The VE desk project (semi-large images)

Parak

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Dec 15, 2005
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As in very expensive desk. I needed a new desk for a while, but only recently did I seriously consider spending more than one typically would on a utilitarian piece of furniture. Weighting all the pros (many) and cons (money), the overwhelming amount of the former made me finally go for it. Of course since I was buying a proper desk for multiple monitors, I couldn't resist actually getting said multiple monitors for eyefinity (at a fraction of the cost of the actual desk...). And monitor arms. And new cables, PDU, and power bricks to neatly (read: in an OCD type fashion) hide everything.

So, here is the result after week or two of getting everything together, assembly, and wiring, and not yet fully filled:

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Driver view:

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Raised working surface, portrait:

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Arms, speakers:

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Switch/voip, the top of sideways p180, and some cable management visible:

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Some more shots and descriptions at http://www.flickr.com/photos/13176014@N03/sets/72157623592317745/

What do you think [H]? Worth it? Waste of money that would have been better spent on water cooling? :D
 
That looks fantastic! How involved of a process is it to change the monitors from L to P? Dare I ask what the cost was........?

But it looks fantastic and things such as this which never lose their value, are used every day (it's the one thing you interact most with at your workstation) and are infinitely upgradeable are are an entirely different plane than something like a WC system which may become obsolete at some point.
 
That looks fantastic! How involved of a process is it to change the monitors from L to P? Dare I ask what the cost was........?

Takes maybe a minute at most to align the bezel edges decently enough; I don't care that much to get the angles absolutely perfect. The chief arms are really great in this regard as they give me a lot of freedom to put these monitors wherever (and however) I want.

The cost for just the desk itself was north of 2k, which doesn't include monitor arms :eek:, but as you mentioned should probably last a lifetime.
 
Great looking setup!:D

What kind of monitors are those? I'm in the market for a triple head setup myself. Thanks!:)
 
Great looking setup!:D

What kind of monitors are those? I'm in the market for a triple head setup myself. Thanks!:)

Refurb HP LP2465. The monitors were something I was willing to compromise a bit on, but I still wanted the whole non-TN 1920x1200 deal. These were around 200 each, so mission accomplished there :)
 
Forgive me for asking, but why is it worth $2k? Looks a lot like a Jerker to me...
 
Forgive me for asking, but why is it worth $2k? Looks a lot like a Jerker to me...

I thought about this as well, and I think some of the cost can be justified by:

1. Adjustable work surface: It's almost like a giant humanscale keyboard tray in that regard, so one could work while standing, and/or tilt the whole thing at an angle without having to reassemble the whole thing. Quite convenient, but obviously needs for this vary.
2. Materials: HDF and thick steel with apparently baked powder paint. Extremely heavy and feels like a tank.
3. Cable management options, for example each shelf has a built in wire tray in the back, plus the various accessories.
4. Wheelable.
5. Made in USA.

Though I should also clarify that this particular configuration costs that much, as the basic unit costs 800ish, but the various accessories tend to add up fast.
 
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Oh god now it's always going to be staring at me what have you done :(
 
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Awesome desk. I didn't catch what model it is. I wish mine had some shelves above the monitors but I couldn't get a Jerker at the time.

The only thing that strikes me as amiss is your speaker placement. They're obstructed by the monitors which is certainly less than ideal.
 
Awesome desk. I didn't catch what model it is. I wish mine had some shelves above the monitors but I couldn't get a Jerker at the time.

Woops, it's an Anthro Fit Adjusta. Nice and clean setup by the way!

The only thing that strikes me as amiss is your speaker placement. They're obstructed by the monitors which is certainly less than ideal.

Yeah, that's a notable issue, but most of the time I use headphones. The speakers are really only used when someone else needs to hear something, so it's not that big of a deal for me. I don't hear much sound loss, so it's probably a better option than having them take up shelf space way above ear level.
 
you should just change your side speakers so they are mounted like the center. they might not sound as good as if they are mounted vertically, but they'll still sound better than how they are now.
 
Holy crap that desk was two grand? I thought it was an ikea jerker at first glance. :p
 
I was worried though about how strong the materials really are. I didn't want a shaky desk.

The materials are very strong, but because of the way it's constructed, there is definitely some "give" to it, so it does wiggle slightly if you shake it. YMMV because of the bigger footprint of the regular fit unit shelves, but generally speaking anywhere you have wheels (less of a ground contact), adjustable components, and extension poles, you're going to have some wobble. It doesn't distract me though, and having built it myself I know that there's no way it would ever fail.

It will probably be lessened once I load it up more, but for actual immovable desks it's best to go for something without wheels, extensions, and thick wood to wood joints.

