. Without any CD/DVD drive, it would be impossible. So, it is still kind of a necessary technology for me.

I watched your other builds and your case. They all stuck me as very practical. You also seem to have a desire to record everything. I also have that feeling of wanting to share to the internet my experiences with everything. Small things how my LG C1 are making strange noises to how my Odyssey G7 had a nice plastic finish, but its led transparent glass look cheap. That if you are going to buy more expensive monitor, you should look for better quality materials.

I also think that your external screen is cool. It would had been super cool to have on my current set up, but it looks just too retro for this age. I do love seeing computer information and being able to use analog sticks to control computer settings. These DIY are great and I do enjoy tinkering with my computer, but there is simply so many things in life which I would want to do and there is just so little free energy and time during the day to do all of those things. Maybe one day...

While i do like tinkering with my PCs, i'm not that handy to make my own PC case. So, in that sense, i too, would like to buy already made components and then assemble it.
Overall, i find the time spent with tinkering with my PCs enjoyable. When i bought CableMod custom sleeved power cables, to switch out stock power cables, the cable management took me solid 4 hours and i loved it. Best part, i got to do it 3 times, since i have 3 PCs and i bought CableMod custom sleeved power cables to all of them, matching their color theme. Of course, i didn't install them all in one go,

I tend to ''solve'' it by doing something very slowly and methodically. I take embarrassing amount of times starting new hobbies. Just painting one miniature took like 12 hours or more. Same with stuff which I do not know. I just experiment with a test project, but I tend to spend so much time on learning and acquiring skills that I just get burned out at the end. Everything is just a matter of how much free time you are willing to dedicate to it if you have means to do so. It is that I'm such a Gemini and cannot find one thing which I would love to constantly work upon. Plus, living in an apartment, you cannot do some stuff anyways due to limited space.

I know that it will take just as much time for me to do all that cable management too! I still did not got into finding an adapter for AIO cooler RGB. Now I needed I was looking for router/modem combo which also would have SQM for superior gaming set up. I could not find anything like that. I will have to settle for some other modem and some gaming router, probably one from Asus. Little stuff like that in life take so much time. It seems trivial, but when you do stuff right, it take days of your free time after work and you wonder where time had went. Even today, I finished my work day. I went to investigate if I can register my computer case. I made dinner and went for a nap. I called my mom, made another snack for myself, wrote you back and it is almost 10 pm. Time just flies by. This is why I write my weekly goals of what I want to accomplish during the week. I need to restart practice of trying to nail monthly goals, but it is hard to keep on schedule, especially on stuff which you have no clue how long it will take to do.

 

[Aeacus]

Custom PCs and custom tables is something which is surprisingly rare. I barely can find any cool pictures on the internet. One cool idea which I found was a guy who made an isolated fauna under his table, complete with plants and bugs. It is something which looks great, but you have to like the idea.

Well, "custom PC" is so wide term and it depends what you consider "custom".

E.g, would my PCs be custom? Since: 1. You can't buy the exact setup from store, as prebuilt; and 2. i've custom built it according to my own taste and needs.
Or is the custom PC the one, that has custom made PC case?

While that "bug table" is neat to look at, i wouldn't like it for myself. Too much maintenance for me. I like my furniture practical, reliable and least maintenance.

Microsoft tends to only produce worthwhile upgrades every second major OS. I started from XP.

I started from MS DOS. Then moved to Norton Commander. After that, Windows 3.1 came out. Used that until Windows 95 launched. After 95, 98 came out and it's Second Edition as well. I liked Windows 98SE so much, that once i moved to Windows XP, i changed the GUI to match Win98SE. (I don't like WinXP GUI at all). Had a try on Windows ME/2000 and that was crap. Did skip Vista, since i learned it to be poor OS. When i bought my current build, i moved to Win7. Once support for Win7 was dropped, i had to upgrade my and missus'es PCs to Win10. But like with XP GUI, i also don't like Win10 GUI. So, i've changed my Win10 GUI to match Win7 GUI.

Currently, we have few years left to use Win10, until it's support also drops and due to the Micro$oft <Mod Edit>, neither of our PCs are "compatible" with Win11. It is so stupid that, e.g 8th gen i7-8700K can not run Win11 but 9th gen Celeron G5900 can (comparison between the two).

