How to decase your pc

Episode#20 Custom Virtual Pinball Cabinet Build
In this video I will be showing you how to decase your pc and mount it on a removable/sliding shelf so you can do maintenance or upgrade with ease. So whether you just need extra room or just want to ditch the extra weight of the case and the unused components, this will work beautifully in your virtual pinball cabinet or arcade cabinet. In fact this video can also be used to learn how to make a very cool custom wall mounted pc that you can trick out and impress all your friends.
I also hook up all of the monitors, switching power strip, remote power button, locks on the access doors, and show the first shots of what this cabinet will look like during play!
These links will take you to the parts I used in this build/video and help support my channel! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
Drawer slides (I used Richleau but these should work) amzn.to/3HVsrvg
Inline fuse holders amzn.to/3Y5ZkLa
Terminal Blocks amzn.to/3Rq3Dig
USB Extension amzn.to/3HLPZT6
Fork Spade Terminals amzn.to/3jn7qQw
PC power supply amzn.to/3Jv7wjX
4 pin PWM computer fans amzn.to/3JzAnn9
PWM computer fan control board amzn.to/3kWsy0x
Master slave power strip amzn.to/3wMiVEa
ICE320 power outlet amzn.to/3wPmycM
18 gauge wire amzn.to/3HrLITw and 22 gauge wire amzn.to/3HsAsX3
Dupont connector kit amzn.to/3joMJUp and crimpers amzn.to/3l4IttC
5V 60A Power supply amzn.to/3HXtOtr
Startech 7.1 External Video Card amzn.to/3WShz5I
Inline fuse holders amzn.to/3Y5ZkLa
Ground Loop Isolators amzn.to/3HMIZFF
Base Shaker amzn.to/3kTcEUF
Exciters amzn.to/3XVclat
SSF Amplifiers amzn.to/3jnlZDQ
Logitech Z407 Speaker Set amzn.to/3l0nfgD
If you would like to make my vpin cabinet, here is a link to the free plans!
sdssautomotive...
If you design your own, I'd love to see it! Send pics/video to my DM on Instagram!
Special thanks to Michael Roberts for his amazing guide on how to make a vpin cabinet, check it out here. Thanks for the amazing pictures that really help people understand the assembly process.
mjrnet.org/pins...
Copyright ©2016-2021 Michael J. Roberts.
This book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. In brief, this means that you're free to use, share, and adapt this work for any purpose, without seeking further permission from the author, as long as you give appropriate credit and pass along the same permissions in your adapted material.
If you would like to keep up with behind the scenes info, pictures, and videos, follow us at / way_of_the_wrench
If you enjoyed the video, learned some cool tech tips, I would appreciate a like and a subscribe so I can be inspired to create more videos and continue to make better content for you guys! Thanks for watching and if you hit the post notification bell, you will know when our next videos are out!
Music for this very special episode by :
Track: Elektronomia - Collide [NCS Release]
Music provided by NoCopyrightSounds.
Watch: • Elektronomia - Collide...
Free Download / Stream: ncs.io/Collide
Music To Wear Fingerless Gloves To by Punch Deck
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Promoted by @RoyaltyFreePlanet - royaltyfreepla...
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
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Echoes by HurricaneTurtle
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License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 - bit.ly/RFP_CCli...
Nihilore - The Water and the Well: • Nihilore - The Water a...
Thanks to Teknoaxe for his royalty free music for our intro/outro music. Please check out all of Teknoaxe's sweet music tracks!
www.teknoaxe.com
Intro music is Synthwave D
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Outro music is Sythwave E
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Disclaimer: These videos are intended for entertainment and inspiration. Working in a woodshop, metalshop, or autoshop is dangerous without proper safety and experience. Always seek professional advice and training before using any power tools/machinery. If you have any uncertainty before performing any shop procedure, stop and learn a safe method/technique. Do not attempt anything simply because you saw it in one of my videos. Be smart, use common sense, respect your power tools/machines, and be safe.

[@andyb6120]

This man puts Professional VR pinball cabinet builder to Shame with his build quality! He will be taking on Eton Musk next when this project is finished with a Rocket build LOL

[@wayofthewrench]

LOL, glad you think I'm that talented! Have you seen my rocket video? Thanks for the watch!

