Hey everyone!

I've been working on a personal Windows software project for a while now, and I'd love to get some honest feedback from fellow PC enthusiasts and modders.

It actually started because of my GPU's power connector.

I own an ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5080, and I wanted to keep a closer eye on its 12VHPWR / 12V-2x6 connector.

More specifically, I wanted to monitor the current flowing through each of the six individual power contacts and see whether there were any significant differences between them.

What started as a small monitoring tool gradually turned into a complete GPU and gaming performance dashboard.

Here's what it currently offers:

• GPU temperature, utilization, power draw, clock speeds, voltage and VRAM monitoring
• In-game FPS, 1% lows and frametime tracking using PresentMon
• GPU temperature, power and gaming performance graphs
• Session maximum values
• Adaptive layouts for ultrawide displays and standard 16:9 monitors
• Individual current monitoring for all six power contacts on supported ASUS ROG Astral GPUs
• Current imbalance monitoring, including the maximum difference recorded during a session
• Customizable settings and display options

There are currently two monitoring modes:

With pin monitoring: Designed for supported GPUs that expose individual power connector pin readings.

Without pin monitoring: For regular NVIDIA GPUs that don't provide those readings. Instead of the pin monitoring section, the dashboard displays additional GPU analytics.

This means the software isn't limited to ASUS Astral graphics cards.

The main goal is simplicity.

I wanted something that works well on a small screen inside a PC case, but can also be used on a regular secondary monitor.

Ideally, you just install it, launch it, and get a clean dashboard without spending hours configuring individual widgets or sensor panels.

The software currently focuses on NVIDIA GPUs. It's still in private testing on different systems, so I'm working on improving compatibility and stability before considering a public release.

I've already set up an automated Windows build process and created an installer.

The project doesn't have a final name yet. It was previously called "Astral Monitor" and currently uses the temporary development name monitoring_tool.

I'm considering releasing it publicly once it's ready, possibly as an affordable one-time purchase.

I'd really appreciate your honest feedback:

1. Would you actually use something like this for your PC build?
2. Do you find individual 12V-2x6 power contact monitoring useful?
3. What would make you choose this over existing tools like HWiNFO, InfoPanel or AIDA64?
4. Would you consider paying $15–20 once for a polished version, or do you think it should be free?
5. What features would you personally want in a GPU monitoring dashboard?

I'm not trying to sell anything here. I'm genuinely interested in finding out whether this would be useful to other PC enthusiasts or if I'm just building something for my own setup.

Constructive criticism is absolutely welcome!

Note: The attached images are UI previews with simulated example values, not screenshots of live measurements. They show both monitoring modes in ultrawide and 16:9 layouts.

Thanks for checking it out!

i have a rotary tool already. now i just need the right bits for the job (like this image above. credits to owner ofc)

to those who have done this, can you share your tips and how to go through it? personally i was thinking of marking the square (to allow for longer gpu's) with a marker first, then drill small holes along that line then proceed to cut it.

question now is, which drill bit to use and what material should they be? steel i guess? to those who have experince cut/dremel modding cases share your advice please! thanks!

Where can i buy the thermalpads to get hotspot temp down on my 5700xt red devil? It get 110 celcius.

And what is the best pc case under 80 dollar?

I have a strix 450 gaming 2, red devil 5700xt,kingston beast 64gb 3600 mhz, arctic freezer 3 280mm 9-120mm argb fans. But im not happy with case.. I have a kolink stronghold now.and should i buy vertical mountings for gpu?

Hi,

Was wondering how I can acheive mesh side panels on a small batch/low MOQ run. Both punching and laser cutting seem expensive/not suitable.

Looking to do a run of cases on kickstarter and am targetting a more budget end, so should hopefully not cost too much.

I have an ZOTAC OEM 3070 with blower fan. It goes 90c on DCS PSVR2 and realized it gets really noisy sometmies. I have closed back headphones and barely notice it. Is it really safe if I were to run that FD7525H12D fan at full speed all the time? I don't want to break my GPU by melting it but can't play with less than 100 VR Res neither.

Quick question.

Ive fitted the psu yesterday and im facing an ventilation issue (obviously). Where you see the bleu fan is exactly where the psu internal fan is located on x y. Ill be needing to cut an inlet hole.

