For a home setup, I have to admit that I have more computers than I need. It is often asked, why do you need to have some many powerful computers? To be completely honest, for most of the time, I don't. I developed a strong interest in computers during my masters program and I've been pursuing this interest ever since. It would be rather difficult if I wasn't interest in PCs and still have so many rigs around me. If you take a look at my rigs, you'd observe that these are actually made up of several generations of computing technologies. When it comes to a point that when I need to get a new motherboard to move with technological developments, I simply get a new box to put the older stuff into... Hence I managed to build up such a collection of machines.

In case you're wondering, yes, I sometimes get rather frustrated by my computers. The PC is as widely used as it today because it is based on open, exact standards. However, not all standards work together; and even when they do, human errors (usually my fault) and other little quirks somehow make PCs behave differently from how one would expect - that usually means certain parts don't work. Bug hunting on PCs can sometime be very frustrating. Usually, online resources can lead to discovery of solutions and sometimes it can be as simple as re-reading the user manuals (Geeks' moto: "If in doubt, consult the manual."). The method of trial and error and perseverance will eventually solve the problems. However, when all the obvious routes to solve the problems appear to have be exhausted, there are times I wish I was brave enough to do this to my rig(s) to relieve my anger and frustration...

In case you're thinking what kind of a person would want to have so many rigs in his/her possession, here's a quote I found in an article called "What your PC says about you" in Custom PC, which I think sums up my attitude very nicely:

"Dual-Processor Super-PC: A huge, dual-processor machine is perhaps the ultimate in nerd-chic, but its a fine example of the maxim that it's not what's on the outside that's important - it's what's on the inside. The kind of person who would own and build a behemoth like this isn't concerned with what anyone thinks about its appearance - he (and it usually is a he) is interested in raw computational performance. This is a machine for the purist, rather than anyone interested in flash or style - the sort of person who wants to play Doom 3 at Ultra quality, rip a DVD and still be able to run Folding@home at the same time."

Details of my current PC setups

Pictures of my setups

Old and retired PC parts

Too Many Rigs!

Desktop images

Current Dream Rig

Past Dream Rigs