[@andyb6120]

@@wayofthewrench Not until a minute ago.! I was only joking but seems your working on it already. Impressive stuff!

[@danw3735]

Heheh my old man and I kept making that whistling noise too as we were completing various stages :) It's a good feeling when your build works out.

[@wayofthewrench]

LOL, yeah there's a great feeling that happens when you finish a bit on a project you're working on. Pride in one's work is hard to teach. Cheers!

[@robinvangunst9895]

Always impressed that you centerpunch and predrill. ;)

[@wayofthewrench]

Thanks. Hard to make accurate holes if the drill bit wanders over the wood grain. I'm a tool & die machinist by trade so I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist. Or at least I hate it when stuff isn't right. Thanks for the watch!

[@KongKress]

SWEET !! Dude, you are so crazy with all your ideas and fine details, but I gonna steal it all. So pro, and still so simple, LOVE IT, love your channel, love your work, and love U 🥰 -Kress...

[@wayofthewrench]

LOL...thanks Kress! Go ahead, steal it all for your cab! Since you are such a big fan, do you think you could share out my channel on your social media so I can help more people? Thanks in advance Kress! Cheers!

[@sam27753]

Perfect, everytime a joy to watch!

[@wayofthewrench]

Thanks dude, much appreciated!

[@molarmedic]

Love this series and your ability to teach!

[@wayofthewrench]

This made my day dude, Thanks very much!

[@scottzimmer8336]

Another awesome video! It really is coming together nicely. Thanks for the clear explanations for things such as the wiring and computer switch connections. Looking forward to the next video.

[@wayofthewrench]

Thanks Scott! It's all the little details that really help people, no sense keeping all this experience for myself...lol. Thanks for the watch!

[@salvatorenicoletti221]

grande idea del cassetto estribile. Lo farò anch'io. Sei grande

[@wayofthewrench]

Gracie! Glad you liked the video! Cheers from Canada!

[@AzCowboyOne]

Well done sir. Thank you for providing the plans for this amazing build.

[@wayofthewrench]

Glad you like my slight variation design of a William cab, it's a beast but it should be upgradable to a 48" 4k later. Thanks for the watch dude!

[@mikeyfoofoo]

Nice work! Really dig the shelf. -- Anyone looking for those slide rails should ask people that work on servers. There are usually a few laying around that are decommissioned.

[@wayofthewrench]

Yeah it turned out pretty good. Good tip on finding these for free. I just bought mine cause I didn't have anything kicking around. I think these were pretty reasonable....maybe $15 bucks. Thanks for sharing the tip!

[@paladdin1500]

Next level build !

[@wayofthewrench]

Much appreciated dude! Thanks for the watch!

[@SandmannOZ]

Most PC cases are held together with pop rivets. If you drill them out you can remove the motherboard mounting plate and backplane from the case. You then mount these into your vpin cab (on your very clever sliding tray) which gives you standard PC motherboard mounting points and support for GPU cards, wifi cards, and so on. Holds the expansion cards in place, and lots easier to replace the motherboard if it dies.

[@wayofthewrench]

Ya know I just about did that but I figured people would think it was funny if I just hacked off part of the case and called it decased. So I took the extra steps and did it all. Glad I did though, it was kinda fun to see how to make custom wall mounted pcs that I've been seeing on youtube. Thanks for the watch!

[@peterrasmussen2384]

The hinge can be turned so that the mounting is hidden. Love Your videos.

[@wayofthewrench]

Yeah it can but it's at the back so it's not gonna be seen almost ever. Thanks for the support for the channel!

[@mikebangert9450]

I loved your idea about using the computer power for the launch button. So much I borrowed the idea :) I did notice for my button it came with a bulb for 6.3v and hooked up to 12v power would probably run hot. I swapped out my bulb with #161 and works on 12v power without getting super hot. Just a thought for anyone out there possibly using pinball parts

[@wayofthewrench]

Yeah technically you can make any button do anything. If you use the launch button as a pc power button, won't it shut off if you use it for something else? Or if a friend pushes it to try to launch the ball?

