Weekend Question: Have you ever injured yourself building a PC? Or playing games on one?

[PCG Jody]

I ask the PCG staff a regular Weekend Question and post the answers on the site. If you'd like to throw in an answer here, I'll squeeze the best into the finished article!

This week's question is: Have you ever injured yourself building a PC? Or playing games on one?

The PC building gods sometimes demand blood. What's your worst injury? A particularly bad cut from an IO shield, a soldering iron burn, a bruise from a dropped component, an electrical shock? If you aren't a PC builder, or are just too sensible to cut a zip tie with a Stanley knife and slash open your thumb, how about injuries while playing games? Ever given yourself a bad case of gamer's thumb, or a Guitar Hero strain?

 

[XoRn]

Every time I go into play VR it's like my house turns into an Escherian castle. I punch walls that wern't there, fall down steps we don't have, and stumble into angry people who sound suspiciously like my wife. I come out looking like I dated Chris Brown.

 

[Pifanjr]

I'm pretty sure I punched some furniture while playing a Wii game. Pretty sure I punched some friends as well...

 

[Colif]

considering how badly cases used to be made, its a surprise i have any hands left but I don't recall any bad cuts. I only bought one cheap case, ever since when I make a PC its had cases that won't cut me to shreds

No TV"s died while playing WIi - controllers may have been thrown
No injuries.

 

[Brian Boru]

Every time I go into play VR

You haven't been banned to the garage / tool shed / dog house yet??? She's a keeper…

No serious injuries to flesh or electronics while building. Worst were a couple of cuts from cases in the 00s—I think some of them were banged together from discarded butchers' knives!
I was a bit of a DIY guy in those days, so I knew the basics of handling tools and wrestling with stubborn bits.

Also in 00s I did get RSI from general PC use incl gaming, so I had to switch mouse hand—luckily I'm fairly ambidextrous so it was an easy switch. It did start my use of wrist rests though, haven't had any recurrence.

 

[mainer]

No injuries, but I did body slam a mouse once (back in my younger years when I had a bit of a temper) onto my desk, which then disintegrated into various parts (the mouse, not the desk). So it was more of a mental injury when I realized that I'd just destroyed 30-40 dollars for loosing my temper. Lesson learned.

 

[Ahon]

HOnly minor injuries and maybe mental because when I was emotional I slammed the keyboard

 

[Brian Boru]

I did body slam a mouse once

"Never trust a computer you can't throw out a window"—Steve Wozniak

 

[Colif]

No injuries, but I did body slam a mouse once (back in my younger years when I had a bit of a temper) onto my desk, which then disintegrated into various parts (the mouse, not the desk). So it was more of a mental injury when I realized that I'd just destroyed 30-40 dollars for loosing my temper. Lesson learned.

Been there or similar, parts have been broken in a fit of stupidity, and then regretted after. I try not to play games that make me mad now. N64 controllers may have been thrown in the past though never at screens.

 

[Hitobat]

I've definitely got small cuts on my hands building my own PCs over the years.
Especially on the corners of e.g. a motherboard or graphics card, when trying to thread cables around in a small case.

That said, I don't think I've done that for several years now. It feels like cases have improved a lot over time, they're way more modular than they used to be with more removable pieces. But also I guess I have more money to spend as I age so maybe I can afford better quality cases?

 

[Brian Boru]

trying to thread cables around in a small case.
…
as I age so maybe I can afford better quality cases

I have big hands so I always got a full tower to build in, definitely a big part of the reason I got so few cuts & scrapes.

It feels like cases have improved a lot over time

Oh definitely, and other parts too—eg the modular power supplies. PSUs were always a pain before, having to use a drive bay to tuck the excess cables out of the way. Removable drive cages are also a big QoL improvement.