Megadeblow Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Project Alternate: PC in a desk scratch build & MODs Hi all, After what feels like a very long year I have decided to start work on my new desk build. The idea for this desk came to me when i was working on my last desk & at one point I almost started the project again, but I'm glad i didn't Most people liked the desk & I learned a great deal during the build. The Project Alternate design slightly changed month by month & I will show some of the other plans & explain why the changes was made. This time I'm hoping to outdo my last desk & hopefully help others in the process. The desk work is about to start, using mostly MDF, Perspex, clay, metal & glass I plan to build the desk in 3 parts, starting from the bottom, then middle followed by the top section. the tricky parts will be the sharp corners & angles on the edges. In making the desk in 3 parts it will allow for easy transport from my garden shed to my very small room/office. I plan to have the 2 reservoirs just under the top shelf so i can see the water flowing by have a couple of different layouts for the internal components, but want to wait until the top compartment is built so I can see IRL what looks & works best. For the specs, I'm upgrading from my trusty i5-2500k to a i7-5820K, due to the CPU upgread I will also be using the new ASUS X99 TUF motherboard & DDR4 This time I will also go with 3 screens at 1440p if possible, or 1X 4K screen, so my HD7970s will also need upgrading to a R9-295x2. The desk is going to take months to complete, so rushing out for parts now is not necessary unless it's something on sale I can't pass on **UPDATE 18/10/15: some Specs** SPECS CPU - i7-5820k MB - ASUS Sabertooth X99 RAM - 32GB Avexir Blitz 1.1 (DDR4) GPU - ASUS R9-295x2 PSU - Cooler Master: V1200 Platinum PSU2 - Cooler Master: GM750W Fans - Cooler Master: Jet flow 120's & Cooler Master Silencio FP120 PWM HDs - Western Digital Green 6TB - Barracudas x2 2TB - Wester Digital Green 1TB SSDs - 2x Samsung EVO850s 250GB (500GB) RADS - 2x Phobya G-Changer 360 RADs V.2 RES - 2x Phobya 450 reservoirs CPU WB - Alphacool NexXxoS XP³ Light PUMP - 2x Alphacool VPP655 GPU WB - Alphacool NexXxoS GPX KB - CM Storm quickfire xti Mouse - CM Storm Reaper Build log 1 Build log 2 Build log 3 Desk top lift The Final The full build log can be seen here - http://community.coolermaster.com/index.php/topic/12810-project-alternate-pc-in-a-desk/ For past & present MODs/Builds please check my Facebook & Youtube pages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megadeblow Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 The MDF for the 2 bottom sections along with most of the MDF for the middle have now been cut to size & I have started to assemble. I was told to kit myself out with a face-mask & glasses when cutting MDF, but the normal size face-mask was causing my glasses to steam up lol So had to dig out my airsoft mask to use in conjunction with the small face-mask Some of the bolts/screws I will be using to fasten the main parts together, they will make it more easy to remove with standard alan keys & should last longer. Sides ready to be fasten to the bottom & back, soon as the miter edges are done The hardest part so far, miter edges, very tricky & most the time i have to use scrap wood before doing the final peace or risk wasting some MDF My 1st set of angled corners cut ready to use as shelf's/frame Bottom left assembled P.S, art added to 2nd post! A bit later than planed but finally got time now to update the log Both bottom left & right shelf's/frames are completed, no permanent fittings just encase i have any problems moving the desk to the house, This was by far the easiest part so far The main compartment that will act as a frame for the top & hold the fans & other components - the RADs Here im making some slots for the front panels that will be resting on the left & right side shelf's, doing so will help hold them im place as I screw them down Over the past week some build items have arrived so I will cover them along with the case mod im doing Moving the MEGA desk build (2013) in to the case to make room for the new desk & to ensure I have a working computer during the build so I can keep you all updated My 1st package had some Cooler Master bit n bobs that I will cover later in the build along with my replacement tea cup & cap 2nd package had the heart of the new build, A v1200 PSU along with Jet Flow 120mm RED fans & some very nice Resonar in-ear buds so I can have some decent music as I'm working in the shed And last thing I received this week was my new CPU, Intel i7-5820k witch will be a nice upgrade for me the last CPU I was using was the i5-2500k. Both the corner parts now built, they will house the speakers & also act as part of the upper shelf for the monitor/monitors. After making the above parts I could then start to work on the tricky parts, the 2x side covers that need some careful cutting in order to look the part & take some pressure. Used glue to hold the parts together then when it was dry I added some blocks for extra strength. When I was happy with all the parts & placement I then went back to the corner parts to add the speakers, did it in this order so i could double check how it looked before adding the speakers, just encase I wasn't happy with them in the position I had them on the art work. This is a dodgy tool, almost had my hand of a couple of times, but did the job in the end Added some sealant to prevent dust & help with the speaker sound. Starting to take shape now, really nice to see it looking a bit like the design I spent months working on please note, the sides ain't fasten down yet & still need some sanding to be done later in the build, the shelf is also just resting there atm, the blocks holding it up are just for demonstration & will be replaced. In the