[@mikebangert9450]

@@wayofthewrench lol no I meant using the computer power as a power supply for the light to the launch button

[@mikebangert9450]

That's why I was saying about the light bulb getting hot if you use a 555 bulb that comes with pinball cabinet buttons. They're only suited to take 6v or so. I'm sure you have yours figured out though

[@wayofthewrench]

I took out the bulb and on those rectangular buttons, they are 12v. Now you got me wondering if I need to recheck them......

[@mikebangert9450]

@@wayofthewrench I don't have the rectangular buttons, but my round launch button was a part intended for a real pinball machine. Could be if it came from a virtual pinball site it's been configured for 12v. I wound up buying a second ball launch button. The plastic actually melted enough that the button wouldn't make contact with the micro switch and would get stuck. So it was just a $10 mistake. Also a silly mistake because I didn't double check like I should have. For me it's also the only button with a bulb.

[@MandoMike]

Always look forward to your videos. One thing, for maybe next time, scoot the motherboard to fit the power supply flat, then, lay it on its back (plain metal side down, so you're not blocking any vents) and use the existing screws in its case with long enough "L" brackets to secure it down. Other than that great video as always!

[@wayofthewrench]

Now you got my wondering but I'm pretty sure this power supply only has holes at the back and the front. The pc case is solid underneath where it was mounted so it will run as good as it was when it was inside the pc. Yeah that would be a good idea, I just had some angle iron kicking around and it was quick and dirty. Thanks for the suggestion....now I gotta check the power supply ;) Cheers!

[@MandoMike]

@@wayofthewrench Yea, at 12:18 on the side of your PS those 2 screws for it's casing unscrew those then screw them back in with an "L" bracket and mount. How you did it works great, just a suggestion. Look forward to the next video. I just got my other half of my PC parts and posted a video in group showing what I got. ;)

[@wayofthewrench]

Nice, I'll go check it out. Cheers!

[@danw3735]

Once again quality vid !!

[@wayofthewrench]

Thanks Dan! Cheers!

[@markpoulsen6429]

Yeah buddy! Looks great. Now the part I disliked the most on mine: Tearing it back down for paint.

[@wayofthewrench]

Thanks Mark! Yeah I'm not looking forward to all of the sanding.....(shivers up my spine). Thanks for the watch!

[@danisaacs1029]

Great video! Can you let us know where to find the switched master/slave power strip you used?

[@wayofthewrench]

Hi Dan! It should be in my parts video but if not, I bought mine at London Drugs in Canada. Just look for a master/slave power strip with as many outlets as you can. They are about $35-50. Cheers!

[@edwinnettles3222]

Great video man where'd you get that loading screen I'd like it can I download this anywhere thank you in advance

[@wayofthewrench]

That load screen is in PinupPopper in the media search for loading. Just type pinball and its one of those that will pop up. It's got the music Pinball Wizard by The Who too! Cheers!

[@kdwrghtsr]

One more video left...this caught me by surprise,I guess we're waiting on the glass. And are those wood side angles going to be black or bevelled? We can play some games now...

[@wayofthewrench]

Yeah I had to wait for the glass so I made this video instead. The angled sides of the cabinet? They will get the playfield glass plastic trim installed and the stainless glass trim installed over that. That's in the video out in 2 weeks. Next week is a short video on how to auto login and auto load right into PinupPopper so no keyboard or mouse is required. Yes, we can play some games (with a keyboard) and I'll be honest, I've been playing a bit everyday......too much fun. I already want to load up more tables.....lol. Cheers!

[@jamespressey8610]

wow, How do you know what to wire each wire too. Crazy Skills to do all that electrical work and make it look so easy.

[@wayofthewrench]

Thanks James for the compliment. The thing is that I make it look easy because it is, you just need a little knowledge and some tools to allow you to figure it out. A multimeter is $15 bucks and allows you to check if wires are connected so you can check connections/buttons, etc. As soon as you start using these skills, they stick and start to snowball will other skills, next thing you know this kinda work, whether it is a pinball cabinet, computer, car, motorcycle, etc all make more sense and you can figure stuff out. Also a quick google search goes a long way to confirm things like wiring colours or part diagrams etc. You stay with me James and I'll pass on these skills to you so you can be a gearhead like me! Thanks for the watch!