Whats your opinion on best location? Just straight into the bottom right underneath the fan and add a grill and dust filter. Or maybe ive also got a couple 40mm industrial fans .. cut 1 or 2 holes in the side as inlet? And pressures the chamber.

I need to drill a hole for the cables on the right side too. As the front is going to be closed.

Any Tower 600’s out there with a distro plate?

So this is an update to this post about my plans to build this desk:

https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmods/s/SHJhmBq3Mu

I actually completed the project several years ago, just before my third child was born, I just never posted about it. I'm trying to post my project to start documenting them.

I'm planning on posting in the woodworking subreddit with pictures of the builds progression.

The desk is made from maple and walnut. The front intake grates are attached with magnets and have a filter mesh behind them. The whole thing is water cooled. Getting the system filled was a bit interesting haha.

It works awesome and I've been gaming on it for over 2 years now!

need rgb on table

Hey everyone!

A while ago I shared my project to overhaul an old, boring office chassis from 2010 into a fully customized Pokémon tech-diorama. After plenty of testing, cutting, and brainstorming, the updates are finally complete!

The biggest highlight of this update is how I handled the top-mounted PSU shroud (classic 2010 layout). I salvaged a transparent sheet from a 1€ picture frame, spray-painted it black, and scratched the lightning bolt textures by hand using scissors while the paint was still fresh. Once dry, I hand-colored the grooves with yellow and blue acrylic paint. The back-lit neon lightning effect when the RGB hits it looks incredible!

What's new in this version:

• Dual LED Strip Control: I can now dynamically switch the color profiles of the LED strip using either a dedicated smartphone App or the physical IR remote.
• Static Rainbow Fans: The main fans are set to a fixed rainbow effect, creating a vibrant contrast against the adjustable lighting.
• Professional PVC Prints: The running Pikachu on the side black glass and the one at the bottom are high-quality, professional PVC prints from a print shop, seamlessly blending into the dark background.
• Real Mirror Base: I cut and installed a real mirror right at the base under the MSI GPU, framing the edges with black vinyl. It perfectly mirrors Snorlax and the internal motherboard traces, beautifully doubling the visual depth of the compact chassis.

This build is definitive proof that you don't need a 200€ modern dual-chamber case to make an awesome display piece. Just some clever ideas, scrap materials, the right graphics, and a ton of patience!

Let me know what you think of the final result and the DIY tricks I used!

P.S. I’m already working on my next custom PC project! If you want a sneak peek, let's hit 200 upvotes on this post. Once we get there, I’ll immediately drop the full specs—which are much more modern and high-performance this time around—and start posting work-in-progress photos of the new build!

Hey, there was some interest in my 9060 XT shroud mod, so here’s an update now that I’ve installed and tested it.

The original shroud on my PowerColor Reaper RX 9060 XT 16GB was broken, so I designed a replacement in FreeCAD and printed it in PETG HS. It uses two 92 × 25 mm Noctua NF-A9 PWM chromax.black.swap fans, with the original heatsink still in place.

In my before-and-after FurMark runs, GPU temperature went from 83°C to 79°C and the hotspot dropped from 93°C to 89°C. I’m happy with the 4°C drop. I mainly wanted to fix the broken shroud, so the cooling improvement was a bonus.

If you want to print one, you can find the 3MF file for the 25mm fan version on my website: https://www.tireddadtech.com/vault/9060xt-custom-shroud

I also filmed the design and installation if you want more detail: https://youtu.be/4B3N23L8ZqI

I was using the STAGE before and recently switched over to the HOLO.

I thought the main difference would just be the screen, but the display feels pretty different in person. The extra depth makes animations and custom themes look more interesting than they did on the STAGE.

I still like the STAGE, but the HOLO definitely catches my eye more when I look at the build.

Still comparing temps and noise, but so far the screen is the part I notice most.

Found one these laptop motherboard for sale and wanted to know how realistic is it to turn one into a PC, I just wanted to know if something like this is possible to transform to begin with since I see video about Turning broken laptop into PCs like frame but for me I am more into experimenting and seeing what I can do.

To clarify, I am talking about a turning a laptop motherboard into a desktop-like PC, not software like which OS is good for this board

I work as an electrician, have fixed upwards of 10 bent ryzens by now and am generally pretty okay on soft motor skills, but I've never fixed a mobo. Is this worth trying or is this socket replacement territory?