Get rid of Gaming PC?

[username17]

Right now I have a pretty beefy desktop with Triple monitors. It SCREAMS gaming. Seems kind of like a waste of a PC if it's not being used for Gaming.

I'm contemplating selling off what I can and buying a Laptop instead. I understand that anything, even my Smartphone, can be used for gaming. But from a point of minimalism, frugal-ness, and space saving I think I might want to switch to a Laptop instead.

Has anyone done this? Any thoughts?

Note: My entire career and livelihood is built on computers/the internet. So I cannot go without a computer or the internet. That is not an option.

[WorkInProgress]

I would say think about it if you need your set up. If you don't need it and you think you could do better with the freed space go for it. sell ti then you get some extra cash. The only thing that hinders you is the fear that you may rue the day you quitted and want you stuff back.

[username17]

Yeah. My hope is that I never go back to gaming in that way. My goal is to have replaced all the things I used to seek in Gaming with things in real life by the time my 90 day Detox is over.

I think I can sell my 3 monitor stand to a co-worker. The monitors will go up on craigslist and the PC I'd probably keep but have it powered off/disconnected. Might give it to my Sister who is into gaming but isn't hooked like I was.

[SundayMiharu]

Remove the monitor.

Do you do parallel computing? GPU computing? Graphic design? 3D design? Anything that can be improved with the quality of GPU?

If yes, it's no good (from my POV) if you just outright get rid of it. 

 

[Falky]

Yeah start with getting rid of the extra monitors and de-clutter a little a bit. I keep my PC because it's useful for video editing and other RAM intense apps. It's all down to preference though, if you need the cash go for it.

[seriousjay]

I've tried to sell off my PC. I had it up for $1000 and nobody was biting. Selling for any less than that wouldn't even be worth it for me. Laptops aren't really cheap anymore, at least decent ones.

This is definitely something you have to consider if you don't have a buyer willing to pay what the PC is worth.

[username17]

Yeah I probably wouldn't be able to sell the PC itself. But I have a $300 4+1 monitor stand and like 5 monitors sitting around. I think I'd like to sell all but the main monitor (144hz 24") and get a laptop.

I'm a Linux sysadmin so I don't need anything too fancy graphics wise. I just need something that can power 2 monitors, has some decent RAM, and CPU. My computer at home is overkill if it's not being used for gaming. I was thinking of burning some CPU time with SETI@Home, splitting proteins, or mining for bitcoins.

But in all honestly I'd rather take it all down and have a simple laptop + monitor on my desk.

[username17]

So I've decided to try and sell off some of the stuff I don't need anymore (Monitor Stand, HOTAS Joystick, TrackIR, Extra monitors, etc) over the next few months.

At the end of my 90 Detox I'll purchase a laptop as a reward for myself and stop using the gaming PC.

A condition of the new laptop will also be that I used the next 90 days to learn a new skill or master a known one that would help with the advancement of my Career. In the past I've attempted to learn Python twice but failed. I think I might be more successful this time without the constant distraction of gaming.

We'll see.

[WorkInProgress]

 

 I will start learning python soon too. If you find some good resources it would be awesome if you share them.

[username17]

Code Academy is what I've used in the past. I'll be starting over from scratch there as well.

There's a Learn Python the hard way PDF out there which is good. Also, Google released some of their training in Python as well.

https://developers.google.com/edu/python/set-up

[Revit]

@username17

I am sort of having the same concerns. I have a gaming PC (more like a potato with a good video card) which I was thinking to sell in order to buy a cool looking PC without a video card. But I did some research and figured out that selling my PC is a bad idea, because nobody wants to buy a used computer for an acceptable price, unless it is a Mac. So I decided to keep the PC and just to make it harder get back to playing games. I installed basic video drivers, deleted Steam and other gaming accounts, sold gaming devices. The rest depends on my willpower. Also having Linux as a primary OS could be a good idea.

[Guest]

I can TOTALLY relate to this. My PC is 5 years old, and I've upgrade it in the past, so it still runs games like The Witcher 3, etc. The problem is, I like to use a big screen for backend development (dualboot windows + linux). The downside? Windows is always there. I've thought of getting rid of it, but for some damn reason I always end up re-installing. The only other computer I have is a Macbook Pro, but I spilled coffee on the keyboard a year ago, and the TAB key stopped working. Out of all the damn keys... the TAB key. Writing code is a nightmare. I guess I should be glad it didn't stop working entirely... 

One possible thing I've thought of, which most people would probably think is dumb, is purchasing an iMac. I actually prefer OSX for the development, since I have't learned Linux well enough to appreciate it. Nice big screen, not very good for gaming if you get a retina or 4k model and don't upgrade the crap out of it, etc.

The downside? Selling my desktop isn't really an option.. some old parts, motherboard has a broken RAM slot, etc. The sunken cost fallacy is REAL - I've invested maybe $500 over the years to get it up and running, but at this point, I think it's running on fumes.

