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PC Desks

Take a peek into my PC desk setups throughout history. These span six flats, four cities and three countries. I started working from home in 2020, but previous setups were mostly thrown together and didn't feel particularly inviting. Looking back at these now, I see common themes like: A single large LCD monitor, a black custom-built PC, a proper stereo amplifier and passive speakers. As well as certain brands like Logitech for the mouse & keyboard, Wacom for the stylus and Sennheiser for Headphones.

 

2000 - 2002 (Leamington Spa 1)

This desk was the one that I grew up using at home for my Atari computers and drawing. I also used it throughout my university years. If there was one thing that I could go back and tell myself in this period, it would have been to get a new, simple desk and to spend a day or two on cable management. For the longest time, it didn't occur to me that having a tidy space would make it feel nicer to work and play. Also, just because an amp fits under the desk is not a good reason to have it there :P. This early LCD monitor cost about twice as much as a 32" 4k 240hz QD-OLED does in 2024 (not adjusted for inflation). It would not compare well to modern tech, but it was so much better for eye strain than a CRT, it was worth it to me at the time. Fun fact; This image was taken on my first ever digital camera, the Fujifilm Finepix 6900z.

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Computer Spec:

  • Monitor: Dell 2000FP

  • CPU: 1.4Ghz Athlon

  • RAM: 3x128MB DDR

  • GPU: GeForce4 4200 ?

  • HDD: 120GB

  • PSU: 480w Tagan U01

  • Case: Lian Li Case

  • Optical: DVDRW x2

  • Mouse: Logitech cordless

  • KB: Logitech ?

  • Stylus: Wacom Graphire​​​​

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Other Stuff:

  • ​​Desk: From childhood

  • Speakers: Eltax

  • Amp: Rotel 930 BX

  • HPs: Sennheiser HD565​​​​

  • Console: Panasonic Q

  • Console: PS1

  • ​Sony VHS recorder​

 

2002 - 2005 (Leamington Spa 2)

From my second flat in Leamington Spa. This was a much nicer place and with a bigger room. I had much more space for a nice desk, and thankfully took advantage of that. Since I was working on my portfolio here, it must have been after I lost my job at Codemasters and thus right at the end of my time here. I remember being concerned that I wouldn't be able to find another job. If only I could go back and tell myself not to panic now. My adventure was about to begin with a move to Europe. ​​​

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Computer Spec:

  • Monitor: Dell 2405FPW

  • CPU: 3.4Ghz Pentium 4

  • RAM: 2x 1GB DDR

  • GPU: GeForce 6800 Ultra

  • HDD: 2x 200GB SATA 2

  • PSU: 480w Tagan

  • Case: Antec P180

  • Optical: DVDRW

  • Mouse: Microsoft optical

  • KB: Unknown

  • Stylus: Wacom Intuos 3 A5

  • SND: Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme​​

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Other Stuff:

  • ​​Desk: IKEA (I think)

  • Speakers: AE Aego 2​

  • HPs: Sennheiser HD565​​​​

  • Epson 1270 A3+ printer​

 

2005 - 2006 (Amsterdam 1)

This small room was my first proper apartment in Amsterdam (central), near Rembrandtplein. I switched to a laptop for the move here, which helped with the small space I had here, but I do remember hating it and went back to a desktop PC as soon as I moved, a year later. Interestingly, I went back to my older Logitech keyboard here. I have always liked their stuff, but that was probably more to do with the Wacom tablet than the bad laptop keyboard. The desk I had to buy from an Ikea, since there was nothing in the room except the little bed, but I still have it today.

 

Can you tell I had a mosquito problem? Canals on every street made them abundant here, and I reacted to the bites so badly that I almost quit my job and left the country due to this. I'm glad stayed, otherwise I probably wouldn't have met my wife.

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Other Stuff:

  • ​​Desk: IKEA basic​​​​

  • Laptop: ??

  • Handheld: Sony PSP

  • Speakers: Logitech Z-5500

  • ​KB: Logitech ??

  • Stylus: Intuos 3 A5 Wide

  • Camera: Nikon D2H

  • Mask: Paintball ??

 

2006 - 2009 (Amsterdam 2)

This was from my second flat in Amsterdam, this time in the outskirts of the city, but still on the map you see on my wall today. This glass topped desk came with the flat, so I had two, but luckily they fitted easily enough with a sofa. I should have switched the desks around, as leaning your arms on a glass edge was not comfortable. The tower chassis is the older version (Antec P180) that you see compared to the new NCase M1 on its page. If I ever make another PC, I doubt it will be a big tower PC case. I am an SFF (small-form-factor) convert now.​​

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Computer Spec:

  • Monitor: Dell 3008FPW

  • CPU: Core 2 Duo E6600 (2.4Ghz)

  • RAM: 2x 1GB DDR4 800

  • GPU: GeForce 7950 GX2

  • HDD: 500GB 7200rpm

  • PSU: 1000w Tagan

  • Case: Antec P180

  • Optical: DVD SH-W183A

  • Mouse: Razer Deathadder ?