[@JeffF1999]

Thank you so much for the video! Super informative. Quick question - what are the plastic fasteners you used for the motherboard? I wanted to make sure I bought the same ones.

[@wayofthewrench]

You're very welcome, glad you liked the video! Those are PC board stand offs and you can get them from Amazon. I thought I i had a link for them on that video but maybe it's in the video description in one of my other videos like the relay board one. Thanks for the watch!

[@JeffF1999]

@@wayofthewrench thanks again!!

[@wayofthewrench]

You're very welcome!

[@yaronkadmon7557]

Great series! Inspired me to start my own vpin project. One question though: on one of the earliest videos you considered putting the PC above the rear shaker. but on this one it seems like the drawer sits directly over the floor - any reason why? and if so, where did you placed the rear shaker? Thanks.

[@wayofthewrench]

Yeah the back door cut out wasn't tall enough for the shaker and the PC plus the monitor would hit when tilted up. So I put the deceased PC on the drawer and placed the rear base shaker just in front of the drawer when it's fully in. Thanks for the watch and enjoy your build!

[@brodzowski]

I started this video with "meh - I know all this". The title is deceiving. There was a LOT more useful information later on. I feel like your series will be the defacto "go to" video series for a step by step build. Another two weeks is gonna suck for a new one. HOW satisfying to see it all in place at the END! *thumbs up!* Today I learned that the YELLOW wire on a computer power supply is actually 12v instead of the red... Huh! My Kreg pocket jig arrives today! (already had the table and the track saw.) Getting close to chopping up some panels!

[@wayofthewrench]

Ya know there are so many big figures in this hobby that have helped people with their vpins and I'm appreciative of their efforts because without them, I wouldn't have made it this far. So I have taken their information and added my experience to try to create a diy series that hopefully can help the community and get a whole new generation of kids excited about pinball. Glad you're learning lots....my job is done here. LOL. By the way there is a video out in a week and another one out in 2 weeks. Thanks for the support of the channel! Cheers!

[@CementRoots]

HauntFreaks approved!! ;)

[@wayofthewrench]

Thanks Bruh! Glad you like that I freed the pc from it's confines.....cheers!

[@CementRoots]

2014 kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnPGn6uDiJ6JmbM

[@CementRoots]

@@wayofthewrench the whole build is great.... what a build series should look like.... enjoy!!

[@wayofthewrench]

Curious....are you the same HauntFreaks that made a bunch of the vpx tables?

[@CementRoots]

@@wayofthewrench the exact one.... over 8yrs of this silliness

[@keithk888]

Really well done! I'm not quite ready to go to this length though...maybe someday. Been looking for pc hiding solutions...can you think of a way to put a shelf that can sustain the weight of a pc tower on the back of an ATGames Pinball cab to keep it somewhat hidden? I'm guessing you can't trust the cab to hold much weight laterally like that.

[@wayofthewrench]

Thanks! You could just attach some angle brackets and attach to the back or even underneath the cabinet. Just be very careful that you don't screw into any electrical parts, only the case itself. Or you could decase and put inside....cheers!

[@keithk888]

@@wayofthewrench Thanks, I like the idea of some C or U brackets holding a shelf underneath towards the back as long as I avoid the electronics inside the cab, I'll look more into that!

[@wayofthewrench]

Yeah that should work too!

[@Urko2005]

Nice.

[@wayofthewrench]

Thanks Bruh!

[@EradTheNoob]

hello very good video! thx! Have you had any vibration problems with your "integrated pc" since then? A lot of people complain about components that don't work very well after months of use (memory, CPU...), and the reason would be because the shaker makes too much vibration on the computer components that are attached to the wood. Have you encountered this problem, and wouldn't the use of silent blocks be the best solution to avoid it?

[@wayofthewrench]

Not at all but when I reassemble the vpin cab after painting, I will be adding some anti vibration matting under the drawer slide brackets and the pc mounting board just to make sure. Thanks for the watch!

[@djcasl]

Nice vid, I am wondering what you are going to do for airflow for cooling. I am going to put the powersupply directly on the bottom plate. With a hole in the bottom plate so it can suck cool air directly. Als make it so the air out the back will not build up in the cabinet itself. Keep up the vids, looking forward to the next one.