Current plan is to buy new hardware (CPU-MoBo) to get our PCs to "compatible" levels. Hopefully, by that time, Win12 or similar is out and i can skip Win11. Either that, or i call quits on Windows forever and go with GNU/Linux distro instead.
And i've used GNU/Linux in the past. Distros what i've used are: XandrosOS, Ubuntu Eee, Debian, Linux Mint, Lubuntu. My laptop is currently using Lubuntu and i have live, bootable Linux Mint on my USB thumb drive, just in case Win craps out and i need to access my PC. If it weren't for Steam games, i'd be long gone from the sinking Windows ship and i'd be sailing proud on GNU/Linux ship.

It also in Lithuanian means hen.

If you live in Lithuania, then we're quite close. I'm two countries up from you, in Estonia.

I had made a list on Steam of all the games which I wanted to play in my childhood and beyond, but never did or did not completed. Then I write long and detailed review. I'm planning to even start making video reviews about them. It is more about me overcoming my fear of my voice and being able to be an apex nerd which can quote youtube when he has an argument online.

The very game i specced my main rig at, so that i can play it, (Deus Ex: Mankind Divided) once i buy new PC, is still something i haven't played. Even now, i have several games that i have bought but haven't played.
I like to play 2-3 games at a time, so i can focus on the entertainment. But having so many games, and not much time, has made this strange situation. I'm thinking now not to buy any new games this year, so i can get to those games i bought earlier.

Regarding games, i like playing Indie games, since those usually offer something unique and interesting. To name the few: Vampire Survivors, Starsector, Ori and the Blind Forest, FAR: Lone Sails, The Solus Project, The Talos Principle.

Nowadays, i look up gameplay vids from YT, to see how the game is, before buying it. E.g SplatterCatGaming often features small, unknown indie games and from him, i've picked up quite a few, new and interesting (casual) indie games to play,
YT channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/SplatterCatGaming/videos

--

Regarding the "stage fear". If you don't like to listen your own voice (very few people do, since what you hear in your head is completely different what others hear), you can use voice modifiers in your YT videos, to change it to what you like to hear.

Noctua did all of this. When I purchased their fan, I had cheap off brand fan to compare to and distinction between the two was obvious. While it might be because I did not had two fans circulating air in and from my computer, but when I put Noctua fan, my computer from running hot turned cold and its fan was imperceivable to surrounding noise coming from other fans.

With PC hardware, there are companies who are after your money, while producing mostly crap (e.g Razer and their peripherals) while there are companies out there, who do their level best to give good products. Noctua is essentially "king" when it comes to CPU air coolers. But Arctic Cooling has done a great job as well (i'm personally running Arctic Freezer I32 CPU cooler) and Arctic has also launched one of the best AIOs out there. Sure, Arctic isn't as big as e.g Corsair, when it comes to AIOs, but at least Arctic cares about consumers.

When it comes to fans, Noctua is solid choice and you can't go wrong with Noctua. That is, if you love the brown/beige color theme Noctua fans have. I don't like that color theme. Instead, i probably went a tad bit overkill with my fans, by buying premium priced Corsair fans. But my Corsair fans aren't with poor performance. Instead, my ML Pro LED series fans are one of the best (if not the best) performing fans Corsair offers, while also having rare, but extremely durable fan bearing: magnetic levitation bearing.

Overall, when it comes to fan bearings, there are 4 types:

• sleeve - 20.000 to 40.000 hours <- included in the cheapest of fans.
• ball - 50.000 to 80.000 hours <- noisiest bearing of all 4 (especially when it is double-ball bearing). Rarely used in consumer fans but often in workstation/server builds, where noise isn't an issue.
• fluid-dynamic (aka rifle) - 80.000 to 150.000 hours <- often used in high end fans, including in most of Noctua fans.
• magnetic-levitation (aka mag-lev) - 300.000 to virtually unlimited hours <- very rare to see this bearing used in fans, since making it is very expensive.

Besides the Corsair ML Pro LED series, i've even seen one other fan that uses mag-lev bearing.

Oh, if you want the best performance fans, going with Noctua is a good choice. However, there is one company/brand out there, who completely blows Noctua out of the water and that is Delta. Delta industrial fans are the best out there. Then again, they are workstation/server grade and are supposed to be that great.

Few years ago, LinusTechTips made a video about one of such extreme Delta fan, while comparing it to the same size Noctua fan. How Noctua fared against Delta, that you can see from here:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAFB9w2Rh0Y

My computer has an internal CD/DVD drive. It came very handy several times through its lifespan. With newest computer, I will be sure to get external CD/DVD drive. It is something which you do not need until you need it and then it is extremely convenient. Other times it is crucial. For example, I do purchase music from obscure bands and extract music from their CDs to my computer. You cannot get higher quality music from anywhere else. Without any CD/DVD drive, it would be impossible. So, it is still kind of a necessary technology for me.

