Meet the Mods

ryau · September 2020

Here at the Micro Center Community Forum, we have a dedicated, and awesome group of mods that help answer a myriad of questions, from customer service, technical support and parts compatibility for building a PC. They're a wealth of knowledge and it's a pleasure working along-side these wonderful people. I wanted to take a moment to introduce them, so here they are:

@AlexS

I am Alex and the first PC I used I have zero specifications or true memory on, but I do know I played Doom on it when I was 3 or 4 years old (and according to my parents, a monitor was bumped on my head at that time too).

The first PC I built was in 2015 (I had about a 2-year hiatus from PC gaming at this time and learned about esports that year). This had an FX-6300, 8GB DDR3-1600, & GTX 960 that I purchased all from Micro Center. Little did I know, I would be working here a year later!

I got into Counter-strike: Global Offensive a few months after the MLG CS:GO Major happened in Columbus and was instantly hooked. I played in leagues, LAN tournaments, and even shout casted/commentated for local tournaments in our local esports center, Game Arena, and an online European CSGO league called the Esports Fan League. When I have time off work, I generally try to attend esport events and conventions as the atmosphere is electrifying.

Currently, my hobbies include livestreaming on Twitch, Sim Racing, and running a league called the FastBois Championship Series! It is run on the newly released game, F1 2020 based on Formula One racing and it is an absolute blast. I currently run a Powerspec G351 desktop with an upgraded GPU (RTX 2060 Super) and PSU (Corsair RM650x Gold) with a Next Level Racing F-GT cockpit and Fanatec CSL Elite Hardware for my racing rig.

@JS_MC

Hello All! I'm happy to have the opportunity to introduce myself a bit! I got my start in gaming at an early age, playing Chips Challenge and SkiFree on the Windows 95 family computer. Later I can remember being so excited to spend some savings on a 1GB stick of DDR3 that set me back over $100.

I built my first custom PC in 2012 and have been building PC’s for myself and friends since then! My first full build had an Intel i7-3770k with an Nvidia 660 ti and an impressive 1TB of storage. (Quite a large capacity for the time.) I later upgraded the boot drive to a 120GB SSD. A few years after, I updated my monitor to a 1440p 144hz TN from Dell. Because of that I updated the GPU to a 1070. After all this time, I felt it was time to start from scratch. So, this past year I completely rebuilt my system. Upgrading to an AMD 3700X with an X570 board and a 1080 ti. This time I went with an impressive 1TB NVMe drive. Impressive for different reasons. I dabble a bit in Photography and the PCIe 4.0 speeds are incredible. It drastically cuts the time spent waiting on import and export of files in Lightroom. You can find more about my current system on my community profile but I’ll always be shopping for the next upgrade!

I’m still an avid gamer, playing games from Civ V to Valorant, and everything in between. I used to play quite a bit of StarCraft 2, and I got really hooked after going to an MLG Columbus where the main event was StarCraft 2. Climbing the ladder was a real grind and I loved the strategy required to win. I also played COD competitively, aim and quick reflexes were needed to succeed. For a time, I was rank 2 in the world on the leaderboard! I still play with a competitive mindset, though I don’t often play in tournaments. Currently, I’m focused on improving my rank in Valorant. If you want to play together, send me a message, I’d be happy to add you!

All in all, I live intentionally focused around tech. From computers and gaming, to headphones and photography. I can’t wait to talk with you about them in our community!

@TSTonyV

I’ve been at Micro Center for just about three years now as a Technical Support Representative and have since been moved to being one of the primary contributors to the Community. There’s a handful of articles and guides around here that you’ll see my name on, and I hope they’re helpful! My main areas of interest are in custom built PCs and PC hardware. Other interests include mechanical keyboards and headphone audio.

I got my first foray into gaming with our family’s old Playstation 1 and the original Spyro. I started PC gaming around middle-school and built my first PC around Christmas of 2011 so I could run Battlefield 3. I followed a guide I found online to build a system with an Intel i5-2500k and an NVIDIA GTX 560 and that system lasted me a good five years before I finally upgraded. I still have that old 2500k lying around somewhere. In the future I plan to do a full custom loop on my PC, likely after fourth-generation Ryzen desktop chips hit the market.

