Ohh no not another one of those PC in a Desk threads!!

[enigma27]

I got bored so decided to make something...

PC in a desk.. why not!

So to start the Spec.

PC1

Core i7 4970
16gb Ram
Multiple SSD
Sli GTX 970
Corsair H100i

PC2

Core i3
8gb Ram
Inbuilt GFX

So PC 1 is my main gaming rig... PC 2 is going to either be a NAS although I do already have one or a streaming PC... Might even Strip my NAS and put that inside also.

Desk is going to be high gloss white and have two perspex windows to see the innards.

First up the main box:

The overall design is 3 chambers.. left will have the main PC, middle will have PSU's and hide cables and the third will hold the 2nd PC and NAS

Main PC section

2nd PC section + PSU section

Second up is testing the grills and fans...

Holes Cut

360mm Radiator grill

Fans Installed

Now I am happy with this I am going to continue to install another two 240mm fan grills and fans... another on the front for the right chamber and one on the side where the H100i is going to be mounted.

Updates may be slow as we have visitors next week so next Update will be Monday 01st.

Hope you like.

As per rule in sticky...

Spoiler tags should not be used in any build log. Do not put your pictures in spoiler tags. nobody wants to click every single picture individually. Unsurprisingly, they are in your thread to see your work.

Please resize image to no more than 1280px wide before replacing image tags - thanks *

 

[enigma27]

The legs will come further down the road once the top is done..

Undecided yet whether to make them from wood or use metal legs

 

[enigma27]

Hehe i meant your legs not the desks . I hope the weather stays nice and dry for ya while your doing the cutting and drilling.

:0) sorry was tired from the cutting should have read your post better...

No I am going to leave it at the height it is.. i usually sit off centre on my desk anyways and i tend to slouch.. The height is only a few centimetres more than my current desk height.

 

[enigma27]

Just ordered two of these for the power switches.. Now need to find something to allow me a couple of usb sockets on the front.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-025-DT

 

[enigma27]

OK bit of an update:

Had a few hours this afternoon so cut the remaining holes in the side panels and main board for PSU fans..

Also mounted both motherboards for size. Using Brass motherboard spacers that are screwed into the bottom board.

Also cut the holes for the power switches

Hopefully next weekend stays dry and I can start to route out the cable holes and actually put the box together...

 

[enigma27]

Ok few more shots of the unit together with all the fan holes intact.

 

[enigma27]

I'd love to do something like this but I feel I don't have the skills. What's your occupation if you don't mind me asking?

How did you learn to do this D:

I work in Finance...

I have always had a thing about putting things together whether it be PC's or woodwork.. you could say this is a hobby..

 

[enigma27]

your going to have problems sitting at the desk, i steped mine up to 80mm in the middle and it still i bit crap to sit at, i asume your will be 160mm plus the top your looking at 200mm from the legs to the keyboard. you will ever be sitting very low or have your arms in the air.
i would take a section out of the middle and run the router round it to give it a bull nose so it dont catch on your legs as i also had my desk cut me before rounding off ever edge

i would advice you put a top on it and try using it for a week or two before finishing the project off. i made one just like your then scraped it and re designed it

Thanks for the advise..

I have already built a PC desk that this will replace this which is pretty much the same size just with no PC inside. My old desk is only a few centimetres smaller than the height of this one so I added a few boards on top to make it the same size and was more than comfortable..

I do sit low and weird + I wont be sitting central.. I will do what you said and put a top on it and use my trestles as legs to see how it feels..

I also had a thought last night and was thinking I maybe not sit the top directly on the surround pieces and recess it inside on hinges so its flat to the height it is now.

 

[enigma27]

Small Update.

Wired up and tested the front panel and LED colors... think i like the blue and will work well with white gloss finish..

 

[enigma27]

Update Time:

Didn't get as much done this weekend due to the little one being ill so the prep work for painting will have to be pushed back a week...

But we are glued and screwed.. another few mock up shots with it fixed together... had one set back this week... the cables i received from the front panel switch to the mobo's are far too short and I cannot find anyone with 600mm length cables in stock that don't cost a fortune... hoping for an update from OCUK as they are hoping they will have some soonish..