While i don't use my CD/DVD drive on daily basis, it is true that when you need it (e.g Windows recovery), you'd be grateful of having it. Few decades ago, when CD drives made their appearance, floppy drive was phased out, but it still kept the crucial task of having Windows recovery floppy. And to this date, some PSU manufacturers still include the power connector to 3.5" FDD drive.

I watched your other builds and your case. They all stuck me as very practical. You also seem to have a desire to record everything. I also have that feeling of wanting to share to the internet my experiences with everything. Small things how my LG C1 are making strange noises to how my Odyssey G7 had a nice plastic finish, but its led transparent glass look cheap. That if you are going to buy more expensive monitor, you should look for better quality materials.

Before i buy a component for my PC, i do extensive research online + reading reviews. And if reviews prove that the product is solid, then i'll buy them. Since without review, how can you know if you're buying crap or not?

Sure, i do have my brand preferences as well, but i'm not going to stick to one brand, if another brand offers same item at better quality and reliability.

Few examples:
I have Corsair PC case, fans and peripherals (KB, mouse, headset etc), but i won't buy Corsair RAM. Regarding RAM, Kingston mid- or high-end is far better. Hence why i have Kingston RAM in my and missus'es PCs.
I have MSI MoBo, GPU and monitor, but i'll never buy MSI PSU. Regarding PSUs, i like Seasonic, since their PSUs have been tried, tested and proven to be reliable. Seasonic is one of the few PSU OEMs, they have been in business for 40+ years and prior to entering consumer market, they made industrial/server PSUs. Also, Seasonic is the only PSU OEM, who offers 12 years of warranty for their flagship PSUs. No other PSU OEM offers more than 10 years of warranty for their PSUs.

Regarding PSUs, my 2nd choice would be Super Flower (another good PSU OEM) or Flextronics (also PSU OEM). Flextronics makes industrial/server grade PSUs and they did try entering consumer PSU market, with Corsair AXi series. <- Great PSUs but also very expensive. Then again, quality and reliability costs quite a bit. After Corsair AXi series, Flextronics pulled out from consumer market and went back to the industrial/server PSU market. But perhaps, in the future, we can see another Flextronics consumer grade PSU.

E.g some may call me nuts, that i payed €206.80 for a PSU that sits in my Skylake build (Seasonic SSR-650TD) and my latest PSU purchase for Haswell build costed €205.50 (Seasonic SSR-650TR), while i would've been safe with a PSU that costs €80.50 (Seasonic GX-550). While that can be true and i could've saved a lot of money, i feel safe and comfortable that my two main PCs are powered by the best offered by Seasonic. And yes, i'm willing to pay premium price for exceptional quality products.

Oh, i prefer to buy my PSUs directly from OEM (Seasonic) rather than via middleman (Corsair, EVGA and may others).

I also think that your external screen is cool.

This is actually external fan controller. From left to right;
Skylake - Thermaltake Commander F6 RGB (6 fan support)
Haswell - NZXT Sentry 3 (5 fan support)
AMD - Aerocool X-Vision (5 fan support)

Fan controller is a neat piece of hardware. Then again, i prefer to have manual and individual control over my case fans, rather than letting BIOS to dictate how fast they spin.

Everything is just a matter of how much free time you are willing to dedicate to it if you have means to do so.

Besides that, there's also the fact that the older you get - the less time you have. Time becomes more precious and juggling on what to spend your time on, gets harder and harder as years pass by.

 

[Calicifer]

Hey, sorry that I'm replying later and later. I went to my parents house for a weekend. This week I'm going for holidays with them to Venice. Stuff like this just take whole week out of my life.

Well, "custom PC" is so wide term and it depends what you consider "custom".

E.g, would my PCs be custom? Since: 1. You can't buy the exact setup from store, as prebuilt; and 2. i've custom built it according to my own taste and needs.
Or is the custom PC the one, that has custom made PC case?

While that "bug table" is neat to look at, i wouldn't like it for myself. Too much maintenance for me. I like my furniture practical, reliable and least maintenance.

