Overlord’s Desk 2.0

Right now, my gaming drug of choice is Path of Exile. It’s a fun game similar to Diablo. The new expansion begins on March 8th, so I’ve been winding down and patiently waiting for the new xpac to drop. It’s free to play, so if you ever want to check it out, head on over to Steam or Grinding Gear Games.

I should probably start at the beginning. My love for gaming started with the Atari. We had an old Atari and I played the crap out of Pac-Man and Pong back in the 80’s. In the 90’s I had a Nintendo, and SNES. My dad really did not like me gaming, so the SNES was the last gaming system he bought me. When I was in high school, my older brother bought me a PlayStation. My games of choice were Resident Evil and Parasite Eve. Then,  in the late 90’s, there was EverQuest. I would say that was my exodus from console gaming to PC gaming. I am a former World of Warcraft player, and before that, I dabbled in Dark Age of Camelot. Currently, my husband is infatuated with Super Mario World ROM Hacks. And, yes, we watch other people play games. Shout out to LaserBelch, Barbarous King, Noble Tofu, and Grand Pooh Bear. We love you, guys. Actually, Laser is my favorite. Just saying.

Just a few weeks ago, FC Grand Central looked like this:

It was a hot mess. The main issue with my setup was no room for my snacks, guys. Also, look at that dank chair. Let me tell you about that chair. I got it on clearance. There was a reason it was on clearance. However, I was paying marching band fees for my high school kid, and I didn’t have the skrilla to buy a good chair. This chair frequently tried to kill me. Straight up murder me. You know when the lock suddenly unlocks and you start free falling backwards? Yeah, enough was enough. But, more on that later.

One might ask, “FC, what kind of potato are you running?”

My fellow casuals, my potato (slang for bad computer for you less-than-casuals) is old. It was high speed years ago, but now, it is an ancient relic that probably deserves an Asgardian lantern ceremony sending it off to Valhalla.

I have an Intel 3.40 GHz i7 quad core 4th gen processor. They don’t even make them anymore. At the time I originally bought my potato, it was one of the top processors out there. That should say something.

My name is La Shell, and I only have 8 GB of RAM. You can throw stones at me later.

I am running a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050. It’s a decent, budget video card. It plays WoW just fine, guys. As long as you’re not trying to stream, it’s filthy casual approved. If you’re looking to upgrade your card, but you’re on a budget, you can pick one up through Amazon here for roughly $130.00: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050

I am currently only running the one monitor, but I usually dual monitor. My other monitor died and I never got around to replacing it. The one I have now is a Dell, and it isn’t even an Ultra Sharp. That says all it has to. The plan is eventually upgrade back up to dual monitors better suited for gaming with higher refresh rates.

While my son was in high school, my extra cheddar went to band, so my setup became plebeian utilitarian.

Even my desk is plebeian utilitarian. I got it from Ikea.

A couple of weeks ago, my chair tried to kill me three times in one day. I kept knocking things down. I had no where to put my lunch. I had it. I decided to treat myself.

How did I treat myself?

Well, I am glad you asked. BEHOLD! The Filthy Casual’s Casual Desk 2.0! Welcome to my half of our really tiny office that we have to share gaming lair!

It all started the when I had no where to put my luncheon.

My husband comes in with lunch and says, “Here is your lunch.”

And, I’m all, “But it will be in my way. I choose to starve.”

And, he is all, “Look here, bar wench. If you start to die, I am not going to save you.”

And, I’m all, “YOU WOULDN’T EVEN TOSS ME A HEAL?!?”

And, he’s all, “No. Should have stopped to eat your luncheon.”

And, I’m all, “Motherforker. I hope you choke on this delicious luncheon you made me.”

*Actual conversation…well. At least, this is how it sounded in my head*

So, I dragged Casey out on a weeknight…let me repeat that. I dragged Casey out on A WEEKNIGHT. Now, I feel like I have to stop there and let you know. Venturing out on a weeknight is equivalent to Frodo deciding to take a stroll to Mordor to throw some jerk’s ring into the flaming pits of Hell. It is done with great consideration, extreme drama and emotional turmoil, and moral struggle.

Okay. Can we talk about Lord of the Rings for one hot minute? Does anyone else ever feel like LoTR is one long breakup movie?

Sauron: I want to control all ‘dem hoes! I just have to put a ring on it.

Elves: Oh, Sauron, you hunk. Wait. Are you trying to control us?! You a’int foolin’ no one! You better get to steppin!

Dwarves: We don’t mind a sugar daddy. We want all those sparklies!

Humans: Derp!

Elves to Humans: Dude. Don’t let him put a ring on it. I’ll take you to the store to return it. You can break free!

