We built our house for LAN parties (2024) • Hacker News Board

Re: We built our house for LAN parties (2024)

#221

Post by kentonv » Tue, Sep 08, 2026, 2:39 PM UTC

rob74 wrote: post #45

> We have efficient heat pumps and solar panels, but it's still a disturbing amount of energy usage and something I'm trying to debug. Perhaps we have too many windows letting in too much sunlight... External window blinds work wonders with that - your AC doesn't have to work hard to get the heat out of the greenhouse you inadvertently built if you avoid the heat getting in in the first place. But yeah, these might b…

Oh, we figured this out, maybe I should update the page.

It turns out at installation time the installer set all the fans on "high", and I left them that way stupidly thinking: "Well, I like circulation, and the power meters show the fans aren't actually using much power, so I'll just leave it like that."

Changing them all to "auto" fixed the problem.

It turns out that while the fans themselves weren't using a ton of power, their activity caused the heat pumps feeding them to work harder. In retrospect it seems not that surprising and I feel pretty dumb about it.

(And yes there are a lot of windows but they are not south-facing and they are all tinted in a way that blocks most of the sun's energy.)

Re: We built our house for LAN parties (2024)

#222

Post by Kirby64 » Tue, Sep 08, 2026, 2:39 PM UTC

Toutouxc wrote: post #211

Kirby64 wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1400sqft is relatively small in the US for a house. Typical 3 bedroom house size is going to be a lot closer to 2000 sqft. The only way you would see new construction at 1400sqft is if it’s a condo or something.

Are people that much larger in the US? I’d happily raise three European-sized kids in the 130 sqm bachelor pad.

Larger? No, not really. But there’s generally just an expectation that rooms are larger. Most bedrooms you expect to have king size beds for adults, for instance. Master bathrooms and closets also tend to be quite large. Americans just tend to have a lot of stuff…

Re: We built our house for LAN parties (2024)

#223

Post by pizzafeelsright » Tue, Sep 08, 2026, 2:42 PM UTC

Toutouxc wrote: post #211

Kirby64 wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1400sqft is relatively small in the US for a house. Typical 3 bedroom house size is going to be a lot closer to 2000 sqft. The only way you would see new construction at 1400sqft is if it’s a condo or something.

Are people that much larger in the US? I’d happily raise three European-sized kids in the 130 sqm bachelor pad.

I have had the privilege of growing up very poor while working for and being around the rich and wealthy.

I grew up in a 700sqft home and now own a 1400sqft house and my friend is building a custom 4000sqft house. They both feel 'small' for different reasons.

The very rich I know have 2 or 3 homes, each >3000sqft.

The most wealthy people I know have a modest house on as many acres as they can get because no neighbors and gardens and horses and tractors are where the life is at.

The fish bowl theory is we grow to our environment. Look at the billionaires and their yachts, it is never enough.

Contentment must be learned. I am beyond content now while I could afford a house 2x the size.

Re: We built our house for LAN parties (2024)

#224

Post by giancarlostoro » Tue, Sep 08, 2026, 2:45 PM UTC

> Honestly I never even thought about it. I haven't used a mousepad in decades. None of my friends ever commented on it. But I guess it might be a good idea, to prevent wear on the wood finish.

Trackball.

Re: We built our house for LAN parties (2024)

#225

Post by kentonv » Tue, Sep 08, 2026, 2:46 PM UTC

gorgoiler wrote: post #124

I really love the idea of having all the PCs in some place far away from where I, the human am sitting, but I don’t know how to do that. HDMI and USB cables can’t work over more than a few tens of feet can they? Or maybe these are special shielded cables, or sent down shielded cat6 cabling? Would love to have even more details on how to do this. Also, since saying goodbye to my dad in hospital last year, whenever I h…

You can get ultra-long HDMI and USB extenders that use fiber optic cables.

Monoprice.com in particular sells these under their "slimrun" line -- that's what I used in the house.

They are often technically not spec-compliant but work just fine in practice.

Re: We built our house for LAN parties (2024)

#226

Post by literallyroy » Tue, Sep 08, 2026, 2:47 PM UTC

rocketvole wrote: post #117

wizerno wrote: post #2

Previously discussed here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42156977

I remember this! Its crazy because the comments section on that thread seems more curious about the setup (with albiet one long thread about home costs). Massive contrast to this one.

It’s very jarring to see such a different reaction than my own to this post. Each time it comes up (was posted in a friend discord as well recently) I’m in awe and love the explanations.

Some folks don’t want others to be happy. I had someone in my life recently complain that someone they met was too happy and thus toxic and ignorant of the world’s atrocities.

Keep smiling at have a good day :)

Re: We built our house for LAN parties (2024)

#227

Post by pringk02 » Tue, Sep 08, 2026, 2:50 PM UTC

jmuguy wrote: post #168

pringk02 wrote: post #31

[flagged]

I think a lot of it is lighting - I imagine they have the "house lights" on for these photos. Turn the temperature down and it becomes a lot cozier. The normal parts of the house look great.

I think you are correct about the lighting. It was seeing the kids bedroom that made me feel the most taken aback, but I think with some warmer light the effect would be less stark

Re: We built our house for LAN parties (2024)

#228

Post by iwontberude » Tue, Sep 08, 2026, 2:50 PM UTC

kenty wrote: post #60

[flagged]

[dead]

Re: We built our house for LAN parties (2024)

#229

Post by literallyroy » Tue, Sep 08, 2026, 2:52 PM UTC

asdfsa32 wrote: post #62

jamiecurle wrote: post #55

> The cabinetry is just a bunch of wood, cut into fairly large pieces. Maybe a few screws and hinges. Whereas the computers in total contain more than a trillion transistors, each of which had to be carefully etched in the right spot connected correctly to all the others. A trillion! That's 1,000,000,000,000! Really cool house, but describing the cabinets as "bunch of wood, cut into fairly large pieces. Maybe a few s…

> Really cool house, but describing the cabinets as "bunch of wood, cut into fairly large pieces. Maybe a few screws and hinges" shows little understanding of what goes into building something like that. I mean, the whole place looks like a cookie cutter office block. The lack of appreciation and want for good design goes far deeper.

Sounds like preference. I think it looks beautiful personally.

Re: We built our house for LAN parties (2024)

#230

Post by pringk02 » Tue, Sep 08, 2026, 2:53 PM UTC

venzaspa wrote: post #77

pringk02 wrote: post #31

[flagged]

It's funny because there's a comment about the cabinetry being expensive despite it just being a 'bunch of wood' but actually if they opted for the right wood panels instead of the standard veneered chipboard used in a lot of offices, it probably would have made the whole setup look a lot more homely. They probably do need a bit of colour and some items on the wall to break it up too. Saying that, I'd live there in a…

Yeah, I can't claim I wouldn't live in it if given the chance (even if I'd redecorate). I think you are correct about the wood. If I reflect on it some amount of it is that everything looks like the same yellow laminate I am most used to seeing on office furniture, and have spent a bunch of time sat at. Maybe darker wood tones would completely change the effect this has on me