Gaming PCs Are Like Sports Cars, The First Thing You Do Is Show Them Off

Megalith

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That’s according to Lenovo—and any other company that has a gaming line, I assume, based on all the fancy lights that gaming peripherals typically have. Lenovo’s lineup seems pretty modest in the aesthetics department, though, which I like. But do you actually prefer a lot of bling on your gaming mice and keyboards?

We observed gamers and found that they like to show off their systems to their friends, so we said hey, why don't we come up with a transparent solution. We even painted the clean-cable routing inside. It's like showing somebody a car. When you buy a sports car the first thing you do is open up the hood and show somebody the engine inside. The inside is important, but the outside is just as important. Sure we care about stuff like frames per second and low lag time, but you need a PC's design to look and feel attractive.
 
I overclock mine as far as it will go, benchmark it and then play games.
If its working well, I help others sort issues out and get the best from their systems.

Perhaps this is why I dont buy Lenovo :p
 
My gaming PC is actually very understated. No lights, no glass panels, no hint of what's inside. I use a case which I think looks nice but isn't flashy.
 
Prefer if my systems go unnoticed, especially by me. If I hear or see something I worry something has gone wrong. Haha. So yeah no bling, understated case. No windows. No noise. No lights (half the time I don't bother hooking up the front panel LEDs).
 
I prefer a more sleek, understated look. My silverstone FT02 doesn't have any gaudy lights, no glass panels, desk has a das keyboard ultimate s (no letters on any of the keys), a simple steelseries mouse, and that's it. The most "eccentric" part of my setup is the pair of AKG Q701s, and they're just white/black with a green cord.
 
No doubt people will show it off. However, showing it off doesn't automatically mean showing off the pretty colors, it could just be performance/compnonents, thats how I do mine. I'm also one that don't like flashy lights.

Only reason my case has window/lights is because they were the ones I needed and I couldn't find one that worked better or is cheaper with similar design. I'd take the lights out if I knew exactly which it was, but I never bothered to look. Same for window if it didn't require so much work.
 
Out of all the PC forums on the net, Lenovo makes this statement? Straight up stolen from the PC community who design lclean their cases up for presentation...."We observed gamers".....more like trolled forums and decided to say "we" thought it up.
 
No doubt people will show it off. However, showing it off doesn't automatically mean showing off the pretty colors, it could just be performance/compnonents, thats how I do mine. I'm also one that don't like flashy lights.

Only reason my case has window/lights is because they were the ones I needed and I couldn't find one that worked better or is cheaper with similar design. I'd take the lights out if I knew exactly which it was, but I never bothered to look. Same for window if it didn't require so much work.

I think the show off aspect is more of a feeling of accomplishment, in other words "I made this!"... not exactly something you can say with a sports car.
 
A gaming PC is whatever PC you use to play games. In my case, that's a netbook or an old Dell Latitude from like 2009. Drawing stupid distinctions just to make someone with a buncha silly LED lights in their computer is only a marketing attempt to make people who wanna present a certain image feel special about what they're trying to identify themselves.
 
The only thing I was super proud of was the case. That's because I drilled out the rivets, painted it, and reassembled it. The only other thing that is special is the PSU. That's the only top of the line part I have in the thing. Nothing else is all that special. Certainly not worth bragging about.
 
My gaming PC is actually very understated. No lights, no glass panels, no hint of what's inside. I use a case which I think looks nice but isn't flashy.

Same as mine i use a simpe antec P182. no blings. its the performance that counts. my PC rig does not have to be flaming/
 
I like a little bling. Or a lot if the colors are right. PCs are sometimes a form of art. I've seen some truly stunning watercooled masterpieces.
 
I'm with many of the posters here: case windows, gaudy lighting etc. are just tacky. A clean, elegant look will always look better than the looks-like-a-car-from-fast-and-furious.
 
I'm with many of the posters here: case windows, gaudy lighting etc. are just tacky. A clean, elegant look will always look better than the looks-like-a-car-from-fast-and-furious.

Any time I had to get a case with plexi windows, I ended up spraying them with matte black spraypaint. Unfortunately some cases now ONLY come with case windows.
 
Zarathustra[H];1041852523 said:
Anyone who calls it a "Battlestation" is a fucking idiot.

Hey now! I have a HAF with that rugged look and I'm downloading MGS V right now.
Mine will be a battlestation before the night is over.
 
Zarathustra[H];1041852523 said:
Anyone who calls it a "Battlestation" is a fucking idiot.

Well, I agree it kinda is silly sounding, but I dunno if I'd put them in the same category as like libertarians. That's unusually cruel.
 
A sweet rig looks cool as hell. I don't really want something that flashy, but I have nothing against it. Hell, for the longest time my PC case was a motherboard tray, HD, PSU, and CD drive screwed to a piece of plywood nailed to the side of a sawhorse.
 
A sweet rig looks cool as hell. I don't really want something that flashy, but I have nothing against it. Hell, for the longest time my PC case was a motherboard tray, HD, PSU, and CD drive screwed to a piece of plywood nailed to the side of a sawhorse.

Sounds like something that would have gone great at a modded PC show. :D
 
If seems like the analogy is correct. Some people like performance gear because of how it performs and douche nozzles put flahsy lights, stickers, and bling all over it no matter what it is.
 