Humans: Bro, I got this.

He didn’t. Not even a little. That weak bastard put the ring back on.

The Fellowship: Man, this ring has got to go. It keeps drawing out all the side-chicks. *side eye to Gollum*

Frodo: Tell me why this is any of my business? Fine. I will take your stupid ring back to the store so you won’t be tempted to put it back on! WTF, guys.

Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas are the ride-or-die kind of friends. Boromir is the backstabbing, double-crossing sociopath. Peregrin and Took are the two friends that do nothing but instigate and cause trouble. Then, there’s Gandalf. That motherforker. He’s that one smart friend that doesn’t quite fit in with the crew, but you keep him around because he is OP AF. Then, there is Samwise. Sweet, sweet Samwise. If he were an anime character, he would be the ever-loyal childhood friend who will forever hold that unrequited love torch.

Enter Gollum. He’s the side-chick that nurtured the ring while Sauron plotted his way back to the scene.

Frodo ends up becoming friends with the side-chick. Gollum isn’t so bad.

Gollum: FOOL! I’m not your friend. I just want the ring back! My precious! You aren’t worthy of the power it possesses!

Frodo: Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!

Moral of the story: It never pays to be the side-chick. But, I digress.

We went to Ikea and found a desk that would accommodate an area specifically for my lunch. I even made sure it had plenty room for my cafeteria trays. Yes, I eat off of cafeteria trays, don’t you? I don’t really like my food to touch.

Ok. Back to my upgrades.

On top of the desk, I upgraded a few peripherals to make my noob setup a bit less noob looking. The first upgrade I wanted to add was LED lighting. I actually like gaming in the dark. Yes, Carol, I know that’s bad for your eyes. Can we focus, people? Get it. Focus? Bad on your eyes?! Ha. Ha. I thought that was funny.

Anyhow, I ended up picking up this really cheap LED strip from Amazon. I’ve been using the strip for a few weeks and I love it. It is not the most well made, but it gives off a lot of light. The particular strip that purchased was just long enough to go around my 24-inch monitor with just enough length to plug into my headphone stand. Definitely Casual Approved. Has a nice sticky underside, but I recommend some small, clear Command hooks at the corners of the monitor to alleviate some stress when you bend the lighting strip. All the deets are on the Amazon page. It’s a good gamble for $14. If it dies after a couple of months, you really didn’t lose much. Hit up my affiliate link to check it out: LED Monitor Lights

I also upgraded my gaming mat. I opted to pick up an XL gaming mat. I prefer the look. My goal was to make my desk as gaudy as I could with the LED, so I picked up a Blade Hawks XL gaming mat. I’ve been using it for a couple of weeks, and no complaints. I love the LED features. It is very easy to cycle through the different modes. The mat is USB powered, so make sure you figure out how you plan to power your peripherals first. Unfortunately, at the time of writing this post, Amazon did not have the exact mat that I purchased, however, you can follow my affiliate link to other RGB gaming mats if you’re interested: RGB Gaming Mats

The upgrade I was most excited for was THIS:

I bought a Razer Huntsman Quartz. When I opened the box, the angels wept at its sheer beauty. After having used it for a few weeks, it is sublime. You can go search all the nerdy reviews you want about tech specs. I could absolutely care less about that. First, she’s a sexy lady. Who knew a keyboard could look so sexy in Pepto Bismol pink? It features Razer’s chroma system. The lighting on this keyboard is just awesome. If you love mechanical keyboards, the opto-mechanical keys are amazing. I love everything about this keyboard. In the words of Ferris Bueller, “It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.”

I am not an affiliate of Razer. If you’re interested in learning more about the Huntsman, you can follow this non-affiliate link to their website: https://www.razer.com/campaigns/quartz

The last upgrade I did was FINALLY purchase a headphone stand. I needed bypass USB ports to power my gaming mat and headphones. I originally wanted to get the matching Razer stand, but in the end, I couldn’t justify the cost. It just holds your headphones. I picked this guy up: COZOO Desktop Gaming Headset Holder

It holds up my gaming headphones just fine. The USB ports work well. The plugs work well. For $35.00, you get some bang for your buck. I wish it had some LED, but we can’t always get what we want in the price point we want it in.

I have some anime artwork on the way, so I’ll share that once it arrives from Poland. I am a big fan of anime. I did have one more upgrade, but it is deserving of its own post. More on that later…

I am Razer brand enthusiast. I love their products. Do you have a favorite brand for your peripherals? If you have any questions or comments, feel free to share in the comments or e-mail me at filthycasualblog@gmail.com.

Thanks for stopping by!