intel core i5 2500k desk build

[Pugsport]

well as you may have seen on the desk thread i was thinking about making building my own desk and i now have a design i am pretty much 100% happy with . the one thing i may change is the 2nd place for the pc and use that to build my home server in aswell as house a router and maybe other network stuff.

design images. colour theme will be black, white and a little blue

One the whole desk inc wardrobe

close up of main desk

Top veiw showing plexiglas window i may have this part of the desk surface on some rams so it can lift up in order to get better access to the motherboard and other items(i may move the fans from the plaxiglas and place them in the worksurface instead along with the fillport)

Front veiw of pc cupboard. there will be three spaces in here. one space running rull width of the top holding the motherboard (motherboard will lay flat, same angle as desk surface) and power cables will come up from under there the motherboard i think it will also house the reservoir and maybe hard drives to (the front will on magnets if they can hold it if not i guess it will end up getting hinged. space two will be for the radiators and pump (the door will be hinged so you can get access if need and space three will be fitted with a door to hide the optical drives and maybe some usb ports along with a drain port for the water system. (power, rest and light switches will all be enclosed in the top part of the desk. i may build them in to the back pannel or into the desk surface but as yet not really to sure for a good location)

details from left to right are

pc space to take a full tower case, seating area, cupboard, dvd storage, seating area, built in pc and wardrobe.

ive started to make a parts list so once i get it finished ill post it up along with a total cost

i dont see this being a fast build as i dont have a huge amount of time but i will try to get it done as fast i can for the reason of i want the extra work area

 

[f0x.]

Looks cool man, maybe look into adapting Furniture Kits from Ikea, will save you a load of time, and can look smart too

 

[Pugsport]

yer it could have been a good but ive already got some of the wood and trying to paint chipboard or chipboard thats covered in a wood effect is hard work due to the solvents in the paint can make the covering lift and if its not covered then there is days of filler works to get it smooth. if they had of been made from solid wood or mdf it would have been easier but solid wood is not cheap.

did have a bit of an add up while i was down the bodyshop suppliers and all the paint for this project is around the £280 mark. which is 19 litres of paint (4 litres of primer, 5 litres of gloss black and gloss white along with 5 litres of high gloss lacquer). also i need to try and find a I/O shield plate, a psu mounting plate and could really do with a motherboard tray but i could live with out it

 

[yassarikhan786]

Really nice idea for a desk

.

 

[Cyanide89]

Whats with people wanting a kitchen for their computer?

 

[Pugsport]

Whats with people wanting a kitchen for their computer?

who wants a kitchen for their computer?

i just want a desk with storage space and a nice amount of work area. will also be using the left side pc space for housing my server

 

[Pugsport]

well made a start on building it now. got all the frame work in for the desk and the printer cupboard made (just got the end cupboard to make)

veiw from above of the left side

veiw from above of the right side

veiw from the floor of the left side

veiw from the floor of the right side

im un sure where i should be putting the front usb and audio ports tho as i have two places where they might work good but looking for advice

little diagram of what i was thinking and the places where i think the usb and audio ports might work.

 

[yassarikhan786]

Really nice progress mate. I've never built a desk so I can't give any advice, but I can say "Good Work."

 

[hmmblah]

Just curious, but why not go with solid plywood instead of building a frame?

 

[Solidarity]

That's a might fine looking frame you have there.

 

[Pugsport]

Just curious, but why not go with solid plywood instead of building a frame?

mdf is not structural so i wanted the internal frame to support it more also need something to mount the hinges to. i maybe could have got away with out the frame work but the desk i bought from the shop was made of just pannels screw to one another and it has quite a bit of give it and over such a long distance the top might have started to bow in time or may have had a bit of give to it. at the moment the plan is to have my 32" tv on teh left hand side of the desk which can also then be used for a monitor on the 2nd pc aswell as two main monitors for the main pc and im sure over time ill end up with more on there so i just want it to be as strong as it can be with out being silly heavy. also went from mdf over other wood because its got a smooth finish (no grain to it) so it will be a lot less hassle to paint. can also use the void between the frame work and mdf cover to run cables and tubes throw to keep things clean or at least try to keep it clean

thanks for the comment people

Edit: -

did have a few bits turn up today which i forgot to add to post

Two Lamptron momentary Vandal Resistant Illuminated Switches (black with Blue Led ring) for power and rest

Danger Den I/O shield

 

[hmmblah]

mdf is not structural so i wanted the internal frame to support it more also need something to mount the hinges to. i maybe could have got away with out the frame work but the desk i bought from the shop was made of just pannels screw to one another and it has quite a bit of give it and over such a long distance the top might have started to bow in time or may have had a bit of give to it. at the moment the plan is to have my 32" tv on teh left hand side of the desk which can also then be used for a monitor on the 2nd pc aswell as two main monitors for the main pc and im sure over time ill end up with more on there so i just want it to be as strong as it can be with out being silly heavy. also went from mdf over other wood because its got a smooth finish (no grain to it) so it will be a lot less hassle to paint.

thanks for the comment people

Ah, you're using MDF. Makes sense then.

 

[Pugsport]

Ah, you're using MDF. Makes sense then.

yer because im stupid i forgot to say to start with

if only they made a wood that was smooth like mdf but was also structural like ply it would be awesome and save loads of hassle again

 

[Pugsport]

got my front usb and audio ports today

also painted the dvd drive front to match the theme but not to happy with it so going to have to redo it

usb and audio ports fitted. not sure if thats the best place for them but they are there now

 

[Pugsport]

Front panel design is pretty much sorted now altho im not sure if i should lose the 2nd 5" drive bay and use that space to put my hard drives and ssd drive altho at the moment there is no airflow in this part of the case.

front panel design

Space behing the front panel

 

[ionicle]

looks brilliant, i wish i had the time.....actually, no, i have the time to do somthing like this, i wish i had the money to

your ideas are good, make sure to use the fact that heat rises, and have 2 or 3 fans blowing vertically up out of your desk at the top, perhaps have intakes at the very bottom of the desk, or close, and you could maybe even have a 120 mil on a folding hinge so in the winter when its cold, you could have it as a desk fan to blow heat onto you?

or is that too creative? ....so it came up out of the desk like a vent on a building, perhaps on a hinge, with a seal around it so airflow wasnt compromised...

 

[Pugsport]

made a start on covering the desk but the saw blade is blunt so ill have to get a new one

inside the pc cupboard

i hope i get time to get a blade tomorrow if not will have to wait till monday before i can do anymore

 

[yassarikhan786]

You've made good progress mate, I like it

.

 

[ionicle]

really nice, keep us updated.

 

[Pugsport]

well got most of the pc cupboard finished off now but got to wait till later in the week before i can cut the psu hole as i can not get up to my mates before then to get some machine shop time (need a mount for the psu)

top half of pc cupboard

veiw from the lower plexiglas (at the front of the cupboard)

lower part of the cupboard (the left side is not covered all the way along as the radiators will be mounted here)

full veiw of desk with the desk surface on altho the long part still needs to be scribed to the wall

lid for the pc cupboard (still waiting on the gas strut tho)

thanks for the comments people