[@wayofthewrench]

What I'm planning on is 2 120mm intake fans at the front of the bottom piece of the cabinet and 2 120mm exhaust fans on the back of the cabinet. There are also vent holes at the top of the back piece on the back box. This should be enough but I'm installing a pwm control board that alarms at a set temperature and you can control the fan speed too. Thanks for the watch!

[@danw3735]

Honestly, you don't really need any cooling apart from the cpu/gpu fan, the cabinet is big enough for the heat to dissipate. but extra fans won't hurt.

[@djcasl]

@@danw3735 I am working on a smaller build, so everything is going to be cramped up more in my case. I have seen other builds where the put the intake of the power supply on the side, but I don't like that option. With the extra fans he is installing I think he should be fine.

[@Zetiarcade]

i love it!!!!

[@wayofthewrench]

Thanks! I love this project too. Cheers!

[@aussiejace8572]

question why didnt you use the front panel pins on the mother board to hook up the power on off button to the pins and the power light to the pins as well so when you press the buttons it controls all that function even the power etc...

[@wayofthewrench]

Not really sure what you mean. I used the same connections that the PC had for the power button and used the owner in the cabinet to power the button light. Works like a charm. Thanks for the watch!

[@aussiejace8572]

@@wayofthewrench i mean my motherboard has a pin for power button and a pin for the power light so instead of hooking the light on the power button to an external one i can just wire it to the mother board pin that says power light so it will then light up the button when i press power no need to wire it to external power source.

[@ryanbarre2390]

are you going to paint or decal. would it be easier to do without everything hooked up?

[@wayofthewrench]

Yes I am going to but not yet. I just got my TOTAN vinyl the other day...super excited. I like to get my builds completed before I rip them apart to do the final finishing to the cabinet. That way I'm not redoing paint or scratching up stuff before it's done or if I have to make changes to anything. To be honest, I'm dreading all of the sanding that is coming soon.....Cheers!

[@jacooosthuizen3593]

Is your tv monitor laying flat horizontally or is it slightly tilted higher in the back?

[@wayofthewrench]

Yes it is 1" down at the front and 4" down at the back. This measurement is from the angled side of the cabinet so it's tilted towards the player. Thanks for the watch!

[@sailingsvzara]

Does your graphics card have three HDMI ports to feed the playfield, DMD, and backglass?

[@wayofthewrench]

It has 3 or 4 ports, I believe it has 2 HDMI and one Display port.....I can't remember exactly but in this video or the monitors video I show me plugging in the cables to the gpu. You need enough ports to hook up to all of your monitors. You can also get cables that convert Display port to hdmi etc. Cheers!

[@shawns156]

Why did you mount your tv panel with a backboard angle, when the pinball games already have a backboard in their rendering? Doesn't that deeper angle make playing nausiating?

[@wayofthewrench]

Nope, I enjoy how it looks and plays and as a side benefit, there is room for my aled matrix. Thanks for the watch!

[@kevinback1415]

I have a question that how the monitor and TVs turn on automatically without pushing the power button on each of them?

[@wayofthewrench]

Depends on the tv/monitor but usually most are auto on if you turn them on and just unplug them. When you plug them back in, they just turn on. If not, there are tricks like IR blaster kits to send an on button signal after the pc starts up. Mine just turns on when the master / slave power strip gets power. Thanks for the watch!

[@Vidal2021]

You mentioned the shelf would be a 15" square. Is the slide also 15" ? Thanks.

[@wayofthewrench]

The slide is 16" so it extends past a bit but doesn't matter as it has the room to go past ( it's not a traditional drawer). Thanks for the watch!

[@Vidal2021]

@@wayofthewrench I'm a huge fan of this video series. A side of me wishes I had found your videos after you've finished. I know it takes time to get the content on KZbin. Thanks.

[@wayofthewrench]

It takes even longer to put out great content....I spend waaaay too long filming/editing to make sure this is the best content I can create for my subscribers. I know I have something special when I get multiple comments about when is the next video out. Thanks for the watch!

