PC modder turns GPU into a miniature rail yard complete with working locomotive

[Shawn Knight]

Outside The Box A hardware tinkerer on Reddit has shared a simple but elegant mod that has the comments section roaring with approval. Rather than overclocking a CPU to new heights or installing a custom liquid cooling kit, Beautiful-Turnip-353 installed a miniature model train set atop his GPU.

According to Tom's Hardware, the railroad equipment came from T-gauge, a hobby company specializing in small-scale components. For now, the conductor is using an Arduino on a USB port to send a PWM 5V signal to the rails. Depending on the duty cycle of the PWM, the modder should be able to control the speed of the train.

Others were quick to chime in with praise and tips for future revisions. One person suggested running it off a 5V PWM fan header, which could have the train speed up or slow down based on how intensely the PC is being used. Another member pointed to a piece of open-source software called FanControl that could provide more granular control over the train's speed.

GPU Mounted Model Train
byu/Beautiful-Turnip-353 inPcBuild

It's absolutely silly and pointless yet somehow, everyone (myself included) seems to love it. It's different from the norm and there's something mesmerizing about watching the train go round and round. Perhaps a future build in a horizontal case could implement even more fan-sourced ideas.

Imagine a full rustic scene complete with railroad crossing, tiny cars, and more. I don't know about you, but I'd certainly like to see it.

Tom's linked to the T-gauge website where there's a whole slew of trains and supporting accessories to choose from. The last thing I need right now is another hobby to sink money into, but I'm perfectly fine watching someone else do the deed.

Is this the coolest idea for a case decoration theme to come down the tracks in a while? I remember when the fish tank thing was all the rage years ago, but this beats that IMO.

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PC modder turns GPU into a miniature rail yard complete with working locomotive

 

[FF222]

"PC modder turns GPU into"
You realize GPU means "Graphics Processing Unit", and is the central chip of a video card, not the whole video card itself, don't you?

 

[scavengerspc]

"PC modder turns GPU into"
You realize GPU means "Graphics Processing Unit", and is the central chip of a video card, not the whole video card itself, don't you?

Yeah brother, so if you lost a stick, I know where it went.

 

[NicktheWVAHick]

My 2 favorite hobbies combined into one. Who’d have thunk it possible?

 

[Banirati]

Didn’t think I’d ever see PC modding and model trains come together, but it weirdly works. Now I kinda want one running laps during stress tests.

 

[mbk34]

If you have the micro controller then you could add a tiny railway switch to let the train take different routes as the circle might get a bit boring after a while. You could have tiny skyscrapers in the middle painted in thermochromic paint that changes colour with the temperature. Or maybe just use LEDs to alter the colours. Maybe also add a tiny lava lamp in the centre pretending to be a tall circular building in the middle. The microcontroller could get the train to stop at a station or disappear for a while in a tunnel. Maybe even have little LED lights for the train to obey.