Computer Desk Case mod [With Video!]

Hey guys,

Now i know this mod has been promised before by a few people, one being me. I never got around to it due to lack of funds and motivation. But tonight, out of no where i decied to go ahead and start cutting and putting things together. No plans or any nonsense like that haha, so now there's no turning back..

So far i've cut most of the holes needed, and due to it being dark now i've put everything back together and have the computer running (so glad i didn't damage any parts, it's what happened to me last time

I've got a few more ideas up my sleave but please guys, throw some suggestions at me because i've been out of the game for a year or so now so it might take me a bit to get creative!

Anyway, here's some pics

Started off as a cheap desk i bought over a year ago for this very purpose...



This is the drawer that will hold all my components. Everything fits rather nicely. I've got one 80mm fan hole at the front, not sure where i want the second fan yet... I think it would be coolest (both looks and for temp ) to have one at the top of the desk. Only problem then is if a liquid is spilt, bye bye computer..



Mobo and first fan hole cut..



Cut a hole in the top of the desk, this will be covered with perspex.. or something else i'm thinking of, but i'll keep that a secret for now.





And it's up and running, lights off to show my cool colours haha.







I've still got a fair bit to do, but i didn't start til late tonight, so tomorrow should be a pretty productive day

But yeah, like i said, throw your suggestions and any comments at me. I've got most things thought of, i'll write a few down tonight and get a sort of a plan working haha.
Edited by Chif - 1/8/10 at 6:59pm

Thanks Yeah the fromt fan for now will be intake and i'll have an exhaust fan probably on the top, if not somewhere else. I'll buy a temperature gauge and have that mounted somewhere on the top of the desk to keep an eye on the temps.. Watercooling will be a defiante however i dont start work for another two weeks and im way out of money haha... I'll need some help when it comes to watercooling as i've never done it before, but i'd really like to make a custom res that will be the centrepiece for this mod.



Haha it certainly is very rough around the edges, all i really aimed for tonight was to get the ball rolling. I don't have any drawings at the moment, however i'll probably do those tonight some time.. I did have another thread floating around from a year or so ago which did have concept images, and i think im still going for a similar look, so i'll dig around my hdd for those plans tonight.

What i'd like to eventually do is have 3 Pc's all on the one desk. My every day rig, a folding computer and a home server. All watercooled and running of one big res i think would be cool. I'd like to add something on top of the desk to incorporate my xbox into it possibly and i've got loads of ideas springing into my head, i'll write them all down and sort through them in the morning lol.



Thanks for the very quick feedback guys keep it coming!
Edited by Chif - 12/30/09 at 9:36am

Ok.. After very little sleep last night i've decided to base this desk on a nuclear power plant which i think will be pretty cool. Got some great ideas in mind for this.

Im stuck on what colour scheme to go with. I'm not sure if i should keep the main colour white, or paint it black, or another colour?? So what do you guys think?

In the meantime today i'll be designing and hopefully begin production on a custom switchboard designed to control power buttons, fan speeds, cathode lights, and display a digital temperature for 3 computers (labeled reactors). I've drawn up a few rough diagrams, i'll quickly do one in paint or ps and you guys can tell me what you think.

*edit* here it is, excuse the bad drawing please:

Just a rough idea of what it could look like, there's a few more switches, and depending on something im about to research there could be a switch for something really cool too. Anyway, tell me what yas think



With the numbers, they are going to be slightly larger than the text, and cut out of the board and covered with frosted perspex, behind them will be yellow led's/ cathodes which will light up when that computer is powered on.

Any more input is greatly appreciated

Chif
Edited by Chif - 12/30/09 at 5:11pm

Ok! Done a bit more work, ditched that first idea for a switchboard and thought of a better one.. Found a someone with access to wholesale acrylic so that's pretty good.

Bought a few cool looking switches today, gonna see what looks the best and get some more.

Spent a bit of time fixing up all my edges, sanding and started to paint the boxes. I've decided to go with black for just the drawers and see how that looks. So far it looks pretty cool, just need to do the third drawer.

Instead of 3 pc's being put in this desk (that's pretty boring, i wanna make some cooler cases).. I've got a pc in the first draw, once i buy a new rig this will be used for folding 24/7. The second drawer will be housing my logitech speaker amp/ controller.. and the third im still deciding on but wanna do something really cool with it, so any suggestions throw em at me!!

Anyway here's some pics:

First coat of black paint, sitting there drying..



Here's the top two drawers (let my bro cut the hole in the second one and he messed up a lil.. not to worry will fix it up somehow) But that has my speaker thing sitting flush which looks real cool





and lights off not sure what the photo quality is like




Again any feedback and suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

I'd love to make something like that, looks reeally cool. Once i've got some more funds that might be something i could look at in the future. but to be honest i don't have the skill to make something like that yet haha.. Thanks

Cheers Doooly .. I'll grab some pics of the switches i found n you guys can tell me what you think. Tomorrow i'll paint the third drawer and fix up the other two, annd i was thinking of having the DVD drive come up out of the top of the desk, didn't know how well that would work, that other desk that was linked did it, so i'll give it a try i think.. I bought an extra long sata cable so it'll reach fine, just gotta solder up a longer molex. Might do that tonight.