Enthusiast PCs SUCK
So, if you're like me, you probably really like using computers. You might be drawn to big, hulking full ATX boxes that can do it all: games, creative stuff, and even something that can do your taxes! It's really appealing being able to tinker around and build a system based around components you hand-picked. There's a feeling of attachment a lot of people get to building desktop computers. I'd say it's something everyone should at least try their hand at once.
However, I feel as if they're kinda stupid, at least for my use case and my preferences. Here's why.
They're big, and when they're not, it comes at big sacrifices
Most workstation and desktop computers are HUGE. I mean, seriously. Your average gaming PC or workstation will be a hulking full ATX box... that holds nothing but NVMe storage and an oversized graphics card. We're at a point where the full-size or even micro-ATX form factor just doesn't agree with modern space constraints and living situations. "But you can get/build small form factor systems!" I hear you. However, these come with their own problems! Often times, you'll end up cramming cables and really struggling to get everything to fit into a smaller chassis. PC components also run hot and haven't really improved all that much on that front for at least a decade. The only real appealing option for small form factor gear are laptop/low-power consumer devices. AMD has really made great progress with their incredibly efficient Ryzen APUs. However, these aren't really a replacement for a full, fat desktop.
They're loud
Why do we tolerate desktop PCs with loud fans... or fans at all. In a data center, cooling and static pressure are priorities above everything else. This is why server racks can often sound like this. This is about how my Cisco lab at home sounds like powering on. I keep it powered off most of the time in favor of cheaper, quieter consumer hardware for a reason.
But, you're not me. You're not running enterprise gear, you're running a machine to do various prosumer tasks. Office work. Photo editing. Video editing. CAD. Programming. Music production. Art. Gaming. Home theater. Machine learning.
There is no reason why ANY of these workloads need to be loud.
Maybe the fanless suggestion was too much, but at minimum I think the way fans are approached on modern systems and just... the amount of obnoxious coil whine that's all-too-common is unaccepable.
The options for extreme quietness are often impractical or high-maintenance.
I have a strong dislike for water cooling loops. Ignoring how prebuilt AIO are noisy as hell and can often make more sound than air coolers, custom loops in computers have leakage and mold and failure risks that I'm not willing to take and that frankly aren't reasonable at scale or in normal consumers' homes.
The second computers shut the hell up and let me work in silence, just as the norm, will be a good one. Again, some consumer gear has achieved this, but no enthusiast/gamer/ricer hardware vendor seems to care too much.
They're hot and power hungry
This ties into the previous point, but quiet/no fans becomes a lot more feasible when hardware just runs cooler. I think it's unacceptable that you often have to aggressively undervolt modern CPUs because motherboards go ham on voltage by default.
The big slam dunk here is power consumption. Why is my computer using 50 watts just watching YouTube. Sure, okay, my monitor probably uses a lot too, but come on. Enthusiast computers and even a lot of office stuff can pull gobs of power from the wall just to do various tasks. This isn't great for laptops either.
Ultimately, coupled with the rant I did earlier about the decline of PC gaming, I can't help but feel as if my days of using workstation/gaming desktops are numbered. Consumers are choosing phones, tablets (yes, people like iPads), and laptops before they even consider a stationary computer. These days at work it's absolutely foreign for employees to even use them. I want to be able to enjoy the benefits of a desktop computer, but everyone seems more interested in overclocking and investing in more and more loud and hot systems.