  • KB: Logitech Ultra X

  • Stylus: Intuos 3 A5 Wide

  • SND: Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme

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Other Stuff:

  • ​​Desk: IKEA basic​​​​

  • Epson 750 slide scanner

  • Speakers: Logitech Z-5500

  • HPs: Beyerdynamic DT231​

  • Model: Akira bike

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2009 - 2016 (London)

This was the only apartment that we lived in London (West Hampstead) after getting married. Unfortunately it was never a setup that I was proud of so I didn't photograph it much. I kept the same desk, PC, monitor, keyboard & mouse since Amsterdam. Ignore the Alienware PC here, as that was an old one from work that I didn't keep long as it was absolutely enormous and not easily configurable.​​​

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Computer Spec:

  • Monitor: Dell 3008FPW

  • CPU: Core i7 6700 (4GHz)

  • RAM: 4x 16GB DDR4 3200

  • GPU: Nvidia GTX 970 (4Gb)

  • SSD: 512GB + 1TB

  • HDD: 6TB + 8TB

  • PSU: 750w Corsair

  • Case: Antec P193

  • Optical: DVD SH-W183A

  • Mouse: Razer ?

  • KB: Logitech ?

  • Stylus: Intuos 3 A5 Wide

  • SND: Ifi USB DAC

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Other Stuff:

  • ​​Desk: IKEA basic​​​​

  • Speakers: Logitech Z-5500​

  • HPs: Grado SR-80

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2016 - 2024 (Göteborg)

For the first four years living in Sweden, my home PC desk was the usual thrown together mess of cables. However, in 2020 I started to work from home. Surprisingly not related to the Pandemic, but because the Gothenburg office was closed down. Spending the majority of my day here, I started to make this space a little more friendly. Keeping the surface clean and tidy was step one. Then I added a second monitor, some LED lighting and returned to a proper amp and speakers. The work PC was still at the office at this point, so I would connect to that via VPN. Unfortunately, I was stuck on an ADSL internet connection for the first couple of years...​

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Update

I was happy with the changes I had made so far, but it made me want to do an overhaul of several other elements. In mid 2021 I made a new PC in a small-form-factor PC case. I then added a standing desk with more lighting and added a bunch of other bits and pieces. Despite getting a much faster cable internet connection at home, in 2023, I was unfortunately forced to accommodate the work PC here as well. Being overwhelmed by keeping even more cables tidy I unfortunately went back to living with a rat's nest of cables once again, but after a year or so of living with that, I finally got around to making it tidy again... ​

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Computer:

  • Case: NCase M1 6.1

  • MB: DTX ROG X570

  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 5800x

  • RAM: 32GB 3600 cl14

  • GPU: RTX 3080 Ti (12GB)

  • SSDs: 512GB PCI-E 4.0 (OS)

4TB PCI-E 4.0

4TB SATA

  • Cooler: Noctua NH-C14

  • Fans: Phanteks T30

Noctua NF-A14 (2x)

Noctua NF-A9

  • PSU: Corsair SF750

  • 3D Printed: Fan Shrouds

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Screen:

  • Monitor: Acer XB321HK

  • Arm: Ergotron HX

  • Lightbar: Benq Screenbar+

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I/O:

  • Mouse: Logitech Lift

  • KB: Logitech MX Keys Mini

  • Controller: Xbox Elite II

  • Tablet: Wacom Intuos 5 A4

  • Stylus: Wacom Classic pen​​​

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Desk:

  • ​​Desk: iiglo Ergo (150x75)

  • Shelves: Vivo modern​

  • Mats: Oakywood Felt&Cork

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A/V:

  • DAC: Topping D90SE

  • Amp: Teac AX-505

  • Speakers: Dynavoice LCR-4

  • HP1: Beyer DT 1990 Pro

  • HP4: Hifiman Sundara

  • Mic: Blue Yeti

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Lighting:

  • Lamp: Flowerpot VP9

  • LED: Govee Aura Lamp

  • LED. Govee Light strip

  • LED: Govee Flow Light bars

  • LED: 2x 20cm Light Strips

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Display:

  • Posters: Displate maps​

  • Plants: Hedera Helix Ivy

  • Plants: Snake Plant

  • Cam1: Nikon FM3A +50/1.8

  • Cam2: Pentax MX +50/1.7

  • Squirrel: Hand carved

  • Wooden Trays: H&M

  • Knife: Panoramaknife.ch​

  • Torch: Nitecore

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Fun Stuff...

After discovering and tracking down the shelves on r/desksetup, I like how cosy this feels, even if finding speakers that fit under them was quite a challenge! These sideways turning wall speakers were from Sweden. Is it ideal that they are squeezed in here? No, but at least they fit. Switching to a vertical mouse was something I should have done a long time ago. I really like the Logitech Lift, but I still prefer using a pen most of the time. The classic pen, tablet (Intuos 5) and its wireless kit were all second hand bargains that replaced my nearly twenty-year-old Intuos 3 (which still works fine, so is a backup). The lamp runs from an internal battery, so can be moved around the desk and charges via USB (like the keyboard, tablet, controller etc.). The plants are two different kinds of Hedera Helix ivy, and I'm very curious if they will try to attach themselves to the shelf supports. The lighting for them will be tricky, but the bottom shelf lighting as two 20cm rechargeable LED strips, I think works pretty well. I'm ashamed to say that the audio setup is more about looks than quality. The speakers look nice, nested on the middle shelves, and the amps VU meters add to the cosy feeling in these dark autumn months. They're not terrible, just nothing to write home about on sound quality, which is a real shame.

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Later...

I am really happy with a single large 4k monitor, but this 60hz LCD is almost a decade old now. I would like an OLED with a higher refresh rate, but I am still a bit concerned about burn-in when I have the same apps open for 8 hours per day. If this tech keeps on improving then I might be temped to switch, but for now I am reasonably happy with this one.

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