Yes, I would consider yours to be borderline custom PC as your LCD gives your PC uniqueness which is not found anywhere else. The difference is how much uniqueness PC computer case have. If it is just a standard box for its time, then it is not a custom PC. If it has some rare features like out of the box LED screen, that is more of a custom PC. It all comes down to how unique case is when compared to commonly available models. When I talk about custom PC, I have in mind one being like engine which you posted previously or something like this:

Both of these seems that they would be very pricey and they are rather high end of what I consider as custom PC. Just having screen with analog fan control like in your PC would already be a lower end custom PC which I would be interested in buying from retail. It is just that market does not have anything unique, it is all same looking PC cases and when there is something truly unique and custom looking, it costs a small fortune to purchase. There is shortage of options if I want something unique for myself and only super-rich have some commercially available options. Sometimes you can find some obscure model from China, but as we had established already, it tends to be all marketing while case itself is of quite poor quality.

Current plan is to buy new hardware (CPU-MoBo) to get our PCs to "compatible" levels. Hopefully, by that time, Win12 or similar is out and i can skip Win11. Either that, or i call quits on Windows forever and go with GNU/Linux distro instead.
And i've used GNU/Linux in the past. Distros what i've used are: XandrosOS, Ubuntu Eee, Debian, Linux Mint, Lubuntu. My laptop is currently using Lubuntu and i have live, bootable Linux Mint on my USB thumb drive, just in case Win craps out and i need to access my PC. If it weren't for Steam games, i'd be long gone from the sinking Windows ship and i'd be sailing proud on GNU/Linux ship.

I tolerate Microsoft BS, because it produces stuff which at least works. With Linux I'm feeling that I have to constantly fight my OS when I want to do something with it. I hope that status quo remains as it is today, because I do not want to change to Linux. It is better OS for work as it seem to have the best niche tools out of any OS. Increased control over the system is also great for developers. I remember when windows were updated, I had spent half a day in my work fixing the stuff that update broke in my work computer.

The very game i specced my main rig at, so that i can play it, (Deus Ex: Mankind Divided) once i buy new PC, is still something i haven't played. Even now, i have several games that i have bought but haven't played.
I like to play 2-3 games at a time, so i can focus on the entertainment. But having so many games, and not much time, has made this strange situation. I'm thinking now not to buy any new games this year, so i can get to those games i bought earlier.

Yeah, I just seem to buy games these days, because I love buying them at deep discount. There are very few games which I want to play which I do not already own. It just takes so much time to complete them most of them.

Regarding games, i like playing Indie games, since those usually offer something unique and interesting. To name the few: Vampire Survivors, Starsector, Ori and the Blind Forest, FAR: Lone Sails, The Solus Project, The Talos Principle.

Nowadays, i look up gameplay vids from YT, to see how the game is, before buying it. E.g SplatterCatGaming often features small, unknown indie games and from him, i've picked up quite a few, new and interesting (casual) indie games to play,

Most of those games are on my radar. I actually played and reviewed Vampire Survivors! It is fine game, but gets little mundane after unlocking upgrades as it is slow to get rolling and it takes like 30 minutes per run. 20 Minutes till Dawn is more active such rogue-like with aiming and shorter matches and Cthulian theme.

Regarding the "stage fear". If you don't like to listen your own voice (very few people do, since what you hear in your head is completely different what others hear), you can use voice modifiers in your YT videos, to change it to what you like to hear.

That is exactly the issue. My voice is all normal when I'm hearing, but when I record it, it is terrible! It is like with those cheap telephone cameras who are taking pictures which tend highlight every imperfection on your skin and make you look terrible. Damn technology, it is scheming to look us bad!

Though, I need to do it hard way. With a lot of practice and working on my pronunciation. I tried making youtube videos with text, but it is very slow process and I might as well sound them. It also makes them a lot more enjoyable to watch, I can say a lot more and add my personality to them.

With PC hardware, there are companies who are after your money, while producing mostly crap (e.g Razer and their peripherals) while there are companies out there, who do their level best to give good products. Noctua is essentially "king" when it comes to CPU air coolers. But Arctic Cooling has done a great job as well (i'm personally running Arctic Freezer I32 CPU cooler) and Arctic has also launched one of the best AIOs out there. Sure, Arctic isn't as big as e.g Corsair, when it comes to AIOs, but at least Arctic cares about consumers.

I heard that they had poor reputation, but part of life is to try stuff out and see it for yourself. I saw an attractive PC mouse from them. I knew that they are crap, but are they are that bad that I should avoid them regardless of an attractive looking product?

Besides the Corsair ML Pro LED series, i've even seen one other fan that uses mag-lev bearing.

Oh, if you want the best performance fans, going with Noctua is a good choice. However, there is one company/brand out there, who completely blows Noctua out of the water and that is Delta. Delta industrial fans are the best out there. Then again, they are workstation/server grade and are supposed to be that great.

