Hey Guys So this is my first ever scratch build and I must say I'm Pretty Excited. Since I saw the first desk builds out there I've been wanting to do one myself. After finally growing a pair I decided to hell with it and started planning. Most of my planning has been done on paper as I simply have not had the time to go about it on sketch-up or autocad inventor. I will however get round to it sometime to give you guys an idea of how went about business. The desk I'm using is covered in a dark brown leather (Pleather to be exact cause I'm cheap like that ) which should make things a bit more difficult when it come to cutting. The build will be done predominately out of press wood as the desk is made from it. Some of the parts I will be using are in my current system but the majority are still to be bought. These are the parts I plan on using: Intel i5-4670k ASrock Z87M Extreme 4 G.Skill Trident 2X4GB 2400mhz RAM Kit Powercolor R9 280X TurboDuo } X2 Seasonic M12II 750w PSU (Will most likely upgrade it to an 850w) Western Digital Blue 1TB HDD (For media) Samsung Evo 840 120GB SSD } X2 (One for OS and one for games like BF4) (Might rather get PRO 840's) 480mm Radiator (Still deciding on which but looking at the EK Coolestrem PE 480 or Black-Ice GTX 480mm ) D5 Pump (most likely with a Bitspower Pump Mod) Still deciding on a res as a tube won't work as it would have to be horizontally mounted (not to keen on air getting in the system) Will be using Rigid Acrylic Tubing with compression fittings (still haven't decided whether I want to go monsoon or ek) Still haven't decided which fans I want to use either In terms of the color theme for the interior of the build I haven't fully made up my mind as to whether I want to go black and red with white lighting or black and green with UV. Let me know which you guys think would look better. The idea is that the acrylic window I will install in the top will be a smoked color to allow me to highlight only the parts I want with leds. To finish off let me just say that this build will more likely than not take place over the next few months (atleast in terms of parts I simply can't afford to build this in one go) So if your willing to wait it out go ahead and subscribe because it will be done before the year is out. I already started so will post some pics shortly of what I have done so far. And some info on what was done.
Hello and welcome to the forums. In order to be a 'Project Log' you need pics of work in progress so I've moved this to modding for now. Once you've got pics up I'll shift it back GK
So heres some pics So this is the bottom of the desk before I started any mods. The placement for the first cuts Some of the parts (Ignore the hideous green fan ) After first cuts. Small cut on the left side panel is for psu cable. Larger 2 cuts are for cable routing. Tore apart my old coolermaster k550 to get a back plate and pci-e bracket for easier mounting. Checking the location for motherboard placement. Possible area for HDD placement So got the first of the press wood cut to size but forgot to take into account the desk legs. Time to break out the jigsaw The thin plank was simply to see if the pci bracket fits under what will be the bottom of the desk. Have a full size bottom thats just to big for these pics. So cut the mobo backplate and pci brakcet to size. Still got quite a lot of filing to do. Sorry for the bad pic quality. Was about 2 in the morning at this stage. All the previous pics was work done over the previous 2 days. The next few are from today. Not gonna lie spent most of the day bashing my head trying to figure out exactly how I was gonna place the 4 120mm fans for the 480mm rad . Eventually decided to design a custom radiator and fan grill/mounting plate to go on the back panel. Will be having it laser cut out of 2 or 3mm steel and then powder coated black. I think I will be doing this for all my fan mounting points including the 4 intake fans which I'm still deciding exactly where to mount. As for now here's a few pics of the cuts made into the two planks and as well as an idea of how the radiator will fit in conjunction with the motherboard Yes i realize the pci-e bracket is the wrong way around , but it was simply to see relative positioning to the side walls. That all for now guys. Will post more tomorrow
Nice to see an existing desk being modded I'll be keeping an eye on this I've moved this back to Project Logs (Not sure if it's me at my end or you but not all the piccys are loading for me - I can't see anything wrong with the img tags so it may well be an issue my end as I'm at work...)
Well thats sound like a great desk project. @GerogeK on my side alle pics are working I really like it if someone is brave enough to craft on old things so keep going like that and everyone makes mistakes :wink: I had to fix my 480 rad two times cause i put the fans wrong way arround :ugly:
Fan Grill Hi Guys So didn't get much done yesterday, but did at least get the plan for the fan grill for the 480mm done. Its a pretty simple design which I'm having water jet cut. Still have to go about designing some 120mm grills/mounts. I think I'm going to go with the 480mm as an intake and then 3 separate 120mm as outlets around the sides of the desk to allow for a positive pressure inside. Let me know if you guys think the fan arrangement is a good idea. @hanssx2 That's why I decided to take my time on those bigger cuts, first time I'm doing anything half decent sized in terms of crafting with wood/press wood, so don't wanna rush it . Just on a side note, do you guys think the 480mm will be enough to cool 2 gpus and the cpu. Not planning on going for a heavy OC just i light one that I know runs stable. Just the simple version as a screen print will post the sketch up link later.
