Hello and welcome back to Sunday Setups! This week we will chat with our very own Eternaforest, who will be sharing her gaming and business setup areas with us! You’ll find a link to her etsy at the bottom of our article. Read on to learn more and see some photos of Eterna’s space.

Stardust (SD): Hey Eterna! Thank you for taking the time to share your space with us. To start us off, could you tell me what you like most about your current setup?
Eternaforest (EF): I recently got two monitor arms, they have been super useful in not only moving my monitors off of my desk but also for putting my monitors right where I want them. My monitors are not VESA compatible, so buying special mounts for them was annoying, but I think they still work great!

SD: That does sound really useful! Is there anything you think you’d like to change about your setup?
EF: I really want to expand to a longer, L-shape desk eventually. I have my PC tower on a separate table, and it would be nice for it all to be on the same desk surface. Similarly, I’d like to eventually move all of my “hobby” stuff into its own room, so a longer table would help combine my workstations!

SD: That’s understandable, and a fair need. Do you feel there are any challenges that came about with the setup decision wise or logistically?
EF: The monitor arms were annoying to add to my desk, as the clamp to fit the arms on to my desk was barely big enough to go around my desk. However, with some help with my dad and a bit of engineering, I got it to work. It was worth it!

SD: It’s always great when after some hard work you see the pay off! Could you tell me how your setup helped or hindered when it comes to playing your favorite games?
EF: I love to game but I’m not crazy about having top of the line specs, as long as my game runs in medium to high quality with stable FPS, I am okay. A lot of my setup was just finding the best balanced settings for streaming and gaming together, since I run everything off of one PC. My personal feelings about PC building/gaming/usage is only pay for what you are for sure going to use. Even as a computer science student, I don’t need a 1080 (yet? haha) so I decided to spend that money elsewhere!

SD: Would you say you primarily game only or use your rig for streaming as well?
EF: I game and stream, but I didn’t start streaming till recently. I would still say I mainly game on my PC!

SD: So how long did it take to get your setup to where it is now? Do you forsee any major or minor changes in the coming months?
EF: My setup has gradually built on itself since 2012, when I purchased my first gaming PC. I’ve done a LOT since then and for the time being, I think I will be keeping everything exactly the way it is. I love everything from my mic to my actual components, so I don’t forsee anything huge coming in the short term. However, I do want to do a crazy RGB build once I graduate college and get my first “big kid job” paycheck!

SD: Since you built your own PC, do you have any tips or suggestions for those looking to do so themselves?
EF: GO SLOW! I built my PC over a whole day, and it booted on the first try. Going slow, checking over your build progress, double checking things, seating components multiple times, etc. really does make a difference! I also found watching videos of builds other people did in the case I chose extremely helpful in routing cables. A magnetic screwdriver and magnetic tray are also really helpful!

Here are the specs for Eterna’s setup if you are interested:
CPU: Intel Core i5-6600 (w/ stock cooler)
Memory: Crucial 16GB (8GBx2) DDR4 2133mhz RAM
GPU: EVGA GTX 970 SC
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170N-WIFI
Power Supply: Corsair RM750
Disc Drive: Asus 24x DVD-RW
Operating System: Windows 10
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (custom painted with car paint, added Autobots emblem)
Hard drives: Samsung 850 EVO 250GB SSD & Western Digital Blue 2TB
Mouse: Razer Mamba Tournament Edition
Mousepad: Razer Firefly Chroma Cloth
Keyboard: Razer Overwatch BlackWidow Chroma
Headset: Razer Kraken 7.1 V2
Speakers: Logitech Z313
Uninterrupted Power Supply: APC 1080VA
Router: TP-Link Archer AC1200 (with 1,000 Mbps Up/Down connection courtesy of EPB Fiber Optics <3)
Webcam: Logitech C920
Microphone: NEWHAODI USB Microphone
Monitors: 2x Acer G226HQL (21.5 inch)
Monitor Stand: VIVO Dual LCD LED Monitor Desk Mount
Mounting Brackets: HumanCentric High Stability VESA Mount Adapter
Capture Card: Elgato HD60

Because Eterna also runs an etsy business in the space close to her gaming area I asked her some questions about how having a rig and space put together and organized in a way that she is comfortable with helps her to successfully do so. You can visit her store at the link below!

SD: What kind of items do you sell in your shop? How did you begin this venture, and how long has your shop been active?
EF: I sell items made from vinyl, using my Cricut cutting machine. I sell decals, shirts, jackets, and take custom orders! I started back in 2016, making patches with my embroidery machine. It was mostly a hobby that I wanted to share at that point. I then transferred colleges in January 2017 and moved out of my parents house, but I didn’t want to leave my passion for crafting at their place. So, I purchased a Cricut for Christmas that year, and once I got my own apartment in April 2017, I opened my shop back up! I still do it mainly for hobby reasons, but I have gained a steady flow of orders, so it helps me pay my internet bill! It has been steady going since then, with new items being added as soon as I can think of them!

SD: That’s really cool! It must be fun to be able to do something you really enjoy, and from home to boot! What is your favorite part of your creative space? Do you have any improvements you’d like to make to it?
EF: I love that it’s tucked away to the side of my room. This area was actually made as a closet, but my landlady transformed it into a desk. I love how it’s accessible as well, and has tons of storage and organization!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SD: Overall, how much time do you spend in this space on average? It looks like a really comfortable, well thought out space!
EF: The time I spend here depends on how busy my shop is, but I’d say easily a couple of hours a week. I actually took my parent’s old PC they were getting rid of, fixed it up a bit, and incorporated it into my craft room. Cricut machines can be fully run from the mobile app, but you have access to way more features using their browser. I found myself constantly running from my living room to my bedroom, so I decided to make a basic setup in my bedroom!

