We are a technical forum where Indian PC builders document their modding work, share thermal benchmarks and trade components. The site started in 2019 as a small thread on cabinet painting and grew into a regional hub for custom loops, 3D-printed brackets and safe overclocking in tropical conditions.
HardwareModdingIN started in 2016 as a small Telegram group of six friends in Pune who were tired of importing custom water-cooling parts. Today the forum hosts over 4,000 documented builds, a verified expert badge system, and a local parts exchange that ships across twelve Indian states. The timeline below marks the decisions that shaped how we work.
We rented a garage in Chinchwad and invited anyone with a soldering iron. Twelve people showed up, and by the end of the night we had reflowed a dead GPU and built a custom fan shroud from a plastic cutting board. That meetup became the monthly "Bench Night" that still runs today.
After three CPUs died from aggressive overclocks during a 42°C May, we started logging safe Vcore ranges for every motherboard we could test. The public spreadsheet now covers 214 boards and is updated after each monsoon season, when humidity changes thermal behaviour noticeably.
We introduced a verification system where members earn a badge only after submitting three complete build logs with thermal benchmarks and photos of their own soldering work. The badge is not a popularity contest; it is a record of documented, reproducible results.
The exchange started as a pinned thread for spare radiators and pumps. It grew into a structured marketplace with seller ratings, condition photos, and a rule that all prices are listed in INR with no bidding. Shipping is handled through India Post Speed Post to keep costs low.
We partnered with a small fabrication lab in Kanpur to run hands-on sessions on printing PETG brackets and ABS pump mounts. Every participant leaves with a tested STL file and a printed part that fits a standard 240mm radiator. The series sells out within two days.
Our newest project measures fan noise and vibration damping in real Indian homes, not anechoic chambers. We test foam panels, rubber grommets, and 3D-printed fan ducts against the hum of a typical 2,000 RPM setup. Results are published openly so members can choose parts based on actual decibel readings.
Timeline of the forum
Started with a used Ryzen 5 1600 and a borrowed multimeter. The first post was a voltage guide for the B450 Tomahawk, written after three blown VRM fuses.
Collected 140+ thermal logs from members in Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi. The data showed that ambient temps above 32°C shift the safe Vcore ceiling by roughly 0.05V.
A member in Bengaluru printed a PETG pump bracket and a 240mm radiator shroud. The files were shared openly, and the design has since been remixed 60 times.
Introduced a verification system for members who have completed at least three documented builds. Verified experts now review voltage guides and soldering tutorials before they go live.