Max’s Build: Part 1
Some builds start with new parts. This one starts with a rummage. Using surplus hardware and an old workstation that’s finally earned its retirement, Max’s goal is to build a machine that’s ready for years of work ahead.
The Mission Brief and The Great Rummage.
There’s a machine VESA-mounted under my desk that’s been running for eight years.
Eight years of emails, Windows ISOs, PowerShell scripts, virtual machines and most importantly Spotify playlists. It’s an older G2 Digital build. The fact it’s still going is either a testament to how we make things or a sign I get slightly too attached to my hardware. Probably both.
It’s time to build its successor.
My hardware journey started at 13, raiding my dad’s old PC parts to build my first Frankenstein tower. With mismatched components, questionable cable management and zero budget it shouldn’t have worked but it did and I was hooked.
The idea of ordering a new computer when we have usable components felt like a betrayal of that 13-year-old, plus we are a company that encourages reuse ahead of recycling. Our units go into broadcast trucks, production suites and server rooms where hardware runs continuously for years, and replacement cycles are measured in decades.
I pulled together a returned chassis, decommissioned rental parts and partner sample parts and got to work. If you’ve ever visited our warehouse and wondered what’s in those boxes on the top shelf: read on!
What the machine needs to do.
As a day-to-day workstation, it will handle emails, some development work with Claude/Codex, spinning up virtual machines and test environments. Plus, Spotify of course! Virtual machines are greedy, anyone who’s tried running two or three simultaneously knows that skimping on spec costs you more in lost time than it saves upfront. This machine needs to last beyond two years, five and head towards eight-plus, same as the one it’s replacing.
Up next: The Great Rummage.
In Part 2, I’ll be heading into the warehouse with a checklist, a moderate amount of optimism and a diplomatic approach to convincing the purchasing department to part with some of our surplus stock.
If you’ve ever kept a component because you knew it’d come in handy one day, you might recognise this feeling.
Need a quick answer right now? Chat with us live using the icon at the bottom right of your screen
