Gamers & PCs

[DiffydaDude]

This was something I realized while watching a fairly new Youtube channel called SamsonGG (he is a fitness guy and gamer). I was watching his video on remaking his mothers setup (@ https://invidious.io.lol/watch?v=7sdqWzJO4t0) and I think that, by remaking the setup into something cool and modern, he removed some of that character it originally had, along with putting in a high-level GPU inside but not a cd drive because apparently it's 'laughable and nobody uses those'. This made me think, and I realized that for gamers, PCs are often more like a fashion statement than a tool, with all the colorful lighting and flashy angular aesthetics.
Now compare that to how retro enthusiasts treat computers. It feels a lot more emotional and personal, and they really appreciate their computers, more than I think many modern gamers do. I think that these RGB filled computers are a lot less personal than an old Macintosh or 95 PC, and its because those gaming pcs all look the same. I want to see more unique designs and fun setups instead of just 4k curved monitors and rgb towers with 4090s, and it really sucks that those are the only kinds people seek out.
Should PCs be fashionable, or should they have utility? Or can they be both?
For me I'm tired of the only acceptable thing in PC gaming being flashy colored lights, humongous amounts of storage, and top-tier graphics cards. I think PCs are meant to be modified, and we should make our PCs more personal to ourselves.

[Melooon]

It's not just gamers; look at designers on YouTube too - there is a whole subculture of "designer" PC setups, where they all buy the same hardware and insist on the same minimalist aesthetic, and for some reason they all have the same exploded diagram of an iPhone 2G on their wall??

As much as I love games; gamer culture is pretty gross on many levels and is often seriously lacking in original ideas (particularly AAA games, the indie scene is much more unique!)

We live in a society that says that individualism is prized, but most of the time it's not; people are told all sorts of things about how they should behave based on trends and fads that are mostly designed to sell things; and you end up with 99% of the population all doing the same thing, being scared to try something different and often not even knowing how to be different, so they fear it or joke about it when they see it. On top of all that, trying unusual things is hard, often it wont work out; so people just don't wanna put in the effort when they can pick a trend they already know works for a large portion of people 

Creating your own digital space can be so much more than that though; when you make your digital life your own, you have the opportunity to define yourself and make a space that helps you become who you wanna be. So I think that fashion (as in style not trends) is pure utility  (This is why the share your desk thread is one of my favs on the forum, its so diverse!)

I enjoy a good RGB fan and a fast SSD, but I also love a good CD-ROM drive, and a clicky 10GB hard-drive. Those are not conflicts, they are different aspects of my personality and deserve equal treatment.
There should be more room for a wabi-sabi view of technology and digital life 

[DiffydaDude]

We live in a society that says that individualism is prized, but most of the time it's not; people are told all sorts of things about how they should behave based on trends and fads that are mostly designed to sell things; and you end up with 99% of the population all doing the same thing, being scared to try something different and often not even knowing how to be different, so they fear it or joke about it when they see it. On top of all that, trying unusual things is hard, often it wont work out; so people just don't wanna put in the effort when they can pick a trend they already know works for a large portion of people 
 

Well, its super hard to appeal to every single person who might be using a product, but they had a good solution for it. They gave people the tools to make it your own, but now they just make everybody do the same thing because there arent too many alternatives and they thought that people doing what they wanted to do with their new doodad was "bad" or whatever and it needs to stay constantly tied to their thumb all the time like an obsessive ex-bf/ex-gf.
Thats why i like the open source stuff, it's so much nicer to use, it has a different vibe to the "normal" stuff that feels better to interact with.

[microbyte]

I personally built my PC to put function and budget over everything. Being cost effective is more important than visual, which means no real RGB, and no ultra-high end GPU (but my stuff is pretty good). It may not be THAT individual, but it works well, and that's what matters. Heck, I don't even get to see my PC - I have it hidden away under my desk, primarily because it's not aesthetic or anything. I do feel a need to point out that I don't have a CD/DVD drive. My case has a spot for one, and I've been wanting to get one, but I just don't see the functionality. Sure it looks cool, but not breaking my wallet is more important than cool factors, and buying stuff for the PC that I don't actually need is just a slippery slope to buying a bunch of useless junk, and becoming another consumer.

Your hardware should take a second seat compared to your software. Software can be mostly free (as in monetarily), while hardware can not, and it's much much more of a cost tradeoff for good hardware than for good libre software.

Of course, I do also feel the need to point out that I love retro PCs, like IIes and such as much as the next indie-webber(?)

[Memory]

For me I'm tired of the only acceptable thing in PC gaming being flashy colored lights,

For real, the first thing I ever do with my light up PC parts (that I never prioritise for btw, I'm much more interested in performance it's just an unfortunate by product at times) is turn the rainbow off and make everything one colour (usually white) so it's less distracting.

[Memory]

Can't build the bridge between high-performance gaming PCs being soulless. Transparent side latches. Colourful components. Spikey cases designed like sports cars. Looks awesome! And performs awesome as well. And heats up the room so much that it becomes a computer sauna experience to let this power plant run outside of winter...

The sad thing that I whitnessed about the gaming youth is they're like battling with their computers stats. The most important number being the overall price.

Damm, you little shits, if you'd have to work for that money by yourself... problem solved.

Would be nice if there would be more people playing Free Software games. They are usually not the flashiest, but more creative (even invite the players to be creative and to mess around with the game's files). Free Software games can be played on every scrap out there as well, which can be the difference between a 30 euro setup and a 2000 euro setup. Big numbers, if you actually have to get the money by yourself.