 

 

[username17]

@Revit Yeah I'm already running Linux (Xubuntu) on my gaming this PC. But this GTX970 is screaming to be used.

I've heard about using the GPU instead of the CPU for Bitcoin mining. So I might get into that. Not sure yet.

[Cam Adair]

@Revit Yeah I'm already running Linux (Xubuntu) on my gaming this PC. But this GTX970 is screaming to be used.

Not sure if you're intending to tag Revit or just reference your reply to him, but if you meant to tag him, sometimes after you type @name it will take a minute to load the username database to select his name. Just wanted to share that in case you were wondering. Awesome to have you on the forums with us, appreciate all of your contributions.

[Revit]

@username17

Sounds like a good old gamer habit to "optimize stuff". I have gtx 960 and this bothered me a little bit too. Try to rationalize the purchase if you want. For example I am not worrying about the video card not being used, because I had plenty of fun with it for the money I spent. Also, just recently I spent much more on a vacation, which was the absolute disaster. Meaning, this was a huge waste.  

Also you can sell the video card and other parts that will not be used for everyday work. 

Besides that, you still can game with a potato PC, your cellphone, etc. The temptation will be always near, but you have to keep being strong. The key is not fixate on the avoiding gaming, but on realization that you can do better things with your time. The feeling you are looking for is "playing video games sounds fun, but I think I can do something more meaningful".

 

Edited April 25, 2016 by Revit

[seriousjay]

@username17

Sounds like a good old gamer habit to "optimize stuff". I have gtx 960 and this bothered me a little bit too. Try to rationalize the purchase if you want. For example I am not worrying about the video card not being used, because I had plenty of fun with it for the money I spent. Also, just recently I spent much more on a vacation, which was the absolute disaster. Meaning, this was a huge waste.  

Also you can sell the video card and other parts that will not be used for everyday work. 

Besides that, you still can game with a potato PC, your cellphone, etc. The temptation will be always near, but you have to keep being strong. The key is not fixate on the avoiding gaming, but on realization that you can do better things with your time. The feeling you are looking for is "playing video games sounds fun, but I think I can do something more meaningful".

 

I think a positive way to think about the video card is exactly as you described. You bought it, you had fun with it, and now you want to do something different with your life. It served its purpose and now it's time to move on to something else.

Now that being said, I have a hard time relating because the PC isn't a trigger for me at all. I don't really think of my PC as just sitting there and going to waste. Mostly I wanted to sell it just to make a few bucks and buy something that was more appropriate for my situation.

Edited April 25, 2016 by jaylajkosz

[username17]

Thanks Cam. And thanks @Revit 

Good point. Gaming is always accessible. Even via browser games. It's the decision to stop gaming and do something more valuable with my time that matters.

[Revit]

Changing habits is tricky, because you need to know what drives you and how to cut it out. My rule of thumb of quitting on bad habits is to make it difficult get back to them. For example I tried to quit spending time on social networks. Simply stopping to do so is impossible for me, so I did the following: First, I figured out that I can't absolutely quit using social networks. But I noticed that mindlessly browsing the web unconsciously brings me back checking someone's vacation pictures, which makes me sad and miserable. So I made a rule to log out from the social networks, so I could stop myself from wasting another 30 minutes of my time while putting in the password. Also, I unsubscribed from all friends and group notifications. I uninstalled the app from my phone. And now I feel liberated. I didn't cut out social networks completely, but I do them in moderation. 

Edited April 25, 2016 by Revit

[RyanGQ]

If you have a beast setup, this is what I would do. Past deleting all of your gaming content, including wallpapers, ringtones etc., sell your gaming mouse and replace it with a standard, ergonomic mouse. Sell your graphics card, so that you can't play games. Sell your gaming headset if you have one, and replace it with a pair of headphones that are high quality but have no mic. Don't sell your monitors: you'll miss having extra screen-realestate if you ever get into something like music production, video editing, or writing. Same with a mechanical keyboard: as a writer, I could never go back to membrane keys. 

Just turn your gaming PC into a workstation that isn't meant for games. 

[Kad]

As I near the end of detox, I had to address my gaming computers.  I had an intense gaming set up and a powerful gaming laptop because I could not even go on vacation or anywhere without my games (In retrospect I can only shake my head).  It was extremely hard to make the transition to a "normal" laptop and you are so used to power and speed its easy to "build" a gaming system in the walk away one!  It was with some fear and sadness that I did it.  I am still trying to feel secure with this choice but it is a symbol that my new life is permanent. I looked at what i needed/wanted and made the choice.  I gave the gaming laptop to a family member who games as a limited leisure activity and their computer was dying.  The gaming computer is moved to a room with net that can't support the rapid response needed for gaming.  I am sure I am not the only one that knows to the millisecond the inherent lag in their set up.  Time will degrade the viability of this system for gaming and right now I use it for activities I want multiscreens for.