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.
Found is a TechSpot feature where we share clever, funny or otherwise interesting stuff from around the web.