[@garrettsmith2993]

Great series. I also watched your arcade cab build to see if my thinking on how to build it was accurate. There were only a couple things that I hadn't thought of. So thank you for that. Quick question. Which brand and model of power strip did you use? I was hoping it was in the description, but you hadn't put it there. If you could please provide that info, it would be greatly appreciated.

[@wayofthewrench]

Thanks Bruh! Yeah there's many different ways to build these things, ot just depends on whatcha want. I like big heavy and strong builds that will last the age of time....lol. The power strip should be in my parts video. It is actually a London Drugs brand smart power strip that was around $50 CAN but any electronics store or Amazon should have it. Just get one with lots of switched on outlets. Thanks for the watch!

[@Krondorf.]

Isn't the PC on the shelf pretty much taking up just as much room as the case? And personal preference.. i would have removed the GPU bracket from the GPU to drill those holes..

[@wayofthewrench]

It actually didn't fit so the decase was needed. With the pullout shelf, it makes it really easy to work on if needed. Yeah that might have been smarter to do that and not risk the gpu. Thanks for the watch!

[@OzStick]

I hope you're not expecting miracles from that poor Nvidia GTX1050 card - 3 monitors and running Pup Packs needs a bit of firepower! What resolution are you running on those 3 screens?

[@wayofthewrench]

Yeah Im not expecting too much from this but for a budget build, I'm getting 3 screens with 1080p resolution at 60 hz. Remember my gpu is a free gtx 770 so later I'll spend some money and get a 4k @ 120 hz plus pup packs capable gpu. I'm gonna try and see if I can run a pup pack with my current set up though. I'm expecting choppy video from it if it does work so we'll just have to see. Thanks for the watch and the suggestion to use a better gpu than my dumpster find....lol. Cheers!

[@OzStick]

@@wayofthewrench Good luck with the GTX770. You can always lower the resolution of the backglass and DMD screens to "steal back" a bit of performance if you find that it struggles on too many tables. I personally don't see the need to run either of those screens at 1080 when the main focus will be on the playfield nearly all the time.

[@wayofthewrench]

Yeah that's a really good point, I'll try that if it's needed. Otherwise when this budget build is done, its an upgrade to 4k. Cheers!

[@Leroys_Stuff]

I just did this the pi just wasn’t cutting it

[@wayofthewrench]

Oh cool, you had a raspberry pi in it? Were you using fx3 then?

[@Leroys_Stuff]

@@wayofthewrench I made an arcade now need to find another home for it

[@wayofthewrench]

Maybe a super portable table top pinball build? I kinda want to do one now cause the wife says I can't bring mine into the living room...lol.

[@ObiWan80186]

IF you decase the pc - and some day, maybe tomorrow, next week, next year… you are fiddling with something inside your VPIN - and you drop something - you can break something, fry some electronics or just screw something up. It’s not guaranteed to happen, but it can. And Murphy’s law says it will. Keep that case on… get a cheap, small case and rest easy.

[@wayofthewrench]

Ya you're probably right, the case is there for a reason but in my situation, I needed the space. If something happens, maybe I will upgrade to 4k even earlier....lol. Thanks for the watch!

[@namtech425]

Yu got M.2 on there, why oh why did you get a 2.5" drive - just more bulk to mount somewhere. Smaller is better (not what SHE said)...

[@wayofthewrench]

Yes but it's also a budget build and I wanted to show the cloning of a drive so I went with a ssf drive and saved that money for other projects. M.2 will go on my big budget for sure. Thanks for the suggestion and the watch! Cheers!

[@pauliboo2]

New subscriber here. Any chance of getting rid of the techno music in the time lapse? Just do a voice over of what you’re doing. Thanks

[@wayofthewrench]

Welcome to the gang Paul! We are 11.5k strong now and growing fast! Thanks for your suggestion but no music during time lapse sections would be really dry me thinks. It's also really hard to find decent royalty free music so I use synthwave mostly because I found it doesn't have singing and gives a certain feel to it. I'm actually an Alternative guy personally (Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, etc). I have done some voice over stuff but kinda find it boring so I don't do it much. Thanks for the sub and the suggestion Paul! Cheers!

[@TheNickybocker]

my pc sits on my desk top I run one usb and one hdmi to the cabinet

[@wayofthewrench]

Nice! Thanks for the watch!