Your desk setups, part 2: Rafael’s office behind a wardrobe

As the saying goes, if you want a job done properly, do it yourself. And Rafael has put a lot of effort into his desk setup. When he’s not reviewing the work of 15 people as a product owner, he likes to get to work himself.

Rafael’s home office is separated from the rest of his bedroom by a wardrobe. He clad the back wall of it in artificial stone made of Styrofoam. Wooden hardware creates an even more natural vibe.

The hardware: a converted case with a wood finish

Unsurprisingly, Rafael built his PC himself. The case is a Corsair 4000D Airflow. The wooden front, however, is one of Rafael’s own creations. There’s also a small monitor inside with a self-made AIDA64 sensor panel. His daughter also has a creative touch. She made a homemade HeyClay dog that sits inside the PC.

Rafael’s right-hand man assembling the PC? YouTube. The monitor in the case was added later. Which was a lot of work. Since Rafael made the hole for the screen, all of the PC parts that had already been installed had to be sealed airtight.

The front of the PC case has a natural wood look. Rafael used thin wooden slats, cut them to size, then sanded and oiled them. A practical addition is the frame, which can be attached magnetically. The built-in RTX 3080 graphics card is a stunner, but, unfortunately, it’s also expensive.

The speakers: practically homemade

The Logitech speakers are a bit old and Rafael stopped liking them. A homemade solid wood case was supposed to replace the boring original. However, this was more work than Rafael originally thought. No wonder – the only original parts left are the drivers. Rafael replaced everything else.

Cable management: peripheral switches at the touch of a button

Rafael is one of those people who likes to keep things tidy. That’s why he’s particularly proud of his cable management. All of his USB peripherals are routed to two USB hubs. Rafael can switch his mouse, headset, dongle, speakers, webcam and keyboard from his gaming PC to the laptop docking station using a Delock USB switch.

Even the laptop slot isn’t a mass-produced product. Rafael’s version: a perforated metal filing tray, screwed in under the table in a suitable place. The laptop creates heat when it’s working. To prevent the device from overheating, Rafael has attached a Noctua fan under the mesh tray to provide additional cooling. The fan can be activated with a switch under the table when required. The laptop docking station also has its own permanent place for neat cable management.

Rafael’s highlight: a sweet decorative element

For once, Rafael didn’t make the figure decorations himself, but they do come from the same household. They’re a Christmas present from his daughter. No wonder they’re one of his favourite decorative pieces.

Still missing: a separate keyboard

Despite the amount of craftsmanship on show, not everything’s homemade. Rafael still needs his own keyboard. According to him, it was our Keycap-Kevin who got him hooked. Rafael thinks his articles are really cool. And, unfortunately, Rafael’s right when he says that many keyboard components aren’t available in our shop. So, getting started can be quite tricky.

Rafael would also love to replace his monitor with an OLED screen. He loves the contrast of his OLED TV in the living room. He wants the same for his work device – he’d be very happy with the colour fidelity, brightness and frame rate.

Here’s an overview of Rafael’s components:

PC:

• Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow
• Graphics card: Geforce RTX 3080
• Chip: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
• CPU cooling: AIO from Arctics
• Motherboard: MSI MPG X570 Gaming Pro Carbon
• Memory: 32GB RAM
• SSD: 2TB NVMe

Accessories and furniture:

• Monitor: LG 38GN950B
• Mouse: Logitech G703 with charging mouse pad
• Keyboards: ASUS ROG Strix Scope for everyday, Keychron K6 for gaming
• Headset: SteelSeries Arctis 7+
• Handheld: Steam Deck
• Controller: PS Dualsense Elite
• Standing desk from Ikea (top value for money according to Rafael)
• Herman Miller Embody office chair (in orange because it was 30% cheaper than his preferred colour)

Visual elements:

• Nanoleaf lights
• Cable mods
• RGB strips
• RGB bracket
• Lian Li and Arctic fans
• The most important thing: a homemade HeyClay puppy from his daughter