What's this -- computer "games?"
Another option if you want to work your hardware is to find a distributed computing project and compete for points and electronic certificates. If it's a medical distributed computing project, you'll help save people from turning into zombies, for real. And other stuff that's not medical, but still interesting, for instance determining which combinations of materials might work more efficiently for photovoltaics. Or if you prefer, Seti@Home is still out there looking for E.T.
If you're not satisfied with your standings, it's a motivation for adding more computers to your network, or upgrading components, finding out about the latest and greatest CPUs and their assorted specifications and how they might influence your productivity and electric bill. If it's CPU-heavy, save money on video cards. Or join a project that has the option of harnessing the parallel computing power of certain high-end video cards -- that'll put you in the upper echelons of the standings, but it tends to deplete the wallet.
Every day, you'll want to monitor your progress, and your standings, and get apps to graph your productivity, possibly in comparison to others' productivity. But at the end of the day, you'll have spent fewer hours on the computer tweaking your project(s) than if you were absorbed in computer games. And that means more free time to watch Star Trek reruns or checking Twitter to see if Trump is still president yet.
For starters, check out www.worldcommunitygrid.org/research/viewAllProjects.do and http
/boinc.berkeley.edu/projects.php. If you really can't find a project that piques your interest, then nothing lost.
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