First Paint Hi guys So went and bought some straight and angled fittings (not the water cooling type should actually be calling them brackets), and some spray paint. Decided to get as much painting as possible done today due to the sunshine. Brackets prepped and ready for primer First layer or primer on brackets and some of the planks First top coat, looks very red in this photo Second Coat Final coat on both planks and brackets. Decided to keep the brackets black for a little contrast, If i doesn't look good once its assembled will repaint the same color as the desk Color comparison, can see its not exact but pretty close. Gonna do the final sand on the planks tomorrow to give it a nice finish. So ya guys that's it for today, let me know what you guys think
Final Paint and Layout Hi Guys So did what will hopefully be the final painting today, and started laying out the different parts for the desk for final mounting. To late did I realize that I forgot to cut out the section of the base where my legs are meant to go . So Will be doing that tomorrow before final mounting. Depending how the cut goes hopefully i won't need to repaint it, but if worst comes to worst it shouldn't take me more than an hour. So here's some pics. Base Mobo Backplate and PCI-E Bracket getting some paint Window Cut still need to use a router along the edge to make it easier to fit the acrylic Checking the layout of desk Center piece at the bottom is what I need to cut out tomorrow. Motherboard Backplate and PCI-E Bracket Secured in place With top on to give an idea of how the final desk will look Two 120mm exhaust fan holes, can see the colors aren't an exact match under flash but looks very similar in ambient light. Hole for power cable PSU Compartment Hidden space for cable routing where drawer used to be. with drawer in place cables are hidden. So yeah, that's all for now. Will do an update tomorrow once everything is assembled. Must say I'm pretty happy with the outcome so far, the desk will probably be done soon. Then the waiting game starts till I have enough funds for the water cooling parts and gpu's.
Just a little update. I have been thinking about replacing the rigid acrylic tubing with copper piping. I think it would look awesome with the dark brown color of the desk especially if polished. Let me know what you guys think please! I've never worked with copper piping before so should be a challenge. I think the results will be worth the effort though.
It depends on what you want to do. Really short bends would be easier in plastic. You may hate your choice after polishing a few lines too. I have to ask what purpose the welding hammer serves?
Fan Grills @Cheapskate Don't mind polishing them, but those tight turns may be a problem, could always use 90 fittings when its to tight. Hahaha actually just used it to flatten the spacers on the motherboard back-plate, didn't want to use a normal hammer and risk bending the back-plate. Ended up being the perfect tool for the job. Didn't have to do any welding on this build, maybe on the next one Just a quick little update on the fan grills, used Autodesk Inventor to design them, like I said previously a very simple design but should server my purpose perfectly. If you would like the .dwg file send me a pm and I will be plenty happy to forward them to you. The two grills/mounts in jpeg format Should have them this Wednesday or Thursday
Hey guys, Bit of a delay at the moment can't seem to find any 480mm radiators in South Africa . So gonna look at importing one. Will probably only be getting it towards the end of July with a few more WC parts just not able to afford the shiping right now (This exchange rate ). Until then I am going to continue focusing on the exterior and interior finishing. I managed to find plether that is the exact same color as that which is already on the desk, so will be covering the wood with it to make for a more uniform look and better finish Also will only have the grills on Friday or Monday now. They had to service there cutter today . On top of that I'm back at work now so please be patient as updates won't be as frequent due to an 8 to 5 day . Just to end off I can't decide whether to make custom length and sleeved cables for my psu or just get custom black and red extension. If I use extensions the cables from the psu will be hidden in the drawer and as they are not long enought to reach the mobo, gpu ect. from the psu's compartment. So which would you choose?
Small update Hi guys, So just a little update. Decided to have the fan grills/mounts cut out of stainless steel instead of mild steel. Also gonna order custom dust filters from www.demcifilter.com Busy deciding whether to switch the 280x's for 290's but will only get one for the moment and then one in December. Also looking at getting a Crucial MX100 512Gb and then raiding it with another at a later stage. Will probably also change the motherboard from the ASrock Z87M-Extreme 4 to the MSI Z97M Gaming. Also gonna be using the Coolermaster Jetflo Fans with white LED's. Placed my order but they only had 3 in stock so waiting for another 7 Sorry for not updating in a long time, but as I said this is a long term project as simply can't afford to buy everything at once. Check back soon for photos of the fans.