Besides that, I’m an avid follower of college and professional football (Go Buckeyes! Who Dey think they gonna beat them Bengals?) and dabble a bit into car enthusiast territory.

@Ian

Hello all! I have been into computers and gaming pretty much my whole life, I'm pretty sure my parents set me in front of a computer from an early age. I don't remember the specifics of my first computer but it for sure had Windows 98 on it and I was playing RollerCoaster Tycoon at the age of 5 or 6. I was playing games before that but that really stands out and I've been computer gaming ever since (really). I moved on to a Dell or something similar in the early 2000's and became hooked on NASCAR Racing 2003 Season (still one of the best racing titles to ever be released) for PC.

I got my first custom built PC probably about 10 years ago, switched to a PowerSpec gaming system about 5 years ago, then built a new computer in January 2020. My current system dominates about anything thrown at it. I am very into sim racing and have been for a long time, but I feel like I'm in the process of getting hooked into flight sims as well.

@TSKyleH

I have worked at Micro Center Since December 2013, this whole time I have loved helping customers over from our Technical Support Center. I have loved every minute of it.

I am interested in Computer Networking, and am currently A+ certified. My Hobbies include Gaming and Streaming. I constantly give myself various projects such as a creating Domain Network, and managing a website to showcase the games I play and my opinions. I Love to spend time with my family and have two cats, that follow me around when I am home.

Social handles include Twitch (santa2452) and youtube (santa2452)

@TS_JosephF

I have worked at Micro Center for almost 6 months now. I am a Technical Support Consultant. My area of interest in the IT field certainly starts with Networking. I am one of those nerds who subnets because I think it’s fun. My 2nd area of interest would be Linux. I think it is a wonderful operating system and wildly underrated. I am married so of course I spend a lot of time with my wife either playing a game or doing some sort of creative project together. Some of my hobbies outside of work consist of: messing with Raspberry Pi’s, playing PS4, and shooting guns. We have quite a few pets at home. We have a cat, 2 dogs, a turtle, a chinchilla, 5 Betta fish, and 4 Goldfish.

Intermatrix · November 2020

Hello,

I Started on Computers when they were New.. I started on the Original Apple in Jr. High school Grade 7. We then were given the Apple II. This is where we Clandestinely wrote game code while we were supposed to be studying. Those were the days. I then Moved to IBM Compatible & the rest is History. Yes, this was in 1982-1983 Time frame. I now Enjoy Building PC's for Myself and others. I do not do it for Money, just for the Love of it. Pretty Much everything I know about Computers I have taught Myself. These days if you can read you can do just about anything. On top of this I am Handicap. I don't say it to Garner Pitty, Rather to show if you put your mind to it you can do anything. Except for one thing, I am not able to stand in line outside Microcenter Overnight to Purchase whatever the "New" Gizmo is. I have to wait until there is an abundant stock. This has to change, I get why they don't sell them online do to the Bots. Now they disenfranchise handicap People without knowing by having a line outside the store. There should be a "Que" System at Microcenter such as EVGA for Example, then we can all get a chance to Pick up what we need in a more Fair Process.

TSTDavey · December 2020

@TSTDavey
Hello, I am Dave and I've been at Microcenter for 5 years as a Technical Support Consultant. I've build my first PC back in 2009 and haven't had a need to build one again since. I have vast knowledge in I.T. across PC/Networking support to .net programming and database administration. I do have a Comptia A+ cert, but it expired in 2018 and I don't plan to renew it. I like Chipotle, ketchup on my eggs and video editing in Adobe Premiere. I'm still learning Adobe Premiere, but I've been able to do some pretty neat things in it.

Mech · June 2021

Hi Mods! I've been with the company for 20 years (this October)!!! YAY!

Obiwan_Shinobi · September 2021

Hi mods! could you pls unlock my new members post? it got locked from me editing it cause I forgot to list PC specs :(

JS_MC · September 2021

Hey @Mech Sorry for the slow reply! For some strange reason, I didn't get a notification of your response! :( Glad to have you and your experience here with us!