next stage im going to dismantle the desk & reduce the height by 2 inch, the main reason for this mod is so im not towering above my friends on my high chair as they sit on the small visitor chairs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megadeblow Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 Over the past week or so I have finished lowering the desk by 2" cut the air-vent hole, made the vent cover & some other small bits like the shelf mounts. I cant attach them properly yet & do the fine adjustments until some of the components arrive so I can check placement & sizing. Iv also started to undercoat some of the desk & done lots of sanding. Here are the 2 shelf supports, they might need some adjusting at a later date when i start to fit the RES, there will be 2x 450mm reservoirs on each side on the shelf bottom. here they are in place, the shelf isn't shaped & fasten in place yet. Cutting the 3mm black plexiglass that will be used for the vent cover. This is the frame for the vent cover, think im going to have this with a mat finish & the blades will be polished to a shine I'm not that great with plexiglass, so this took some time lol Thinking the blades might be a bit too long, will cut them down later in the build if I don't change my mind... I'm short on time today, so I will try add more updates tomorrow. Thanks for for looking A quick mid week update for you, Started work on the center shelf holder that I plan to also run the water tubing though, The shape might change slightly later in the build when i have the 2x RES in place. Here it is in place, as you can see Iv also started to undercoat some parts, I started this now to see how well it would hold up & to help show imperfections. You can see the parts I started to sand down, I have now given the desk 1 coat of MDF primer & 2 coats of white primer, sanding after every coat apart from the last one.. Whether I use a paint or go with wrap the surface will need to be sanded as good as possible. Sanded down the speaker covers, not sure what colour Im going to use yet. Decided to make the cones for the front of the desk from clay lol, yes clay... thought why not, I need the practice for a later none PC related mission Its air dry clay, so my cats looking after it for me as its out in the sun for the day once it was hard enough I sanded them down to a better finish ready to prime & sand once more, I hate all the sanding I also hollowed out the center to reduce the weight & cut some groves for the bracket. Thats all for now, I will try have more updates for you at the weekend.. A plan from the start but not shown to everyone was some front lighting, I decided to keep it on the down-low encase I failed, as Iv never done Plexiglas with LEDs.. Anyway, I think its looks good for now, should I change my mind later in the build when iv painted or wrapped the desk I will cover them over your thoughts on them would be appreciated, good or bad about anything on the build, constructive criticism can be a great help don't want it to look too cheesy, but as there at my side I think they could act as nice room lighting Started by cutting some plexi to the same angel as the front corners, Sides move out the way so I can cut some groves for the plexi. Did a bit more undercoating & the groves are now cut on both sides, top shelf still not completed as im awaiting the RES before I make final cuts. Oh, Im just using super bright white LEDs for the front, its possible I could change them for RGB at a later date? The ASUS Sabertooth X99, the most tidy looking motherboard iv ever seen, should be quite easy to mod to my colour scheme. Will be using this MB along with some DDR4 & the Intel i7-5820k. Done some shots with & without the caps/covers P.S 1st page has been updated with some specs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megadeblow Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 Me & my daughter have been doing a spot of painting Added some red to the Sabertooth x99 MB to tie in with my desk colours a bit better.. Mine is the one on the left! Top plate off With the arrival of my reservoirs I could start fastening down the top shelf & shape it better, I also did some work on the inside but had to stop for a bit as I await the pumps so I can make the cuts needed before working on the layout a bit more. while I wait I'm getting on with other bits, painted the MB last week & this week iv been making the front switch panel to house 5 Phobya push switches.. could have the switch holder in a couple of different positions. feel free to add your thoughts on what you think looks best 1 2 3 With the arrival of the reservoirs last week & now the pumps I can workout the internal setup. over the last week iv added some internal walls & removable bases, installed the 2X reservoirs, radiators & soon i will have the pumps in place. When im happy with the layout it will then all be removed before painting/wrapping. after that's completed it will then be time to move the desk inside so i can work on the tubing & wiring. Oh, also went with position 2 for the front panel & edged the front of the desktop. The next 3 photos show the cover thats now in place to hide the leg cutout. Some of the base covers in place, & a better view of the leg cover Cut a fan hole for the V1200 PSU, but not sure im having it in this position now? The Phobya 450 reservoirs, used them on my 2013 build, decided to stick with them again Using the provided brackets to fit them under the top shelf, will wrap or paint them at later date. Covered them with some masking tape so as not to scratch them A final pic for you, looks almost complete here, but still lots of work to be done Fitted the glass top using some chunky hinges, the glass is 5mm clear toughened, To start with I had to make a template for the cutters This is the glass getting cut & polished Here its fitted