Twitch Streaming Desk Setup in East Midlands, UK

Name: DarkMatrixZero

Location: East Midlands, UK

Occupation: Pathology Laboratory Assistant

Room size: 8 m² (86 ft²)

Cost of the setup: Desk setup space £2,9K ($3,9K) / Whole room £3,8K ($5,1K)

Social media: Instagram, YouTube, Twitch

Hello! Tell us a bit about yourself

Hi! I’m Darkmatrixzero, a gaming and technology content creator from the UK.

During the day, I work as a full-time histopathologist. It’s quite a mouthful, but basically, we help people get a diagnosis for serious illnesses. We mainly deal with various forms of cancer.

I love my job.

I’m proud that I can help people in this way whilst also learning new things every day and challenging myself intellectually.

I actually worked in entertainment retail for over 15 years prior for companies such as Gamestation, Game, Blockbuster, and CeX.

When COVID hit the UK, I had to isolate myself for a period. I found myself with lots of spare time.

This gave me the opportunity and the push I needed to follow my passion and take up streaming games on Twitch.

The games that I stream vary from indie masterpieces to triple-A titles.

However, my favourite genre to play would be action/adventure.

My Twitch community has always had a large interest in my desk setup space. My gaming Instagram account was born to share that content, and the rest is history, as they say.

In just under two years of creating content, I have met so many supportive and inspiring people. They’ve helped me evolve and given me the confidence to follow my aspirations.

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As a content creator, I purely “work” for myself. I do it all for the love of creating conversation surrounding things I’m interested in.

If I can inspire others to follow their creative passions, I take that as a big win.

So far, I’ve been lucky to have collaborated with some fantastic companies and brands with some exciting opportunities on the horizon!

Take us through your setup

My desk setup has evolved and changed quite a bit since the beginning and continues to do so.

It has taken roughly a year to properly get the layout that I wanted.

The key feature of my workspace would first be the screen presence. I have three screens in my setup.

I have my horizontal screen as the main monitor. It displays the primary task I’m doing.

My vertical monitor will have a secondary task. For example, when streaming, the main monitor is my gaming screen, whereas the vertical would display the streaming software and chat screens.

My third screen is a 48″ Samsung TV that I can extend to wirelessly. I use this for watching any media content such as movies or sometimes gaming too.

In the future, as I upgrade my PC, I plan on using three screens while streaming so I can spread out the programs that I use. While doing so, making it easier to multi-manage.

The speakers displayed on my desk are the R1280T Powered Bookshelf Speakers from Edifier with a wooden walnut finish.

They retail at around £100 roughly, depending on where you get them from. They’re fantastic, I must admit.

I will soon be upgrading this to the R1700BT for the added Bluetooth, as that is a function I would like to utilise more.

My chair is the Drivo gaming chair from Intimate WM Heart in grey. It’s very comfortable, especially for such a low price.

The only downside is that I can’t adjust it much. But possibly in future, I’d like to invest in an ergonomic chair mainly for better back support.

The headphones are the SOMiC G951s in black. They’re quite basic. I have trouble finding headsets that have great audio quality and aren’t too heavy on my head.

My current ones are perfect at the moment until I invest in something wireless. The rubber cat ears are optional and come separately in the box.

The lightbox was a gift from a close friend during a tough time I was going through.

I decided then and there that I was going to make changes in my life. The lightbox message always reflects when I want to tell myself.

“Chase your dreams” is a reminder that only I can make what I want to happen.

Dreams don’t come without reaching for them.

On the other side of my working space, I have a more chilled out area. It features an L-shaped sofa for gaming/movie watching.

The shelving displays some of my collectables and an IKEA glass cabinet displays even more.

What’s your favourite item on your desk?

This is such a hard question!

At the moment, I think my favourite item would have to be my Yunzii x Skyloong mechanical keyboard with hot-swappable keys. I love the custom keycaps, and the space bar is such a great focal point and fun.

It costs around £95 roughly.

It’s the perfect size at 84 keys.

The alloy frame is super durable, and the keycaps are PBT double shot, so the RGB shines through beautifully.

The other is the GK61 from TMKB with the Yunzii Blue Jade keycap set that I used before moving to my newer keyboard.

The GK61 is great. However, I found I needed the additional number keys. The 84-key works much better for me.

What apps or tools do you use to get things done?

I have quite a few apps and tools that I use to create content, mainly surrounding photo- and video editing.

When I take photos for my social accounts, I like to do editing in Lightroom either on my PC or my phone. It depends on where I am.

I like how easy Lightroom is to use. It’s handy, not overly complicated and keeps every tool that I need in one programme.

I use Lightroom to create lighting effects on my photos or change the lighting preset if needed.

Occasionally, I will also adjust the colour temperature. This can change the feel of a photo, which in turn can change the impact it has or uses.

When it comes to video editing, I like to use DaVinci Resolve on my PC. This is a fantastic editing programme. It lets you edit music/video/special effects and a lot more.

All for free.

It’s easy to use, even for people who aren’t used to editing processes.

You can make some incredible quality videos with it.

What books, blogs or podcasts recently caught your attention?

I get a lot of inspiration from content creators on Instagram. Creators that raise the bar for photography and cinematography.

To name a few, there is Gizmoegram, whose setup is perfect for both organization and style.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a post of his that wasn’t eye-catching and visually stunning.

He has recently started making more video content too, which again is flawless and engaging.

Definitely, a person I like to follow and be inspired by.

I_am_milkes is the person behind the collective of setup enthusiasts called Royalty RGB.

His desk setup is forever evolving but always looks edgy and professional.

Looks aside, his posts are always engaging and entertaining. He keeps his content consistent, including personal stories about his life.

Any tips for other makers who want to improve their workspaces?

A tidy space is a productive space.

Plan out the area for the equipment you need to use daily and add something visually accessible to keep you motivated!

What does your typical day look like?

When I wake up, the first app I open is Instagram to catch up on any content and set myself up for the day.

Plus, listen to any reminders on my Google Home and check the weather.

Then I’m off to the hospital for my day job.

After my shift and back in my home office, I will put on some chilling lo-fi music.

I set the lighting to something that fits and get ready to check my emails.

I usually allocate myself certain days to create content. The rest is mainly to do admin around the content I’ve already created.

Outside of work, I like to wind down by gaming.

This is normally on my Playstation 4 or my PC. These are both in my desk setup space. I can interchange easily, which I like.

I like a variety of games, from retro classics to recent releases, but I will always love RPG and action-adventure games the most.

Streaming is also a way I wind down after a long day. It’s nice to be able to game and connect with people from all over the world.

I work hard on creating a safe space for everyone and providing an inclusive environment.

Having this was monumental for me, especially during the lockdown.

Your tips for working from home?

When I’m working at home, I like to set out my day.

I use whiteboards or sticky PC notes to check what things I would like to accomplish.

PC sticky notes are handy to use. I can make to-do lists for anything I need to do. Such as taking photos, sending across media packs, writing blogs, etc.

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I break these down priority wise and always approach the most important first so that it gets done.

It’s vital that you set yourself break times.

This is important for your own wellbeing, which should always be a priority too!

If you aren’t eating or drinking enough, how are you going to focus on what you need to complete?

Time management is a key thing. I will designate timeframes for each task which I know from experience how long they should take.

I will always allow a little extra time in case I come across editing errors or if something takes a little longer than it should.

I would say that my top tip is to find something that works for you. Not everyone works the same in terms of organisation or productivity.

Find ways that work for you in your space and go with them. Tidiness is always a given, though.

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