Nearly 1,500 indecent images and videos of children were found on a computer tower seized by police from a 52-year-old man's address.
The shocking discovery led to Steven Jeffery, of Cedar Road, Forest Fields, pleading guilty at court to three charges of downloading videos and images of children.
He had 220 in Category A - the most serious, 200 in Category B and 1,060 in Category C.
Nottingham Crown Court heard he additionally pleaded guilty to having 790 prohibited images of children.
Jeffrey has one previous conviction on his record for possessing a controlled drug where he received a 12-month conditional discharge.
Judge James Sampson, who sentenced him, said he is a man "effectively of good character".
He sentenced him to a three-year community order, put him on the sex offender's register for five years and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
And he ordered he complete up to 31 sessions of an accredited programme.