using the chunky hinges & a 10mm lip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megadeblow Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 I now have the final fans needed for the RADs & desk, Silencio FP 120 (Black) RADs MegaFlow 200mm (Red LED) Desk Jetflo 120 (Red LED) Desk Im going to be cutting holes in the base of the MB tray & instaling the 200mm fan directly underneath, This serves 2 purposes, keep the MB cool & the main reason was to get positive air pressure in to the desk. In total I will be having 6/7x120mm & 1x200mm IN, 6x120mm OUT. I will try get this done by the weekend and show you some pics, but for now heres some other bits iv been working on. Hinges fitted, but will need some adjusting before painting.. Lifts up perfectly, resting flat against the angled shelf & speakers In this update Iv done the final MDF primer & white primer coats on the whole of the desk, Cut the MB tray & added a 200mm fan to the base of the desk MDF primer The standard PC case tray 3 big holes made in line with the fan that will be directly under the MB tray Cut for the 200mm fan heres the desk after the full primer, still lots to do in preparation for the paint Heres a shot with the glass on Should have some photos of the final finish im looking in the next update, soon as this has been done the desk will be ready to come inside the house for the internal components & modding to continue Got my paints & been working on the smaller parts of the desk, wanted to double check the finish & practice applying the paints before doing the bigger parts of the desk. because of the deadly fumes in the basecoat & 2K/2pac clear, Im best doing it in 4 stages over the space of 2 to 3 weeks. im also short on space, so by painting the bottom sections & then letting them dry (harden) I can then add the middle section back on top & paint that, same for the top section. This is the box of paints, cant believe it cost me over £100 should have stuck with vinyl, would have been less messy & a bit cheaper lol Black Basecoat with thinners, 2K/2pac clear matte with hardener & thinners this is the base & thinners to be mixed for the bottom coat/base primed ready for painting, still needed cleaning down at this part 3 stages of basecoat black applied, still wet at this stage while the basecoat was still tacky I applied the clear coat, because you cant sand the base & clear during any stages as it would alter the appearance of the finish, the whole process has to be done within about 1hrs from start to finish with no room for errors From wet to dry, the photos will show how the finish changes over day stuck them back on the desk to see how it looks & try imagine the whole desk painted out of everything iv done so far, this painting has been the hardest part, I hope the extra effort was worth it in the end What do you all think to the colour so far? Im happy for now, but really need to see it all done & with some red add Almost forgot to add the 2x usb sockets to the front once that was done, I started on the painting, the 3 sections iv done so far took me about 2 weeks due to weather & drying times.. Bottom side sections Center compartment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megadeblow Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 90% of the paintwork is now completed, as with the last parts I painted, the top is black base with clear matte (2k)one final sanding to sharpen the edges A wipe down with some tac cloths before starting the 1st base small amount of water sprayed all around the desk to keep any dust down All the parts together, but not in the correct placed as the paint needs a couple of days/week to harden should give you a good idea as to what it will look like when assembled This is going to be one of the bigger updates, mainly because i forgot to add some bits earlier in the log & iv also decided to cover my desktop lifting mechanism that i filmed some months ago. So to kick it if I will start with the hinges that had been covered in wrap, decided to cover them as they didn't look to match the desk in plan silver, for now there carbon but this could be changed to red as the build progresses. your thoughts on the carbon vs red for the hinges & speakers would be appreciated, but i think its best to wait until the internals are completed. Im using some motobike bolts from my old Honda, made from titanium like my leg, they should help reduce the weight lol My friends was kind enough to move my desk inside the house for me, turned out to be more easy that expected with no damage to report or broken bones the heaviest parts was the 2 bottom sections, but after about 30mins they was all setup in my room & fit perfect 1st things on the list to do was adding the fans, RADs, RES & some wiring Jet Flow 120s used some mesh & tights as the filters again, this method work so well for me over the last 5 years I cant see me changing anytime soon, & its a good reason to have some ladys stockings in my room Quick test of the side lighting & some fans, the light bleed on the side lights has now been corrected Fan controler I will be using, removed the white parts & now the LEDs on the front lightup red instead of blue. just waiting for some Phobya logos that i will stick on the front forgot to give this a clean, but this is one of the side compartments, covered in carpet, this will hold cables, gamepags & other bits that would normally clutter the desktop as I said before, the hinges & speakers are getting wrapped, im still unsure what wrap i will go for, One major part of the desk thats not been mentioned before is the lifting mechanism im planing to use. via remote the motor will lift the glass top high enough for me to work on the inside of the desk, but the glass can also be pushed together back if needed & rest on the speakers & top shelf nicely due to the carefully planed angles for the motor demo & to see the desk live please checkout the video... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megadeblow Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 Going to be a busy week, wife due to pop any day now, more packages have arrived that i've been eagerly awaiting so I can get to work on the internal panels & logos. during the past week I started painting my nutz & remote for the desk lifting motor, painted now so there nice & hard ready for when i pick the speaker housing finish & fit the glass top. Same finish as the desk, matte black also did the top shelf lighting, using strips & 2 other types of single LEDs on the desk. on the shelf I now have chaser lights 10 pin & standard 5050 4 pin LEDs, this gives me hundreds of lighting options & also means I'm able to have chasing lights set to any shade I want while also having a second light pulsing or one of the other options. The only downside is, I needed to solder 54 points just for the shelf Final update for today & im happy to report Iv bent my 1st hard tube with success Using 16mm Alphacool hard tubing with the 16mm Alpha fittings in black for this build, not as easy has the rubber im use to but should look a lot cleaner heres my 1st bend, used my motorbike internal gloves as i forgot to buy some heat gloves and heres a quick look at the internal setup work thats started, going to be wrapped with leather & carbon for sure. Now i have the fan covers & logos I started to add the CM Silencio FP 120 fans to the RADs also been working on covering the side compartment with the leather most of the above is still work in progress, should be able to show more detail when i get hold of a better camera thats all for today, hope you like it so far? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megadeblow Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 Cooler Master found me to be using an older CM PSU as the power source for my LEDs, Motor & other none main PSU dependant parts, so kindly offered me a nice new G750M This will be more than enough for my setup & can even act as a power source for a 3nd/4th GPU should I add them later down the road. so the main PC parts are running on the V1200 & extras run from the G750M. I also got my hands on some other CM parts that I plan to breakdown & use on the desk Fitted the RAD covers & added some independent RGB lighting to them Both the PSU's are going under the right side of the desk on the top shelf, this is so they have some fresh air & dont add to the temps inside the main part of the desk, I can also get to them more easily should I need. Installed the main power on the back wall under the desk in the center, this is also so I can get to it easily. Breaking down some of the PSU housings so I can use the badges on the RAD covers just a quick test fit to see how they looked so not stuck on 100% correct, decided to blackout the outer circles Think they look better now in this pic you can see some of the internal panels have been covered with black leather (flux) have never seen anyone do this before so thought it would make a nice change still lots more to be done to the panels though. Started to mod the 2nd Phobya Fan Controller, removing the white print, changing from blue to red LED & adding a new logo. Still loads more to do, but with some luck I hope to have this completed within the next 4 to 5 weeks or maybe sooner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megadeblow Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 Things are calming down a bit here now so im continuing with the lighting, I've now moved on to the logos & some internal lighting.. Also now covered all the internal panels with leather, the leather is in keeping with the overall look of the desk, not too shiny (glossy) yet still able to reflect some light in the places I want. This is the main right side cover, hole for the lift & square cut for the pump Having 2X ASUS ROG logos, 1 per side that will be RGB lighted, Red & white main, & then the full RGB options should I fancy a change This is one of the HD covers, will also be RGB lit going at the back of the desk above the MB. This is one of the bigger logos, my own, will also be RGB controlled & im going to trey blend it in best I can. Thats all for today as im needed for daddy duties Reworked the Sabertooth a bit more, decided after seeing it inside the desk that the silver would look better black to match the other parts. I left some brown bits but if there still seen when the components are added then I will most likely also paint them Red or black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megadeblow Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 Almost done with the 3.5 HD racks, they will each hold 2 drives for now, but can be adjusted to fit 3 if needed. Made from wood like almost everything. Made some grills that match the ones I did for the sides of the desk a couple of months back. Painted in flat black to match the other components & desk. Added some RGB lighting, so they will have independent options as do all the other parts of the desk, this will give endless lighting/colour options & modes. once the HD racks are completed I can then move back on to the hard tubes Took some shots of the pump lighting, gone with white for now untill I can capture the reds a bit better on a pro cam. also painted the valve fittings black & red, & finally, did the hardest bend with 4 turns after 2nd attempt Finally finished with the logos & MB, just need to install the Coolermaster logo around the center SSD compartment, then that part of the build is completed & I can finish up the loop, add the GPU & small details. all the reds are much deeper & nicer, hope a professional camera will pick them up a bit better for when i do the final pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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