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Your desk setups, part 3: Ray’s literally at the wheel when gaming
by Michelle Brändle
Your desk setups, part 2: Rafael’s office behind a wardrobe
5-7-2024
Translation: Megan Cornish
The highlight of Rafael's «office» is that it’s actually his bedroom, cleverly sectioned off by his wardrobe. His desk is home to lots of homemade items.
As the saying goes, if you want a job done properly, do it yourself. And Rafael has put a lot of effort into his desk setup. When he’s not reviewing the work of 15 people as a product owner, he likes to get to work himself.
Rafael’s home office is separated from the rest of his bedroom by a wardrobe. He clad the back wall of it in artificial stone made of Styrofoam. Wooden hardware creates an even more natural vibe.
The hardware: a converted case with a wood finish
Unsurprisingly, Rafael built his PC himself. The case is a Corsair 4000D Airflow. The wooden front, however, is one of Rafael’s own creations. There’s also a small monitor inside with a self-made AIDA64 sensor panel. His daughter also has a creative touch. She made a homemade HeyClay dog that sits inside the PC.
Rafael’s right-hand man assembling the PC? YouTube. The monitor in the case was added later. Which was a lot of work. Since Rafael made the hole for the screen, all of the PC parts that had already been installed had to be sealed airtight.
The front of the PC case has a natural wood look. Rafael used thin wooden slats, cut them to size, then sanded and oiled them. A practical addition is the frame, which can be attached magnetically. The built-in RTX 3080 graphics card is a stunner, but, unfortunately, it’s also expensive.
The speakers: practically homemade
The Logitech speakers are a bit old and Rafael stopped liking them. A homemade solid wood case was supposed to replace the boring original. However, this was more work than Rafael originally thought. No wonder – the only original parts left are the drivers. Rafael replaced everything else.
Cable management: peripheral switches at the touch of a button
Rafael is one of those people who likes to keep things tidy. That’s why he’s particularly proud of his cable management. All of his USB peripherals are routed to two USB hubs. Rafael can switch his mouse, headset, dongle, speakers, webcam and keyboard from his gaming PC to the laptop docking station using a Delock USB switch.
Rafael’s highlight: a sweet decorative element
For once, Rafael didn’t make the figure decorations himself, but they do come from the same household. They’re a Christmas present from his daughter. No wonder they’re one of his favourite decorative pieces.
Still missing: a separate keyboard
Rafael would also love to replace his monitor with an OLED screen. He loves the contrast of his OLED TV in the living room. He wants the same for his work device – he’d be very happy with the colour fidelity, brightness and frame rate.
Here’s an overview of Rafael’s components:
Header image: Rafael
In my world, Super Mario chases Stormtroopers with a unicorn and Harley Quinn mixes cocktails for Eddie and Peter at the beach bar. Wherever I can live out my creativity, my fingers tingle. Or maybe it's because nothing flows through my veins but chocolate, glitter and coffee.
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