Staff – January 21, 2020 at 10:17 AM
Every serious PC builder knows that a successful gaming setup isn’t just about the machine itself, but its surroundings, as well. In other words, a gaming PC is only as good as its battlestation.
The internet is full of fun, funny, and even inspirational battlestations, so we tracked down the creator of one of our recent favorites to learn how they designed it.
Interview subject: u/Dangamanova on Reddit
What was the creative vision behind this battlestation? What sort of look and feel were you going for?
I wanted to create a visual experience that would get me hyped as I boot up and login and enhance the immersion as I play. I'm a big fan of sci-fi games like Halo and Destiny, so going into orbit being surrounded by the colors and stars feels pretty awesome.
What were the main points of inspiration for this battlestation?
The inspiration for the color scheme is two-fold. The colors of my favorite sports team, the Baltimore Ravens, are purple and gold, so I chose them as my primary and accent colors. I also love looking at the breathtaking photos that NASA publishes of nebulae and galaxies.
The purple represents the void of space while the gold/yellow represents the stars that accent the sky. A starlight laser projector that sits behind me adds the rotating clouds and stars to deepen the immersion of being in space.
How long did it take you to design everything and put it together?
I moved into this apartment about a year ago and I already had the PC and most of the peripherals when I moved in. Building the desk took about an hour and setting everything up took about 30 minutes.
Since moving in, I've gotten the ultrawide monitor, more lighting, and the laser starlight projector. I only started PC gaming 2 years ago, so it’s been a steady process of adding and upgrading my PC and setup.
Walk us through the process of designing the battlestation.
First step was building my first PC, which I learned how to do through various YouTube videos. Then I built the desk, mounted the monitors, and connected all of the peripherals.
After booting, I used the Corsair iCue software to set up all of my lighting. I set the static color of everything to purple, set certain keys on my keyboard (like WASD) to a static dark yellow/gold, then set a type lighting effect so that every time I press a key or click my mouse it sends a ripple of gold across all of my peripherals and PC components.
What are your PC’s specs?
- Intel® Core™ i7-7700K
- Gigabyte Z270 Gaming 5 motherboard
- CORSAIR Hydro Series H150i PRO CPU Cooler
- Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2070 Windforce
- 16GB CORSAIR 3000MHZ RAM
- 500GB Samsung NVMe SSDs (x2)
- 1TB Western Digital HDD
- 750W EVGA Power Supply
- CORSAIR LL Series RGB fans
- CORSAIR LED strips
- CORSAIR lighting node
What’s your favorite part of your battlestation?
Probably my PC. It’s the first I've ever built and I've been constantly upgrading/adding to it for the past two years.
My favorite accessory is the BlissLights laser projector, which really sets my battlestation apart from all of the other purple/blue RGB battlestations I see on Reddit.
Are there any other future improvements you’d like to make?
At some point, I'll work up the courage to custom water-cool my PC. I would also replace the top monitor with a bigger 4K monitor so that the width matches the bottom ultrawide monitor.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