Oh, and if you do decide to buy something from the fit system, they have a 35% off promotion this month apparently. Too bad I didn't wait another month before ordering, could have saved $400 or so :(
 
The materials are very strong, but because of the way it's constructed, there is definitely some "give" to it, so it does wiggle slightly if you shake it. YMMV because of the bigger footprint of the regular fit unit shelves, but generally speaking anywhere you have wheels (less of a ground contact), adjustable components, and extension poles, you're going to have some wobble. It doesn't distract me though, and having built it myself I know that there's no way it would ever fail.

It will probably be lessened once I load it up more, but for actual immovable desks it's best to go for something without wheels, extensions, and thick wood to wood joints.

Oh, and if you do decide to buy something from the fit system, they have a 35% off promotion this month apparently. Too bad I didn't wait another month before ordering, could have saved $400 or so :(

Thanks for the reply.. Yeah I was going to take off the wheels, get extension tubes to compensate, add a cable canal going across the back (60") and add the bottom floor board shelf. I wanted to get as much stability as possible. My desk right now is a BRICK. It can hold like 400-500lbs on top and the base is super strong and its hard to replace this but the top board is really chipped up. I have to keep covering it up with this kind of wall paper stuff but its getting annoying now to keep fixing.. and with the 35% off deal.. its hard to resist.
 
Thanks for the reply.. Yeah I was going to take off the wheels, get extension tubes to compensate, add a cable canal going across the back (60") and add the bottom floor board shelf. I wanted to get as much stability as possible. My desk right now is a BRICK. It can hold like 400-500lbs on top and the base is super strong and its hard to replace this but the top board is really chipped up. I have to keep covering it up with this kind of wall paper stuff but its getting annoying now to keep fixing.. and with the 35% off deal.. its hard to resist.

All the shelves (except the base shelf) already come with a huge cable canal extending the full length at the back (see one of the pics), so I don't really see a need for a separate one, FWIW. Unless you really must drape something across in the middle, obviously :p

I also considered getting one before I found this out.
 
All the shelves (except the base shelf) already come with a huge cable canal extending the full length at the back (see one of the pics), so I don't really see a need for a separate one, FWIW. Unless you really must drape something across in the middle, obviously :p

I also considered getting one before I found this out.

Ah ok haha.. thanks. I just want it to be sturdy. The #1 thing on my list is the keyboard tray. Can you comfortably rest your arm weight on the keyboard/mouse tray without it bending or moving around? I can't work with a keyboard/mouse on a desk.. its too high. For the 15 years I've had this desk + Computers, I've had the same keyboard tray and its very very strong. I rest my weight on it all the time and its what I am used to. It mounts the keyboard tray slide out hinges on the left and right sides of the desk supports so thats why its super strong. The fit system uses the hanging style that mounts to the under of the top desk.. I am not too sure about it, but your setup has that large desk piece with those big metal hinges holding it :)
 
Ah ok haha.. thanks. I just want it to be sturdy. The #1 thing on my list is the keyboard tray. Can you comfortably rest your arm weight on the keyboard/mouse tray without it bending or moving around? I can't work with a keyboard/mouse on a desk.. its too high. For the 15 years I've had this desk + Computers, I've had the same keyboard tray and its very very strong. I rest my weight on it all the time and its what I am used to. It mounts the keyboard tray slide out hinges on the left and right sides of the desk supports so thats why its super strong. The fit system uses the hanging style that mounts to the under of the top desk.. I am not too sure about it, but your setup has that large desk piece with those big metal hinges holding it :)

They quote 40 lbs for the work surface, which is likely somewhat lower than what it can actually support. It's quite stable in whichever placement for typical computing tasks, taking notes, laptops, etc. That said, I wouldn't sit on it, drop fully loaded cases or CRTs on it, or something similar :p

The slide out trays usually don't have the sort of real estate or flexibility I was looking for anyway, so they weren't an option. My previous one barely fit my keyboard. This is a nice compromise, and it's sturdier and larger than a humanscale tray..
 
They quote 40 lbs for the work surface, which is likely somewhat lower than what it can actually support. It's quite stable in whichever placement for typical computing tasks, taking notes, laptops, etc. That said, I wouldn't sit on it, drop fully loaded cases or CRTs on it, or something similar :p

The slide out trays usually don't have the sort of real estate or flexibility I was looking for anyway, so they weren't an option. My previous one barely fit my keyboard. This is a nice compromise, and it's sturdier and larger than a humanscale tray..

haha.. I wouldn't put super amounts of weight on it but at least be able to support me resting my arms and stuff on it without moving around etc. Thanks again for all the info I still have a few days before their big sales ends and your desk is on sale too.. I have to decide on which to get :/ .. hard to decide.
 
Did you have to remove the cable organizer shelf when you mounted the arms? I am trying to mount a chief arm to my adjusta desk, but the desk clamp wont fit between the desk and the cable organizer
 
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