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takua108

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My PC/video game dorm room setup is complete!

So I've been in college for like a month now, but my A/V setup has been crap. I've had to unplug cables left and right to switch between my PC and Xbox 360 and, because I don't have a TV in my dorm but do have a monitor, I had to buy a series of cables that would separate out the audio and video to make it all work. 
 
Finally I got fed up with it, and ordered a three-way RCA switch and a three-way HDMI switch. Tonight I finally got everything all set up, and here's how it looks: 

No Caption Provided
Sorry about the terrible image quality, but I took it with my cell phone camera. Not labelled is that tiny black-and-gray thing up next to the center channel speaker: the infrared receiver for the HDMI-switching remote. Also, the HDMI switch itself is not pictured, as it is duct-taped to the bunk bed's supporting beam behind the laptop. 
 
So yeah, now all I have to do to switch between my PC, laptop, and 360 is press a button on the remote (1 for PC, 2 for Xbox 360, 3 for laptop or other "auxiliary" device) and switch the RCA switch to the same number, and then boom, it works. The only downside is only my PC gets full 5.1 sound; everything else gets 2.1. 
  
(Also, the damned HDMI switch [which was only $5.00 on Amazon, by the way] didn't come with a DC adapter, so I had to pick one up from Wal-Mart for three times the price of the device itself.)  
 
I do have a second monitor, my old 22" 1680x1050 scratched and dented LCD, and I'm considering setting it up as a second monitor for the PC only.

So yeah... does anyone else have any cool low-ish budget dorm-room setups? Not including the key devices themselves, all the cables and switches probably cost about $60.
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takua108

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Edited By takua108

So I've been in college for like a month now, but my A/V setup has been crap. I've had to unplug cables left and right to switch between my PC and Xbox 360 and, because I don't have a TV in my dorm but do have a monitor, I had to buy a series of cables that would separate out the audio and video to make it all work. 
 
Finally I got fed up with it, and ordered a three-way RCA switch and a three-way HDMI switch. Tonight I finally got everything all set up, and here's how it looks: 

No Caption Provided
Sorry about the terrible image quality, but I took it with my cell phone camera. Not labelled is that tiny black-and-gray thing up next to the center channel speaker: the infrared receiver for the HDMI-switching remote. Also, the HDMI switch itself is not pictured, as it is duct-taped to the bunk bed's supporting beam behind the laptop. 
 
So yeah, now all I have to do to switch between my PC, laptop, and 360 is press a button on the remote (1 for PC, 2 for Xbox 360, 3 for laptop or other "auxiliary" device) and switch the RCA switch to the same number, and then boom, it works. The only downside is only my PC gets full 5.1 sound; everything else gets 2.1. 
  
(Also, the damned HDMI switch [which was only $5.00 on Amazon, by the way] didn't come with a DC adapter, so I had to pick one up from Wal-Mart for three times the price of the device itself.)  
 
I do have a second monitor, my old 22" 1680x1050 scratched and dented LCD, and I'm considering setting it up as a second monitor for the PC only.

So yeah... does anyone else have any cool low-ish budget dorm-room setups? Not including the key devices themselves, all the cables and switches probably cost about $60.
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KaosAngel

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Edited By KaosAngel

...that is the ugliest fucking PC case I have ever seen. 
 
Aside from that, I is the happy for you and like the organization.  :) 
 
Congrats.

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takua108

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Edited By takua108
@KaosAngel: That's the same PC case I've had since like 1999! Keepin' it real old-school, pretty much. Plastic covers for unused drive bays? We don't need no stinkin' plastic cover for unused drive bays! 
 
...I am going to get a real PC case when I do a full upgrade of my PC, though. I think it's time to retire the old beige box. (Not pictured: the left-side panel is totally missing.)
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rentfn

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Edited By rentfn

That is a very sweet set up. This picture is pre-"next-gen" but here was my set up.

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sodiumCyclops

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Edited By sodiumCyclops

Is that really a good idea to have your 360 sitting right on top of your subwoofer? The vibrations can't be good for it.

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wolf_blitzer85

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Edited By wolf_blitzer85

Yo dog where do you put your legs when you're typing?...I mean if you're doing any homework that is....
 
Looks like a typical' dorm room set up. Getto rigged to shit but awesomely functional.
 
In my experience, make sure you turn some of that equipment off at night. If that's your bed, that shit gets fucking hotter than all hell, especially with a lady friend up there. No fun.
 
Oh, and forget about anything that falls behind the desk. That shit is lost forever.
 