Finally a real update: Fans and Fan Grill/Mounts Hi guys so I finally made some more progress this month. Going has been slow due to finances, but I managed to make some progress. So here you are; the fan grills/mounts finally back from laser cutting: The 480mm Fan/Radiator Grill/Mounts 120mm Exhaust Fan Grill/Mounts Think I am going to have them brushed for a slightly more rugged look. The Fans: Love the fact that they have a metal thread. Still need to get another 6 of these Finally just lining up the fans with the Grill/Mount to make sure that all the cuts are correct: I love the fact that the LED's are housed with the motor. Must say I love the JetFlo's. Even quieter than the SP120. Little less static pressure but still enough to get the job done. Definitely my new favorite fan. So yeah guys that it for now. Hopefully won't be as long a wait for the next update (Maybe including the acrylic window). Have contacted DEMCiflex and will have my filters within a week or two Let me know what you guys think of the build and if you have any ideas you think may benefit it.
Hi guys. Just an update. Going has been slow but managed to save some money and have upgraded my cpu and motherboard. Managed to get a fine deal on a brand new Gigabyte X79-UD3 motherboard and 2 year old intel i7-3930k. Both still in warranty for around $500 (R5000). Also got a EVGA GTX 680 coming in 2 weeks. Use to be a friends. Currently on the look out for a second one. Then I just need to secure the ssd's and watercooling. I should be able to finish everthing by November at this rate. I will post pics of the motherboard and CPU a bit later. Also I am in the process of designing an mount/stand for a tube res so that it stands at an angle. I dont have the space to mount it upright and don't want to risk the pump sucking air which is why I will mount it at a slight angle. Stay tuned for updates
Hey guys so I realize it has been an absolute age since I last updated this, but I have been busy to say the least. Since my last update I have added a number of things to my build. Firstly I didn't get the EVGA GTX 680. Instead I got a Powercolor 7990 with an EK waterblock.... However I did not have this in my possession for long as I decided to trade it for two MSI GTX 680 Lightnings with full EK water blocks . Shortly after this development I invested in a Samsung 128GB 850 Pro, which I must say is an amazing little drive. I will most definitely be getting a second one to run in raid. I also got myself the first of my lg 23inch ips monitors. I am still deciding whether I want 2 or 3. At the start of this build I had a 750W Seasonic M12ii Evo, and although this should have been enough power I decided to upgrade a bit in order to give my self some head room with all the parts I had. And this list of parts increased about 3 day's ago. When I finally got my hand on a few more water cooling goodies. I finally managed to get my hands on a XSPC 480mm Rad, which in South Africa is quite a feat. Next I got myself two d5 pumps and a EK Acetyl dual pump top. I paired this up with a Phobya 250mm Tube Res. So without further delay. Here's some pictures. Just need to get the rigid tubing and window now. So yeah hope you enjoyed the couple of pics I took will update with more shortly
Needs more work Thanks but theres still a lot of work to be done. (cable management ect.) But we will get there. I'm wanting to do a second one out of steel for a mate. As I am a lot better at doing steel work.it much easier to hide cables and get good routes going if you are doing the cutting with steel rather than wood.
Teaser before a big update. I said I would have this done before the end of the year and it's almost there.
OK guys. Here we go the big update. So last time I posted I was sitting on socket LGA2011. Since then I have downgrade to LGA1150. There are a couple of reasons for this. Firstly as we all know Socket 2011 is dead. So I decided to go for something that has a slightly longer life span. Secondly I now have a way more sexy motherboard as in Maximus 7 Formula sexy. Thirdly I managed to get in contact with Vivi. Who offered to ultracool and overclock a 4790k for me. For those of you who don't know who Vivi is: http://gigabytedaily.blogspot.com/2014/01/world-records-tumble-during-las-vegas.html So yeah I'm pretty happy going that route. At the moment I am running the CPU at 4.8ghz at 1.402V with Memory at 2400mhz and I am happy to say the temp don't reach higher than 50 in gaming and stay under 70 in Prime 95 Small FFTs, Large FFts and Blend test. That while my fans are all running at 30%. On top of changing my motherboard and CPU, I have made some changes in my watercooling components. The XSPC raystorm is gone and has been replaced with an EK Supremacy EVO clear nickle water block. To go hand in hand with this I bought an EK Monarch x4 clear nickle waterblock My tubing has also been changed to rigid acrylic which is used in conjunction with EK's black compression fittings. This paired with mayhems UV purple dye make's quite a difference to the overall looks of the build. The final change to my system is my monitor. I decided that I would prefer to have one moitor and this I sold my LG 23" IPS monitor and replaced it with a Dell U2913WM 29" 21:9 IPS monitor. I know a lot of people aren't fans of the 21:9 ratio but I must say that I love it. Yeah guys so I am coming to the end of this build and will be posting a lot of pictures shortly. I would have loved to have upgrade my GPU's to 970's but it is just to expensive to get water blocks for them to South Africa at this time. With our postal service being on strike it would cost me $250 Dollars just for the shipping and another $300 for the water blocks and backplates. I can afford the cards at this moment in time but I don't want to get the cards and blocks separately so will have to wait till sometime next year when I can afford to bring the blocks in. Pictures will follow shortly
