Computer desk project run amok

phytoplankton73 · 19 Dec 2013 at 18:05

I bought this huge adjustable motorized computer desk 15 yrs ago. The desktop consisted of 3 laminated wooden plates which were set up to have a large CRT monitor on the right side. Since I have a small apartment I had it stashed at my brothers house the last couple of years but now he needed the space, so I decided to put a new hardwood desk on it.

Found a good sized desk plate in Acajou wood (a type of mahogany) at a hardware store. I gave it the recommended treatment of sandpaper and oiling as according to the instructions and it ended up looking as nice as I had hoped

The computer table's frame is amazingly sturdy and easy to work with and still shows no sign of wear. In 15 years all I had to do was change a broken link on a chain.

Put on the desk mount frame and took some measurements. Notice that the frame is asymmetrical. I'm planning to build a custom mount for my chassis (SilverStone FT02B-USB3.0) up under the desk in the gap on the left side of the frame.

Mounted the desk to the frame and installed the control system for the motors.

The basic table in it's lowest and highest positions

To be continued...

phytoplankton73 · 24 Dec 2013 at 13:53

Got me a 2 mm stainless steel plate. Going to have it bend into a |_| shape at a factory (bribed them with danish) and then paint it black. I'll use it to mount my computer under the desk

Got my computer mount finished

Still need to install new hardware in my PC so that's why it's still standing on the table instead of hanging under the desk.

Also added a cable tray and an extension cord with 2 rails of plugs. Each rail has an on/off switch. After I upgrade my PC I'll tidy up the cables so they will hardly be showing when sitting at the table

phytoplankton73 · 24 Dec 2013 at 19:24

I got the Silverstone Fortress FT02 case. Its insides are turned 90 degrees so it takes air in from the bottom of the sides and has its exhaust on the top. I don't use the front bays and use an external USB optical drive. I left room on the top and at the back (there is an PSU intake vent at the back) so airflow should be fine.

With 3 x 27" monitors, a heavy PC and a really heave desktop. It's pretty nice to have it motorized. The 2 motors handle the weight just fine. The original table was a store demo model I got at 1/3 of the listed price 15 yrs ago and the electrical motors still haven't required any maintenance.

Here is an earlier pic with my monitors on the table

I did **** one thing up though... The side panel to on my case to access the components are on it's right side, so right now i need to take the case out of the mount. I can still detach the desktop from the frame and turn the frame around to the other side but then I would also have to reserve the location of all the stuff that's hidden under the desk. I only open the case up to clean the air filters 2-3 times a year. So I won't change it. It also depends on how the room's layout is, when you decide if you'd rather have the computer mount on the left or right side.

phytoplankton73 · 24 Dec 2013 at 21:48

All the loose cables in those pics are temporary. I've drilled a hole for cables behind each of the monitors and a bit below the holes I've put a cable tray. I'll probably be completely done with my setup tomorrow evening (Yeah I know it's Christmas

) and then I'll need to reinstall and backup the new installation.

phytoplankton73 · 25 Dec 2013 at 18:21

Outside view

Drilled cable holes so I could get the table as close as possible to the walls and still raise and lower the table without worrying about cables getting caught or extended to far

A view from the backside of the table fully loaded

A view from the front of the table fully loaded

A view from the left side of the table fully loaded. I still need to install a second graphics card in my computer so that's why there are 2 cables just hanging off the left side right now

Close up of the work/gaming area

Left underside of the table. I still need to tidy up the cables

Right underside of the table. Also needs a bit of tidying

phytoplankton73 · 27 Dec 2013 at 09:52

Upgraded my rig with a 3rd Dell monitor and a 2nd GTX Titan. Also had to remove my Noctua NH-D14 cooler in order to get room for the 2nd graphics card. I got the Corsair Hydro Series H60 instead and it could just fit into the top of my case which freed up a lot of space.

By the way: Don't use PCIe power Y-cables for the GTX Titan like I did in this picture, it won't work.

My rig afterr the upgrade:

Monitor: 3 x Dell UltraSharp U2713HM
Case: Silverstone Fortress FT02 USB3.0 Black
CPU: Intel Core i7 3770K
Cooler: Corsair Hydro Series H60
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB)
GPU: 2 x Gigabyte GeForce GTX Titan 6GB
MoBo: ASUS P8Z77
SSD: Samsung 840 PRO Series 512GB [MZ-7PD512]
PSU: Corsair AX1200i Digital ATX 1200W
Speaker: Bose Companion 2 Series III

The final result

phytoplankton73 · 27 Dec 2013 at 23:16

billysielu said:
needs a monitor mount

Dammit, now I have to build one of those also

phytoplankton73 · 28 Dec 2013 at 17:00

Shivy011 said:
Can I order one?

Order one? I'm not even sure I can get this one into my new apartment!

phytoplankton73 · 28 Dec 2013 at 18:54

Caged said:
You need a gas assisted Humanscale monitor arm

phytoplankton73 · 22 Jun 2014 at 20:19

deleted

phytoplankton73 · 3 Jul 2014 at 14:44

Found out my local timber yard had a large amount of hardwood shelves on must go away sale from the same manufacturer where I bought my desktop.

So I began building a 3-monitor stand for my 3 Dell U2713hm that would match my desk top.

First I measured the distance from my eyes to the center monitor and found out the approx angle of 45° would mean looking at the side monitors at an 90° angle. Then I measured the relevant dimension of the monitor and the wooden boards and sketched the whole thing to find out where I should cut to have everything nicely centered.

The dark blue is the outline of the monitors and their base, the light blue is the boards and the red lines is where I needed to saw and then glue the ends together

Just need finishing the legs

phytoplankton73 · 4 Jul 2014 at 21:36

Thanks

Finally done!

phytoplankton73 · 7 Jul 2014 at 01:21

Mark This Day said:
Loveing the wood how comes you haven't wall mounted the dells

Because the desk is height adjustable and I often switch between sitting and standing, so it would be impractical to have them wall mounted.

phytoplankton73 · 12 Jul 2014 at 00:24

Bluecube said:
What did you use to mount the bar plug under your desk?

It's one of these and I just drilled holes through the plastic wings at the ends (they're just there to wind the cord around) and screwed them to the desk.

phytoplankton73 · 25 Jul 2014 at 12:52

The final touch, 3 strips of IKEA led lights up under the monitor mount towards the back

phytoplankton73 · 29 Jul 2014 at 21:33

sdavlaws said:
That stand looks amazing! would you mind posting a few of the dimensions you used?

Not at all but the the measurements are based on the dimensions of the wood I had available and the dimensions of my monitors. Another important factor is the angle of the monitors which depends on your preferences and the distance from your eyes to the monitor. Let me wrap my head around it for a while and I'll make a guide or a spreadsheet to make a monitor stand like that relevant to people's monitors and preferences :cool: