Black 5.2 build

[billy.blue]

Update: This build was finished and active in 2010. It was as epic as they come and worth every minute. Right before the start of 2011, we had our fifth child and I decided to dismantle the workspace in order to use the square footage for the baby. In August of 2011, we moved to Spain (AD military) and moved into a much bigger house with plenty of square footage and rooms to build a new rig. Once we get our household goods and the moving expenses settle down, I'll start planning the new workspace.



I'm working on a new desk and thought I'd share the build. Much more to come...

Gratuitous preview shots*

Details
I don't build systems. I build workspaces. I don't like looking at computer cases, or hearing their noise. So in this build, the systems are going in a closet on the other side of the wall. The goal is a workspace that is clean, silent, and maximizes the screen real estate. (I think the minimize, Alt-Tab, and browser tab functions should be deprecated.)

(It should also be noted that I have practically no workspace, tools, or time, so my carpentry is very handicapped. I am making due with what I can.)

Two of the 5 reasons for the constraints - 4 young kids and an amazingly supportive wife (update: 1UP - 5 kids!)

Desk surface
76"x32" MDF with trim - Kilz'ed then Rust-Oleum Hammered Black paint

Legs are Rockler's Adjustable Table Leg Set. Pricey at ~$90, but they worked great. (I don't think I paid quite that much, but that's how much they cost today.)

Monitors
10x Dell P2210 22" 1680x1050 (debezeled as pictured below)
1x HP L2105tm on Ergotron LX arm

I had originally planned on using a 5x2 P2210H (1920x1080) setup, but Dell sent me the wrong screens. They were kind enough (yeah right) to refund me $100, so I chose to keep the screens I got. In the end, it may be a blessing in disguise because obviously the higher pixel count would have required more horsepower.

Debezeling the P2210s

I am using electrical tape to mask the exposed metal edges. I wasn't expecting it to look this nicely. (I was considering paint, but this is beautiful.)

I still want to be able to use the controls occasionally. Removing the bezels leaves me with a nice dangling PCB. Here's how I fixed that.

Mounting the screens

L2105tm
The multitouch will run as my "desktop." You know what a desktop is, right? It's that thing hidden behind all of your apps. It usually has pretty pictures and little things you click on called icons...

The arm gives me the freedom to put it at a comfortable angle and distance, but still move it out of the way while not in use.

amBX
This was super cheap and probably worth it, but gimmicky at best. I hardly ever turned it on.

and installed...

Center System
Motherboard: ASUS P6T Deluxe V2

CPU: Core i7 920 - purchased 3/18

Heatsink: Xigmatek HDT-S1283

Memory: 6x2GB Corsair XMS PC12800 DDR3 1600 CAS 7

Videocard: 5870 Eyefinity 6

System drive: OCZ Solid 2 60GB SSD - purchased 3/10

Storage drive: Hitachi 640Gb - purchased months ago
PSU: SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W - ordered 3/22 [Strike=option]OCZ StealthXStream 700W - purchased 3/10[/s] - thanks cbliss1000

Coming together

Left System - in use
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P35-DQ6
CPU: Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13 Ghz
Memory: 4GB*
Videocard: 8800GTS 640MB
System drive: OCZ Vertex 30GB SSD
Storage drive: 4x 500GB Raid 5
PSU: Corsair HX520

Right System - offline
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P35-DQ6
CPU: Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13 Ghz
Memory: 4GB*
Videocard: 6600GT or 2x 6600GT and
System drive: OCZ Vertex 30GB SSD
Storage drive: TBD (I have several drives in various combinations to pick from)
PSU: 500W*


Control System (for multitouch desktop) - offline
Motherboard:
CPU: AMD*
Memory: 2GB*
Videocard: onboard
System drive: TBD (same as previous)
PSU: 500W*


Q/A
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
You know, surfing the net and stuff... Honestly, I game probably less than 20% of the time, but when I do, I expect miracles. The rest of the time, I do a little bit of website stuff, and I'm a half-time online student, and lead a household with 5 kids, and voluntarily teach applied philosophy.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
I started with a budget at about $3k. I think I got pretty close to that. It was certainly less than the budget for a lot of other builds on here, and it was clearly epic in comparison.
3) Where do you live?
[Strike=option]I'm in Vegas. Access to Fry's, but no Microcenter. Shipping from Newegg is probably faster than if I lived next door to their warehouse.[/s] I now live in Spain. I moved in August 2011, so I'm looking forward to my next build.
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Project complete.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
My tertiary systems are all made of "reused" parts. See above for specs.
6) Will you be overclocking?
Of course, but only on air.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
10x 22" 1680x1050
1x 22" 1920x1080 Multitouch
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
The build was complete in 2010.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
[Strike=option]I don't need a lot of bells and whistles. Of the LGA1366 motherboards I'm considering, I prefer the ones that have double or triple spacing between the PCI Express primary slots.[/s] I went with the MB above... Most boards I looked at shared the essential features.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
I went with a Technet Plus sub for the Win7 Ultimate 64bit licenses.


Sketch - just for enginurd. I know it's not much, but it's about the best image I can post. Most of my work in Adobe Flash was comparing various designs. I don't know if I can describe how I used the app, but it worked.

Note: the extreme level of dust is because it was March in Vegas and absolutely everything is covered in pollen. If it's not the smog, it's the pollen. My lungs loved that place.

 

[SHIFT_nismo]

This looks like a very ambitious build already! Can't wait to see more!

 

[billy.blue]

Added a bit more detail... and now that it's the weekend, I'm off to do some more painting and maybe even put legs on the desk top.

 

[DsurioN]

Holy mother of a system! Can't wait to see the final product

 

[rayman2k2]

/subscribed

 

[billy.blue]

Thanks! On the list for today is actually attaching the legs for good. I painted the underside and leg braces last night. Will post pics as it progresses. I'd also like to start on the monitor mounting. I have several ideas floating in my head for how to do it... Again, open to suggestions. I haven't purchased any mounts, as I probably won't need them. But I am considering getting some flush mounts, just so that I can remove the screens easily.

 

[billy.blue]

Legs attached. Decided the 1" MDF has a little more flex than I'd like, so I'm gonna add a support beam under along the back.

Started masking the debezeled monitors today also. I'm very pleased with the results. The electrical tape is much easier than my first idea to paint them and it really looks great. It also solves the problem of the backlight bleeding out of the corners.

I think I've figured out the monitor mounting solution. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to get that done in the next few days.

 

[Druneau]

if they get warm the electrical tape might un-glue itself (well more of a creep than anything)

 

[billy.blue]

if they get warm the electrical tape might un-glue itself (well more of a creep than anything)

Good point. Before I bolt them to the mount. I'll run one of them overnight at least. If I have to paint, it's not that big of a deal - just adds a few days to the build.

 

[billy.blue]

After many hours, it's not even warm to the touch. The difference over ambient cannot be more than 5 degrees. Here's to hoping the electrical tape isn't affected. Even if it is, I suppose I will just dismount and fix it.

 

[billy.blue]

It doesn't feel like I made much progress today... but I did finish the masking and I got the monitor mounting about 50%.

 

[engiNURD]

/subbed. got a sketchup of your final product? links to your other build logs? i'm too lazy to search, so i figured i'd ask (assuming you had other ones, because you said you build workstations, not computers).

 

[cbliss1000]

Looks rad man...

Just a thought: that OCZ psu in your central build is junk. If you can return it, do so asap and get something with better build quality - you wouldn't want any psu, and that one in particular (it being your central build), to fail. There's a decent deal on seasonic psu's in the hot deals section today.

Otherwise, I'm impressed.

 

[billy.blue]

/subbed. got a sketchup of your final product? links to your other build logs? i'm too lazy to search, so i figured i'd ask (assuming you had other ones, because you said you build workstations, not computers).

Unfortunately, I haven't done a build log before. The last build was a couple of years ago, but it was a patch job because I was moving into a much smaller space. I've done my sketches in Flash (it's a familiar step up from MS Paint), but most of the design has happened in my head. After I get off work, I'll see if I can't post some of the sketch stuff.

Just a thought: that OCZ psu in your central build is junk. If you can return it, do so asap and get something with better build quality - you wouldn't want any psu, and that one in particular (it being your central build), to fail. There's a decent deal on seasonic psu's in the hot deals section today.

