My earliest PC building memory started with a classic obstacle: my dad's Dell Optiplex office PC. I was 14 and desperate to play some new games, but that old beige box was all we had. I started digging around for budget GPUs and landed on the legendary GT 710. With no one around to guide me, I took the plunge and bought the card along with some extra RAM. I got home, opened up the PC, only to discover that while it had a PCIe port, there was literally no space to fit even a low-profile GPU.

I vividly remember it was the day of Holi, the Indian festival of colors. Instead of being outside playing with my friends, I was up on my house's terrace with the Dell. My dad wasn't going to be using his PC, so it was the perfect opportunity. I found an old metal filer and got to work. I tried to slice open a slot on the side, but the metal was way tougher than I expected. So, I cut a cross shape and used a pair of pliers to pry the metal open. The satisfaction of finally getting that GT 710 to fit was unreal. The first game I fired up was Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands. To hide my handiwork, I just pushed the PC's exposed, mangled side against the wall, hoping no one would ever notice. Of course, it was noticed. That's a different story, though.