Few years ago, LinusTechTips made a video about one of such extreme Delta fan, while comparing it to the same size Noctua fan. How Noctua fared against Delta, that you can see from here:

Fans are surprisingly competitive field. I also hate Noctua decision to color their fans in <Mod Edit> color. Strange choice. I purchased on to see how they perform and they are noticeably superior. I also have quite closed up case, so I put their high static pressure fan in front of my case to push air into the case through dust filter. I do not see it. I do not hear it, but it does amazing job in cooling my PC. It is now colder than the environment he is in. Without it, it was always the opposite.

I find those levitating Corsair fans appealing. Thank you for showing those to me, they will be my favorite fans to which I will compare performance of other fans when deciding which ones to buy for my build.

Before i buy a component for my PC, i do extensive research online + reading reviews. And if reviews prove that the product is solid, then i'll buy them. Since without review, how can you know if you're buying crap or not?

Sure, i do have my brand preferences as well, but i'm not going to stick to one brand, if another brand offers same item at better quality and reliability.

I also tend to do a lot of research on stuff I buy. When I was younger, I would put insane amount of research to the point it was excessive. Now I know better and first, I decide what is important to me. Then I throw out options which do not meet my checklist. This greatly narrows the work I need to do. For example, if you want motherboard with dual BIOS switch, that eliminates a lot of motherboards from competition. Or that I want to try out TN, VA and IPS panels. I own old TN panel, I purchased VA panel. Now I need 4k monitor with true HDR support for gaming. Monitors like that are rare and I will still need to wait a little bit. When it will come out, it will remove all the pointless research which I will have to do about very similarly performing panels.

E.g some may call me nuts, that i payed €206.80 for a PSU that sits in my Skylake build (Seasonic SSR-650TD) and my latest PSU purchase for Haswell build costed €205.50 (Seasonic SSR-650TR), while i would've been safe with a PSU that costs €80.50 (Seasonic GX-550). While that can be true and i could've saved a lot of money, i feel safe and comfortable that my two main PCs are powered by the best offered by Seasonic. And yes, i'm willing to pay premium price for exceptional quality products.

Oh, i prefer to buy my PSUs directly from OEM (Seasonic) rather than via middleman (Corsair, EVGA and may others).

This is my go to PSU which costs up to 300 euros:

https://seasonic.com/prime-px#

Cheap PSUs have warranty ranging from 2-5 years. They also tend to live that much as they are not designed to last longer and manufacturer cheap out on quality components. My Corsair vs 650 was among first parts to break in my old PC, together with storage devices. It somehow failed to provide enough power to the PC. It sometimes could boot up and be used, but it kept rapidly degrading until it just could not boot. I had to purchase another power supply. If I would had went with something like Seasonic, I would not have had to replace my PSU. Thus people should consider warranty as one of the most important parameters. 5 year warranty PSU vs 12 warranty PSU are not even comparable, because there is a very high chance that you will have to buy a second cheaper PSU before something from Seasonic breaks. Thus, price difference might be even in favor of high end brands, because you need to calculate price of two PSUs. As for high end products, they all are pretty similar at 10 year warranty vs Seasonic 12 year warranty. I do wonder if I should not buy something more flashy from other manufacturers, but if it is going to be under PSU shroud, I will just buy PSU in that webpage.

Besides that, there's also the fact that the older you get - the less time you have. Time becomes more precious and juggling on what to spend your time on, gets harder and harder as years pass by.

It looks neat, but I do not think it is for me. Like you said, you have to prioritize your time and there is just so much I want to do on top of it being often hard to effectively spend your time with all these distractions and lack of energy. It seems a project which I would loved to do as a child if only my father would had given me resources to purchase these parts as a hobby. It is like with gaming, as a child you have time and enthusiasm to game all day long, but do not have means (powerful computer and money to buy games). As an adult, you had seen it all and thus games do not have that charm nor you have time to waste days playing your favorite titles. At most, you could take a day off from work if something special comes along.

Heck, even today, before the journey I have whole day off. It is melting before my eyes. I want to rest well so you sleep whole morning. Then dinner. Then you want to catch up with video game. Then you need to reply to other people. Watch news and daily videos from youtube. It is already 6 pm. and I still wanted to figure out how to do that one thing from my work, I will have dinner, I will need to spend some time with family and prepare for flight tomorrow. It is like that each day, time just flies by and it seems that you did not do anything as you are swarmed by little things in your life. Sometimes it is just better to do nothing all day, but just game. At least then you will feel like you had accomplished a lot through that day in your game!