Bummer, didn't know it was such junk. I got it on a deal a little while ago. I might hang on to it because I think the PSU I've got for the "right" system might be junk. I haven't turned it on in a while, and I think it was having issues when I shut it down. And here I was thinking I might actually get close to hitting my budget...

 

[billy.blue]

Had to take a last minute overnight trip. Just now getting home since yesterday morning. But I had a nice surprise in the PSU waiting for me.

 

[King Icewind]

Nice man! I like that monitor mod, bad ass.

Your really going to lock that system up in a closet/cabinet? Going to overheat real bad unless there's some kind of air flow.

Had to take a last minute overnight trip. Just now getting home since yesterday morning. But I had a nice surprise in the PSU waiting for me.

Pick up a Corsair PSU. 89.99 after Mail in Rebate.

 

[billy.blue]

Your really going to lock that system up in a closet/cabinet? Going to overheat real bad unless there's some kind of air flow.

Gonna exhaust into the attic. Trust me... It's gonna be much better than sitting in the same room with this furnace during the Vegas summer.

 

[King Icewind]

Gonna exhaust into the attic. Trust me... It's gonna be much better than sitting in the same room with this furnace during the Vegas summer.

Oic, nice....Water cool that bad boy?

 

[billy.blue]

Oic, nice....Water cool that bad boy?

I've thought about it. It would certainly be better at moving the heat away from 4 systems worth of components and out of of the closet. It just really explodes my budget. I'm already almost over budget and I'm still missing some pretty major components. I'm trying to stick to the "save 40% on budget and lose 5% performance" thing. I'm just not sure what I'd gain, besides more OCD, by going with water. On the other hand, I do have an MD9.5 pump that seems like it's asking to have a 4x cooling system designed for it. But I haven't even considered the plumbing/flow. It might not even be suited for the job.

 

[bugsoup]

This is going to be one awesome workstation, can't wait to see the final product. I have a few questions/comments.

1. Why are you mounting the bottom row of monitors upside-down? It looks like this makes cable management easier, but is there another reason?

2. I love the idea of having an external "desktop". Might have to steal that idea from you. Do you think you could also use that for a virtual keyboard, like smartphones have?

3. Will you be exchanging these monitors for curved ones when they come out at a reasonable price?

 

[billy.blue]

1. Why are you mounting the bottom row of monitors upside-down? It looks like this makes cable management easier, but is there another reason?

You nailed it. They are upside down for cable management. If you can imagine the way they will be mounted, the cable management is practically built in to the mount.

2. I love the idea of having an external "desktop". Might have to steal that idea from you. Do you think you could also use that for a virtual keyboard, like smartphones have?

It should absolutely work for a virtual keyboard. The viewing angle needs to be considered, but with it on an arm, I can put it at just the right angle and distance with little effort.

3. Will you be exchanging these monitors for curved ones when they come out at a reasonable price?

This setup will last me several years. And then I'll start over again. I doubt curved monitors are going to become affordable and/or competitive for a while.

 

[J Macker]

Why do you need four Win 7 licenses for this build?

How do you provide output for 10 displays with a single Eyefinity 6 card? It's the end of the workweek, so maybe I'm just not thinking clearly.

 

[Carl Pearce]

Four machines are being used...

 

[billy.blue]

Why do you need four Win 7 licenses for this build?

How do you provide output for 10 displays with a single Eyefinity 6 card? It's the end of the workweek, so maybe I'm just not thinking clearly.

Yep, four machines are planned. It could drop down to as little as 1 at times, but that would require two E6 cards. With my 4 monitor setup, I started with 4 machines and slowly ended up running just one. Part of that was because MaxiVista didn't work with Vista (irony) at the time. Since I only need the software K[Strike=option]V[/s]M part of MaxiVista, I recently found InputDirector.

 

[Hybridchemistry]

I like where this thread is going

 

[billy.blue]

It's been a bad week. But I'm headed out to home depot for more hardware. In the meantime, I added a few pics of the cheap as chips amBX I just received. Thanks Finkus.

 

[FalconSS]

i've been wondwering this for a little while. I bought my X-750 PSU about 3-4weeks ago. all the reviews, + your pics show the cables in plastic bags, in the pouches. When I opened up my pouch they were not in plastic bags. I this normal?

subbed by the way, looks great!

Edit: Just letting you know of the system i'm building to give you some ideas. All I need at this point is the ram and gpu.

Processor: i7 920 ( same as you )
PSU: Seasonic X-750 (same)
Case: Fortress FT-02
Hard drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3
Motherboard: Asus P6x58D ( I picked this because I wanted USB3.0 and I've heard the gigabytes ud3r,ud5, and ud7 make a "whine" sound with our powersupply, or I would have gotten the UD3r )
Cooling: Corsair H50. ( Will put above the 180mm intake on the Ft-02, effectively removing one more fan from my system while maintaining better cooling than stock)
GPU: XFX 5850 or one that will exhaust out the back of the case do to my cases design )
RAM: Undecided between Crucial Ballistix Tracers or Geil Pi series. (6gbs)


hope this helps!

 

[billy.blue]

i've been wondwering this for a little while. I bought my X-750 PSU about 3-4weeks ago. all the reviews, + your pics show the cables in plastic bags, in the pouches. When I opened up my pouch they were not in plastic bags. I this normal?

Was yours a refurb by chance? Mine were in plastic, but it's certainly overkill. The packaging on the thing was pretty crazy. But I guess the little luxuries really set the best apart.

Motherboard: Asus P6x58D ( I picked this because I wanted USB3.0 and I've heard the gigabytes ud3r,ud5, and ud7 make a "whine" sound with our powersupply, or I would have gotten the UD3r)

Thanks for the heads up on the gigabyte mobos. I'm still shopping for both the motherboard and RAM.

 

[FalconSS]

Was yours a refurb by chance? Mine were in plastic, but it's certainly overkill. The packaging on the thing was pretty crazy. But I guess the little luxuries really set the best apart.

nope, brand new from newegg. I thought it was normal until I really started looking at the "parts spread" pics on the review site, and now yours...it has me worried.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151087

this is the exact one off my newegg invoice

 

[billy.blue]

nope, brand new from newegg. I thought it was normal until I really started looking at the "parts spread" pics on the review site, and now yours...it has me worried.

I wouldn't be worried. There's no reason to stress it. If there's anything wrong, I'm sure the warranty will take care of it.

 

[mcsetty]

Check out synergy for kvm joy.

http://synergy2.sourceforge.net/

Its FLOSS so you can modify the source if you want to get your hack on. We used it where I work and we didn't want the clipboard sharing functionality. Unfortunately there was no built in option to disable clip board sharing... a simple couple of lines commented out a recompile and presto no more clipboard sharing.

 

[Wahrscheinlichkeit]

You sir are my hero! This kinda stuff is right up my alley. Looking forward to seeing the finished setup!

 

[billy.blue]

Check out synergy for kvm joy.

I first used Synergy when MaxiVista failed on me. But setting it up for my rig was a bear and it hasn't been maintained since 2006.

 

[dajet24]

cant wait to see end results

 

[Pandur]

Looks impressive so far. Nice work on tearing those monitors apart

 

[Deimos]

After seeing this thread and more specifically the post about input director, I threw another computer on my desk, I have to say I wish I had this software earlier!

Check out synergy for kvm joy.

http://synergy2.sourceforge.net/

Its FLOSS so you can modify the source if you want to get your hack on. We used it where I work and we didn't want the clipboard sharing functionality. Unfortunately there was no built in option to disable clip board sharing... a simple couple of lines commented out a recompile and presto no more clipboard sharing.

I havn't tried it, but from the looks, I think input director is better, it also has support for Windows 7.

 

[Deimos]

actually, I take it back, it looks like Synergy has support for OSX which would be usefull, looks like Windows 7 is supported too...

 

[billy.blue]

InputDirector is windows only, which sucks if you're gonna run anything else. I was gonna build a 'nix machine just to run as a server doing various automated tasks for me, but I can do the same just as easily using a windows box. Every time I try to escape the M$ vacuum...

Oh and if you're waiting on Synergy to get Win7 support, you might as well forget about it. It hasn't been maintained since 2006.

 

[Zyklon808]

Beware of Termites!

 

[Deimos]

After perusing the forum a bit I found this:
http://code.google.com/p/synergy-plus/
last update was last year...