@sodiumCyclops said:

" Is that really a good idea to have your 360 sitting right on top of your subwoofer? The vibrations can't be good for it. "


This dude has a point. Plus that sub is going to get hot too. And we all know that heat+Xbox means no Fallout: New Vegas for you (or whichever games you may be looking forward to).
 
No worries, I'm not criticizing or anything. Just these kinds of setups have unforeseen complications and I am just trying to help a dude out.
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ch3burashka

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Edited By ch3burashka

No matter how you spin it, it's still a dorm room. Nice use of space, though.

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HitmanAgent47

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Edited By HitmanAgent47

That's a real ghetto pc case, why don't you take it one step futher and get an antec 300, totally ghetto. By ghetto, I mean it looks cheap and looks like shit.

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skadbob

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Edited By skadbob
@sodiumCyclops said:
" Is that really a good idea to have your 360 sitting right on top of your subwoofer? The vibrations can't be good for it. "
Yeah that was my first thought as well. Also... where are you planning on putting your legs when you sit at your desk?
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W0lfbl1tzers

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Edited By W0lfbl1tzers
@HitmanAgent47 said:
"

That's a real ghetto pc case, why don't you take it one step futher and get an antec 300, totally ghetto. By ghetto, I mean it looks cheap and looks like shit.

"
I love you Hitman
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SeriouslyNow

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Edited By SeriouslyNow
@HitmanAgent47 said:
"

That's a real ghetto pc case, why don't you take it one step futher and get an antec 300, totally ghetto. By ghetto, I mean it looks cheap and looks like shit.

"
Yeah!  NEEDS MOAR BLING, OH OH AND A SIDE WINDOW!
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FesteringNeon

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Edited By FesteringNeon

lol when I went to school in 2001, we had 3 foot Cerwin Vega towers with 15" woofers, a Polk Audio powered sub, two cerwin mids and center for surround, xbox, ps2, 36' tv, 2 desktops, double capacity mini fridge, shag carpet, oil projectors, recliner, those lightning things from spencers.. etc.  boom room 208.  The hall managers hated power hour when we were there. But they said it could go as loud as we wanted.. so we shook the whole dorm :)  
 
 @takua108 - I actually like the case tbh. I have a sleeper system myself encased in an old HP tower. Gets 'em everytime.

 boom
 boom
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YoThatLimp

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Edited By YoThatLimp
@SeriouslyNow said:
" @HitmanAgent47 said:
"

That's a real ghetto pc case, why don't you take it one step futher and get an antec 300, totally ghetto. By ghetto, I mean it looks cheap and looks like shit.

"
Yeah!  NEEDS MOAR BLING, OH OH AND A SIDE WINDOW! "
LEDS FO REALZ KEEPS THE SHIT FAST
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HitmanAgent47

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Edited By HitmanAgent47
@Metalideth: Maybe instead of a side window, add some rims.
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FunExplosions

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Edited By FunExplosions

I like how you have two GiantBombs up... obviously covering up the mess of bestiality porn that was just minutes-ago covering your laptop's screen. 
@W0lfbl1tzers:
@SeriouslyNow:
Hitman's gaming center: 
 
"Pretty lame, I know. My parents won't budge with the fourth and fifth monitors until I go to my sister's funeral. And I couldn't even get my robot programmed to fetch my Sparks from the fridge. Life sucks."

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takua108

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Edited By takua108

Okay so quick question re: putting a 360 on top of a subwoofer. My roommate (the dorms are a suite so we're in separate rooms) said the same thing you guys are, about how it's probably not a good idea to put the two together. He said putting some cardboard between them would greatly improve things; I'm skeptical. 
 
It's probably not that big of a deal with the subwoofer, though, really, because I have my bass turned down to zero most of the time... but yeah, thanks for the criticism anyways, I'm looking into how to Tetris everything further without having to resort to verticallying my 360.

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SeriouslyNow

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Edited By SeriouslyNow

Don't put your 360 on the subwoofer.  Cardboard doesn't protect against magnetism (which could erase your HDD and possibly, but rarely, damage your 360's motherboard or wireless transceiver) and it's not a reliable anti vibrational material.

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takua108

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Edited By takua108
@SeriouslyNow: So if I put them side-by-side will everything be OK?
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SeriouslyNow

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Edited By SeriouslyNow
@takua108:  Why not next to the PC?
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takua108

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Edited By takua108
@SeriouslyNow: Alright, now PC and 360 are side-by-side, and subwoofer is off to the side. Hopefully nothing will magnetically implode now :)