Thank you to Eternaforest for welcoming us into her space and sharing her setup with us this Sunday! Please check her out on her personal Twitter and Twitch, as well at at her Etsy, which also has a Twitter and Instagram account.

Check back for a new Death Blossom setup to be featured soon!

Welcome to Sunday Setups! This will be a new series of interviews conducted by myself, Stardust, where our Death Blossoms members can show off their favorite parts of their unique setups for gaming – whether PC, console, or both! Our first featured member will be everyone’s favorite webmaster, Veroicone. Read on to find out what makes Vero’s space special to her.

Stardust (SD): Hey Vero! Thank you so much for volunteering to participate in Sunday Setups! First off, could you tell us a little about yourself?
Veroicone (V): My name is Veronica, but I am more commonly known online as Veroicone … well really just by Vero since hardly anyone can say Veroicone lol. I’ve been in Death Blossoms since the very beginning (was one of the original members that went through the tryouts), and I’m the Website Coordinator. When I’m not doing that, I can be found playing one of my 5 accounts in Overwatch (technically I don’t play one since it’s on xbox haha). Because I love this game a lot I also stream about 6 days a week on Twitch and make weekly YouTube videos. I also have a degree in graphic/web design so I’m usually always messing around in Photoshop making something.

SD: It sounds like you’re quite busy! I’m sure you’ve utilized your space to ensure both work and play are fun and easy to accomplish. So what do you most like about your current setup? Do you feel it is conducive to your streaming and gaming habits?
V: 3 monitors. Seriously, it changed my life. Also, so many pretty colors and I can pretty much play any game I want on the highest possible setting while streaming it without lag. It’s nice. I do a bit of everything with this setup. I design websites, logos, work for a gaming company, stream, edit videos, film YouTube videos … pretty much anything and everything which was why I wanted to have not only a beastly setup but a beastly PC as well.

SD: You had a lot to consider when deciding on your rig, and it sounds like you chose well! What, if anything, would you consider changing about your setup?
V: Most of the changes I want to do are really just upgrading things that I’m not a huge fan of. Also, I really want to go from 16gb RAM to 32gb RAM … I don’t need it per-say but you know … more lights?! The biggest change though will definitely be building a second PC for streaming.

SD: I am a fan of the pretty, colorful RBG lights myself so I don’t blame you! Would you say there were any challenges that came about with your setup decision wise or logistically?
V: I built my PC myself last year and my MOBO ended up being DOA, but I didn’t know this until I tried putting the build together 3 times. The second time was also right before a hurricane so I had to stop messing with it and prep for that. For the setup itself it’s really just been a game of figuring out what works for me and what doesn’t in terms of lighting, green screens, etc.

SD: Yikes, that sounds like it was an adventure to say the least. I’m glad it’s worked out for you, though! Overall, would you say your setup helped or hindered you when it comes to playing your favorite games?
V: I would say mostly helped, since as I said I can run pretty much any game at high settings but I also have a 144hz monitor so I get fancy FPS too. Really this setup is great for multitasking, which helps SO much with my job (I work for a gaming company on 2 games). Having 3 monitors means I can have so much stuff open, and since I’m amazing at multitasking it’s always a lot of fun.

SD: It’s is a big plus in my books when both style and substance come together. How long did it take you to get your setup where it is now? Do you foresee any major or minor changes in the coming months possibly?
V: I started this setup about a year ago and built the actual PC in September 2017. Some major changes I want to make: get a better monitor stand (I seriously hate mine, my monitors move all the time and it drives me nuts), get a new green screen (want something that’s easier to take down, I’ve been eyeing the Elgato green screen), and eventually I plan on building a second PC that will only be used for streaming so I can run a dual PC setup. I’d also eventually like to get a proper mixer when I build the second PC, but that probably won’t be until the end of the year at the earliest. Also a new desk, a black desk is hell when it comes to dust lol.

SD: I think those are fair points and a nice wishlist. Since you built your own PC, do you have any tips or suggestions for those looking to do so themselves?
V: The internet is your friend! This was my first time building a PC by myself and between YouTube videos and using pcpartpicker.com to actually decide on a build, it made the process a little easier. I literally sat at my table with my laptop playing build videos on YouTube while I tried to follow along. It was a very stressful process, but it was so worth it! I actually vlogged the entire process as well.

Vero’s Specs:
CPU: Intel Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz Quad-Core Processor
Cooler: NZXT Kraken X62 Rev 2 Liquid Cooler
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z RGB 16GB
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 1080
Motherboard: Asus STRIX Z270-E Gaming
Case: NZXT S340 Elite (in matte white)
Hard drives: 500gb SSD and 2 1TB hard drives
Mouse 1: Razer Deathadder Chroma Overwatch edition
Mouse 2: Razer Naga Trinity
Keyboard: Razer Blackwidow Chroma Stealth
Headset: Razer Kraken Pro v2 Quartz
Webcam: Logitech x922x and Logitech c930e
Microphone: Blue Yeti
Microphone Stand: Rode PSA1
Monitors: 1 Asus 24″ 144hz and 2 Asus 24″ LCD Monitors
Capture Card: Elgato HD 60 pro
Console: Xbox One S

Thank you again to Veroicone for taking the time to do this interview! If you’d like to be featured in Setup Sunday please sign-up here! I would love to talk to you and share what makes your space unique and special to you!

If you’d like to get to know Veroicone better, or have the chance to see more pictures of her awesome setup, follow her on Twitter, Twitch, and YouTube!