What do you actually do on your PC that makes it a hobby?

[EZTutty]

I recently built myself a fairly good desktop gaming PC after not having one for 7-8years (but still having a laptop + PS3/4).

This was partly due to wanting one anyway, the covid lockdown boredom, and because my GF is now working from home on a permanent basis (was on the cards before Covid), and i've built a 'garden office' so now have the space!

 

i built many PC's prior to the 7-8 year gap and spent most of my teens and early 20's being massively into computers, but i have absolutely no idea what i used to do on the PC's i built apart from gaming and browsing forums!

 

I do a bit of casual gaming, i enjoy tweaking & overclocking (i think I've just about run out of headroom for overclocking my system), i fear i enjoy this and the building process more than actually using my PC, i'm not sure if some of this is because phones have gotten so much better for browsing the internet i don't feel the need to browse on a PC as often).

 

So aside from the above, what else do you guys do on your PC's? 

[WereCatf]

5 minutes ago, EZTutty said:

So aside from the above, what else do you guys do on your PC's? 

CAD, programming, studying electronics, practicing my sysadmin/network-admin skills, trying out various kind of enterprise-concepts in my home-lab and so on.

[mahyar]

server admin stuff programming arduino linux etc 

[Tostr4]

Keeping it running without leaks.

[dfsgsfa]

crackwatch.com

[NineEyeRon]

Games, designing golf courses in TGC, making cities in C:S.

 

I would say I do most of my personal projects on my PC, I am not really someone who builds or makes things unless it’s on my PC.

[CommanderAlex]

Watch Netflix/YouTube/video games when I have the time to, studying for school and living off of the internet for this purpose, CAD, compliers for said school. 

[mr fobs]

I use mine for Gaming, VR, streaming videos, etc.

 

I do a fair amount of photo editing and video editing, but nothing professional. Literally just for memes.

Its just where I spend my day after work. I come home, sit at my desk, and before I know it, it's time for bed.

[PlayStation 2]

Game data ripping. 

Somehow, I managed to throw myself into the Gran Turismo research community and uh...

I guess the proof's in the pudding.

[jeanluckpiccard]

Mainly gaming and some python projects. My wife's computer that I built was pretty much collecting dust until she discovered the cricut machine. Now, her room literally looks like a factory with projects...LOL. I'm glad though that she's found a good use for it as she really isn't into gaming much.

[Lester1979]

On 10/25/2020 at 11:09 AM, EZTutty said:

So aside from the above, what else do you guys do on your PC's? 

Grand Theft Auto V 

[sub68]

lots of editing of videos and audio

now its mostly school

playing osu

[Stahlmann]

From time to time i also think tweaking and tinkering on my PC is more fun than the actual games. Even if i don't run my CPU or RAM OCed 24/7, i like to test out from time to time how far i can push them. Building my first custom watercooling-loop was also a lot of fun. Also, that it's been forever since there was a game release that bound me to my desk like Witcher 3 or Skyrim did a few years ago. Sadly i find more and more games or genres i completely lose interest in. I really hope cyberpunk lives up to the hype and can bring a great singleplayer experience that lasts a few weeks...

 

Also with games like Skryim i spend more time modding and tweaking the game than actually playing it. It just feels awesome to make the game exactly like i would want it to be. Currently counting 724 active mods. I've actually been thinking to get into game development in the past, but nothing came of it, yet.

 

Right now i'm pretty much waiting for my C9 OLED to update, so i can finally use it with my 3080 and play a lot of games like Horizon Zero Dawn, Metro Exodus, etc. that can deliver a great HDR experience. I've been putting pretty much every HDR game on hold until i can finally experience them on my OLED. Until then it's more tinkering, tweaking and modding to pass time, i guess.

[Tan3l6]

I used to have PC tinkering as a hobby, did a bit of everything, especially liked Terragen rendering of nice terrains/worlds.

Now I might well be called addicted. Most time is spent for "recreational purposes" rather than learning, don't know why, maybe getting old. imo I'm not too old though...

[Guest]

Competitive hardware benchmarking is my PC hobby. 

[Eschew]

On 10/25/2020 at 2:09 AM, EZTutty said:

So aside from the above, what else do you guys do on your PC's? 

• Gaming.
• Listening to Music!
• Watching/Listening to Twitch Streams.
• Lurking LTT Forums.
• Lurking Discord channels.
• Staring at Keebs.
• Folding@home or BOINC (24/7, CPU & GPU).

Sometimes I have two games running at the same time, on top of F@H and background Twitch streams.

Currently playing Sleeping Dogs and RPG MO.

[jones177]

Doing programing was the first thing I did with a computer and I even wrote some games in the 8 and 16 bit era. After that it was 3D and that turned into what I did for a living.

 

 I also liked to mod games to get them to play the way I wanted them to. I started with adding and creating levels in Doom way back in 1992. It evolved into using hex editors and paint programs to create my own team in games like Grand Prix II in 1996.

By 2000 I was creating mods for MS Flight Simulator and later Train Simulator. I got good enough to be asked to jointed an indie group so it became part of my income for several years. 

 

After having lots of fun with the sims, I lost interest but found a new interest modding fantasy games like Oblivion and later Skyrim. I am now modding the VR versions of Skyrim and Fallout 4.

 

Now I just play games and watch content but with a PC there is always potential to do more. A few weeks back I downloaded a free video editor(Davinci Resolve) and watched a few YouTube videos on how to use it. Now I can record and edit my games benches and put them on Youtube and it did not cost a cent.

 

[Drama Lama]

On 10/25/2020 at 10:09 AM, EZTutty said:

So aside from the above, what else do you guys do on your PC's? 

currently gaming and messing around with VirtualBox

[Lachlancraw40]

When I’m not gaming I often find myself staring into the deep dark blue and purple led soul of my computer and keyboard and mouse and mousepad 1 and mousepad 2 and controller and under desk.

[Devilish]

Digital art, ive been messing around with blender lately and taking a few classes in it so thats fun too.

[Donut417]

Sadly I dont use my gaming machine as much as I used to. I think this might be the last gaming computer I build. I also have a Plex server, and will likely build one of those again. 

[GoldSrc]

I do some planetary photography when the seeing is good and I have zero clouds.

I only have my phone to do it though, I need to get me a planetary camera for better results.

[Giganthrax]

I do everything on my PCs (work, gaming, media consumption, porn, learning, meeting people, etc.).

 

In addition to that, I also like building computers, tinkering with hardware and software, and just generally trying out new stuff and coming up with ways to make my PC use more efficient. 

 

Some of the stuff I did for pretty much no reason at all (except that it's fun) includes:

Benchmarking everything

Learning how to overclock

Learned video editing and got rather decent with it

Used Linux for a few months on my laptop just to see what it's like

Figured out how to run Linux off of a USB stick in order to resurrect a PC with busted SATA ports

Learned how to create and use virtual machines in both Win10 and VirtualBox

Added more RGB baby!!!!!!!!!

[Sir Asvald]

I use my PC/laptop for my side business and I have a network with servers at home. I am currently working as an IT Admin. For my side business I provide network and system support for home users and some businesses. 

[EZTutty]

Thanks for the replies!

 

I've got a few ideas I can look into now, glad to see it's not just me that sometimes prefers building, tweaking and OC'ing more than using and gaming! (Unfortunately my bank account doesn't allow me to do this as much as I would like)