For anyone interested and apart from the components I already had this build has cost me the following

Wood: £18
2 Radiator grills: £30
Screws, nuts and bolts: £10

More updates next week

 

[enigma27]

Hi All.

Update time. Xmas is out of the way and I have had a day to get stuff done... So we now have a completed carcass including legs... I decided to make the base and the top removable i.e the legs and bas attach with 4 bolts inside the desk for easy movement.

Next weekend is going to be the boring part which is sanding and priming... dont worry though wont bore you with that... have decided to prime three coats and then spray paint it gloss white..

Acrylic cut outs are on order this week for the windows.

have also decided I am going to use the right hand section and small PC as home built NAS using Freenas and two 2tb HD's.

 

[enigma27]

The legs look good to me, once theyre filled sanded and painted they will come up a treat. Decided on the colour yet?

I am intending to do the whole thing as a high gloss white mirror finish.. hoping this will help the LED's stand out..

I had no choice really to do the legs as is because the MDF needs support across the base so four legs and it would have ended up sagging in the middle.. prolly should have used thicker MDF but didnt..

to be honest not a fan of metal or round legs.. and I am learning to work with wood...

BUT as i said they are removable from the top so if I decide i dont like them they can be wiped off and replaced with something else in seconds.

Main unit has had first coat of primer today... another two coats next weekend and i can spray paint.

 

[enigma27]

Its 12mm MDF.. as it is its not too heavy...

18mm maybe would have been stronger..

The Mirror finished is what is going to take time.. 3 times i need to prime and sand in between then same with the spray coats.

 

[enigma27]

Some advice from a person who used to make professional competition speaker boxes.

Before you go near it with an spray paint get yourself a rad roller and a large pot of water based matt.

Then, give it several coats with the matt paint and roller.

Give it time to dry (sit it next to a radiator) then sand it back smooth. Matt emulsion is fantastic as a filler paint because it's quite thick. Not only that, it's way, way cheaper using it as your 'soak coat' when painting on MDF. MDF is like a friggin sponge and using canned primer will cost you an absolute fortune.

Then, once it's dry and sanded smooth hit it with spray paint.

Thanks.

This is what I am doing... this bit worried me the most and spent hours watching techniques on how to do it...

Finally decided on the below

Prime
Sand with 400 grit
Prime second coat
Sand with 800 grit
Prime third coat
Sand with 800 grit..

After those three coats it would be onto the spraying using the same 3 coat process and sanding with higher grit in between coats..

Tried this on a scrap piece of MDF a few weeks back and came out with a night mirror type finish..

 

[enigma27]

Yeah it'll need at least three coats of a paint that will seal against dry patches. That's the problem with MDF, some areas have more of the PVA they use to mush together the dust.

I used to get mine coated and sanded with matt paint, then send them off to a guy I knew with a spray booth.

I used to route the edges round too. MDF chips and snaps off very easily if you bang it.

Route them I did

Makes it look a little nicer as decoration.

 

[enigma27]

So guys...

Here it is.. I decided to call this the 'prototype'.. now having done it once I would defiantly take more time but seeing as i had my garden and kitchen to build it in I don't think it came out too bad...

Interesting that my Gfx cards and cpu are now much lower temp wise..

one GPU idles at 26 and the other at 30 while CPU idles around 24..

Also my SLI 970 never seem to hit the temp limit of 79 anymore... they max out around 60 so should have room to overclock..

Thanks for looking.

 

[enigma27]

awesome desk!

I couldn't quite see from the picture, but do you have anything supporting the graphics cards? or are they going to wobble on there pcie slots each time you bump the desk with your knee or something?

They are to an extent..

I cut out grooves in the desk bottom where end of the bracket sits in...

they don't wobble when the desk moves..

 

[enigma27]

looks good mate. Would you be able to dual monitor without fouling the glass window though?

If i was to do dual monitor i would probably get a bracket and attach it to the back so the monitors hover over the desk.

 

[enigma27]

Cute cat - nice of them to keep your chair warm.

Also - I really love this build. What are your top 10 tips for someone attempting the same thing please?

Plan plan plan....

Thought I had everything planned out but so many times I had to change something..

I was fortunate enough to just be moving my main PC into the desk so I already had everything I need bar a few fans..

and make sure you have long enough cables... plenty of extensions i had to use.