I do value my PC's aesthetics. I always pick a casing with side window, my current build even have a couple of LED strip to illuminate the inside. But I do this all for my own satisfaction, not to show them off as none of my friends and family appreciates a PC anyway :p

As for the keyboard, I only require a simple lighting for the keys. I don't spend on those RGB lighting type.
 
Okay i havr a little gaud. But its tasteful. I have an Asus Sabertooth with a window in a haf 912.

There are 5 case fans which are all lot up red. But they serve a pratical purpose too. The more they ligey light up the hotter that component is.
 
Never cared for led lights or bright colored components. Windows are meh and usually make companies charge more.

Prefer boring...case and components flat black, fans black, heatsink natural color or plated.


Without the dumb bright red stripes of paint. Definitely without bright led lights that would keep you awake if you had to sleep in the same room with the pc on.
 
I actually like my PC and Laptop to be unassuming. That's why I hate ASUS and Alienware gaming laptops. Way to flashy, with all the angles and colors and lights. The illuminated logo on the back is already too much for me, and more and more companies seem to be doing it. I don't even freaking see it, when I'm using my laptop, so what's the point?

With my previous laptop a Toshiba Quosmio it took me 6 months to notice that the Quosmio label on the back is lit, when someone else pointed it out to me.

As for desktop computers I don't even care for windowed side panels, but nowadays it's almost impossible to avoid. If I want to buy decent case, it's almost certain that it will have a window. Some offer cases with or without a window, but even then the windowless ones tend to be less equipped forcing you to go for the fancy anyway. What I want from a desktop PC is to be efficient, easily serviceable, plenty of expansion. I hate cases that offer too few 3.5 or 2.5 expansions. It's laughably when I see a big tower case that offers 1x2.5 and say 5x3.5. When the Node 304 mini ITX can hold 6x3.5 and 3x2.5, and you still get plenty of space to install a big cooler in it.
 
I'm a person that puts builds called "screw color themes" up on PC Parts Picker. And they're my actual builds.

I don't mind ostentatious, per se, but the problem is that MANY builds fall into the realm of "tacky". And doing it right simply takes far, far too long for me. The next best thing to do is simply make the build very low key and functional. That's what I tend to do. Just stuff it all inside of an unassuming, out of the way black box. Let it do its job. Much more tasteful. I also tend to also have a predilection for well-polished, classy dark wooden styles (ie my solid wood executive desk) and whatnot. Many of the tables and desks here are like that. So if I had to make a cool case, it would have that kind of theme. But that would demand far too much time.
 
I think the show off aspect is more of a feeling of accomplishment, in other words "I made this!"... not exactly something you can say with a sports car.

I made this.
formula1.jpg


formula2.jpg


Things that I changed: Hood, wheels, interior, intake setup, rear end, converted to a 5 speed, installed a performance exhaust, installed performance suspension, converted the tail lights to a new model.
 
I view prefab bling machines the same way I see all prefab. Overpriced garbage for the uninspired and uninformed.

That said, I respect a good looking custom machine and the work that goes into it. I've built plenty, though never featured any here. There is a balance between art and gaudy.
 
If I could have a car that drove like a Porsche but didn't look like one (but looked more like a Corolla), then I'd be all over that. Lower profile means you're less noticed. I don't want to be noticed - I want to have fun.
 
Definitely without bright led lights that would keep you awake if you had to sleep in the same room with the pc on.

One thing I instantly change on any case that I get that has them: Blue LEDs. Most evil fucking invention ever. One tiny little blue LED effectively lights up the entire room to daylight intensity to someone like myself who needs a room to be as dark as possible to sleep.

I bought an Antec midtower case (the 300) and saw the leds were blue, but were only visible by super tiny pinholes that I thought it wouldn't have mattered much.

Nope. Overnight defrag woke me right the fuck up with the flickering of the HD light. It startled me because I thought it was lightning... it felt that bright.

http://www.loadingartist.com/comic/blue/

Like that shit right there.

Fuck aesthetics. I put gaffing tape over every visible LED when the room lights are off.
 
I made this.
formula1.jpg


formula2.jpg


Things that I changed: Hood, wheels, interior, intake setup, rear end, converted to a 5 speed, installed a performance exhaust, installed performance suspension, converted the tail lights to a new model.

Love it. Always wanted to get an 80's sports car but am worried about the upkeep due to my lack of skills maintaining a vehicle.

Have my eye on a GTR one of these days, but am terrified of the price tag (and getting wife approval). I just finally got approval to "build" a WRX if I want to...
 
Same as mine i use a simpe antec P182. no blings. its the performance that counts. my PC rig does not have to be flaming/

Agreed!

To me it's always been about the performance, not about the appearance, as long as its not a total mess with wires going everywhere. I tend to prefer a clean subtle look.

That being said, while I always used to lament that it was difficult to find certain good fans without LED's as I've always found the LED's to be kind of gaudy and annoying, I recently accidentally bought 5 Corsair SP140 fans with white LED's (I need to read more carefully before I order) and they actually don't bother me.

I feel it looks kind of clean and not too blingy. All in all I like the way my current setup wound up, even though I put no thought at all into appearance when shopping for parts.



 
My gaming PC is actually very understated. No lights, no glass panels, no hint of what's inside. I use a case which I think looks nice but isn't flashy.

Almost the same. My case is a Lian-Li PC-343b cube server case. If anything it looks like a throwback from the pure geek days. Only the mouse might give it away, certainly not the low profile Logitech keyboard.
 
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