A-R-S DESK

imfaceroll

Weaksauce
Joined
Jul 21, 2014
Messages
112
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Moving in with my girlfriend has inspired me to create another desk PC for her. I want to create something simple that looks nice and clean and is height adjustable. This desk PC will be much smaller than mine only being 1.2x0.65m in size. Once her PC is up and running we will both be recording footage together for our youtube channels as well as streaming.

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SPECS

  • CPU: i7 4790k
  • GPU: MSI GeForce GTX 970 Gaming 4GB x2
  • PSU: Corsair gold RM 1000w
  • RAM: 32gb Corsair Dominator Platnium
  • HDD: 2tb western digital x2
  • SSD: 250gb samsung evo pro
  • OS: Windows 10
  • MOBO: MSI Krait z97s
 
So the building begins, day 1 and our goal was to get the main frame of the desk cut out as well as the fake elevated platform that the cables route though. The design is very simple yet stylish and clean.

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I decided to go for a 45 degree join because i wanted the cleanest look possible and mdf wood tends to soak up moisture really easy which would become noticable around the edges when its painted.

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The white piece you see here is the fake elevated platform, it sits 3cm higher than the ground so cables can route underneath.

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In this picture you can see that that piece of wood creating the back section will need to be trimmed down to the correct height.

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I added some putty into the edges to get a nice clean look with no gaps. Once that is all dry i will sand it back and smooth it out.

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I cut the motherboard tray down to size with my dremel and filed off the edges, next step is to smooth it all off with some more dremel bits and give the edge a touch up with some black paint

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Thank you for following this build, please check out the video log process and keep up to date with all of the latest builds by subscribing. Video is down below for Progress 1.

WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/watch?v=XU9xVpM0_Io
 
I appreciate all of the detailed pics and explanations. Looking forward to see how this one turns out!

By the way, is that drywall putty you are using? Have you tried it before? I've seen people use bondo for furniture repair before, which blew me away, but it makes for a super clean and easy to sand surface.
 
We have made some progress on our desk build, cut outs have been done, the MDF has all coats of prime, and our fake elevated bottom piece has the grommet holes cut out. We have also cut out the top of the desk where the glass sits and the middle section where the motherboard will sit.

Below is a picture of the desk all primed and the desk sectioned off by the piece where the motherboard will sit against.

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I have pre installed my reservoir holders to come up with a nice clean loop, I drilled holes where I want the holders to sit and traced around the holders which is the red you can see drawn on the bottom piece.

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Our grommet holes have been cut to size and just need a bit of a file before painting the sheet and installing the grommets.

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Here is a closer look at the motherboard section. I cut my motherboard tray down to size to fit within the desk and I will attach it to this back piece so everything is nice and steady and all screwed in place.

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On each side of the desk is room for a 360 radiator. I have a phobya Radiator grill to place on each side of the desk and I am looking to bring air through one side and out the other, This will ensure I have good air flow through out the desk.

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here is a small look at the back section, there is a 3cm gap between the floor and motherboard piece so that cables can route under for neat cable management. The back section will hide wires, pumps, tubes and much more so we can get the cleanest look possible.

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We have cut out all of the slots for our components such as switches and fan controllers. Devices have been pre fitted to ensure the cut outs are the correct size.

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To further improve on cable management, I have cut out small gaps for the cables to route from the component to down and under the fake elevated platform. Cable management is key to a good looking clean build.

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Zoomed in

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Next I cut out the top section where the glass will sit. I pre drilled some holes into the MDF and used a jigsaw to cut it.

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I always like to double check that i had made the correct measurements by placing each cutout in position before doing any further work to it.

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Now that the piece fits i have left the overhang to hide any led lights i will be using in the build and it also allows me to route and wires under the lip if need be.

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Everything fits perfect so now I went ahead and measured the back section to create a lid which will open and close for easy access to cables etc.

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Thank you for all of the support everyone, I have a video down below of progress 2 if anyone is interested. In our next update all of the painting will be done so please stay tuned.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKyc2LNox6c
 
I appreciate all of the detailed pics and explanations. Looking forward to see how this one turns out!

By the way, is that drywall putty you are using? Have you tried it before? I've seen people use bondo for furniture repair before, which blew me away, but it makes for a super clean and easy to sand surface.

Hey mate, yea it is, this build is actually being made out of all of my scrap material i had left over before i moved houses. I actually wanted to see how cheap i could make a decent desk build for and i had about a week to do it in because i was in the middle of moving. This putty turned out good in the end, it sanded down nice and was easy to work with.
 
I have now completed the paint job and put the desk together. As it stands this desk is designed to accommodate for the height of my girlfriend and this is the perfect height for her. I did however add height adjustable legs in case we wanted to raise or lower the desk.

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The next step will be to add the components and get some tubing under way. I will be using hard tubing most likely PETG which I find easier to work with.

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At the back of the desk you can see a square box. I have decided to put the power supply there to allow for more breathing room and more space in the back compartment. This is because this desk is only small and was built out of any materials I had left in my garage before I moved houses.

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Grommets are now permanently installed and the routing around the edge to house the glass has been done, I bought some 6mm thick hardened glass with 1.5mm radius edges which fit in perfectly. This glass however, like my last desk, I decided to skip a thumb hole to remove the glass and instead I will use a suction device to remove it.

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Thank you everyone for following this build, down below is the progress 3 video where you can check out more of the build.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJj0-5uJej4
 
Did you apply the paint directly to the primed MDF then follow it with paint, or did you putty the entire piece before painting? It's a bit hard to tell from the pictures, but the surface looks fairly smooth, and I can't tell if that just because a high gloss paint was used.
 
do you feel that a clear coat of gloss/semi-gloss might help save the finish? I fine that black is easy to mark up and putting a coat of clear on it really helps save the finish.
 
Looks awesome, but with a desk that thick, how do you fit legs under it without the desktop being too high?
 
Zarathustra[H];1041897424 said:
Looks awesome, but with a desk that thick, how do you fit legs under it without the desktop being too high?

this was my concern as well, I tend to like my desks very low an I doubt I would like using a mouse and keyboard on it at that height.

Looks awesome though
 
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