We're Building a Gaming LAN Center!!

[Wh0_Am_1]

1 minute ago, Cynagen said:

While I would agree with you on the single build, multiple users. There are some pitfalls, any hardware maintenance required requires the loss of the entire X stations being run as the entire system will likely need to be shut down.

Indeed, there would also be an increased chance of software complications due to the fact that they would likely have to run unraid in the background further exasperating the issue, but this is a project that LMG is familiar with, and it would also require less hardware, and less setup, and it would also play well to LMG's desire for silence and space, so I see it as being a viable option for them.

[Cynagen]

10 minutes ago, Cynagen said:

You should upload the floorplan with dimensions so that it can be more accurately scoped/designed. You've provided the case model so we can get dimensions from the website, combining that with any selected monitor size, you can start to figure out desk space. As for the computers, above would help minimize dust, but if you're going to have RGB, it's time to look at unconventional means of display if you're going above. I'd recommend getting solid straps to go around the case, then hang it at a 45 degree angle above the workstation position it's connected to with the tempered glass window showcasing the inside facing outward, exhaust to the side or out the top will ensure that the heat is pushed away from the gamers. Additionally, to hang these, you may have to build custom rigging, though with some solid steel piping and proper construction, you can incorporate a wooden platform to act as the desktop where the monitor keyboard and mouse will sit. If you want to up the game a little, put a T-joint in the metal about height with a player's face, and put a VESA mount on. Tons more ideas, I'll be back. Honestly, I would be happy to come over the border to help build this out.

Here's a crappy mspaint of an idea to make a single station.

[CasToRi]

Idea:
Every station is mounted on a super nice huge shelve, can have several layers.
From each station you will have 2x 4k60hz displayport to fiber converters for 2 displays and 1 additional usb to fiber converters.

Each gaming desk will then only have 3 fibers incoming from the shelve that are connected to peripherals and 2 displays. Displays are in mirrored setup and mounted on a monitor arm. One at the bottom and one above, so that crowd watching ( or camera) can have an overview if standing behind. Same as on the blizzard booths https://goo.gl/nmJvkk 

:-) 

I think that would give it a bit of an special look and saves place+cabling for each desk.

[Ceru]

I hope this gets more attention then the x thousand Youtube comments.

 

Monitor:

Since you are useing NVidia, I would recommend: ASUS ROG Swift PG278QR. With 16 of these, you could also make a video about, how much of them have backlight bleeding. Sadly a common issue with a lot of Asus ROG Monitors. Not sure how this would effect your future with Asus.

And Always get a Monitor Desk Mount. They give you so much freedom and Deskspace. Thanks to VESA, you buy it once and use it forever.

 

 

Headphones:

I recommend ANC Headphones, I work in noise Offices and a good pair of ANC Headphones are worth every penny. I love my Sony WH-1000XM2 and its always suprising when you take them off and enter the noise again. Add a Magnet USB Cable for 5 Bucks, a headphone stand like this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/2Pcs-Headphone-Stand-Hanger-Gaming-Headset-Hanger-Wall-PC-Monitor-Stand-Good-/112123716740 and a bit of engineering. This way the magnet USB cable automatically connects, when you put it on the stand.

 

Desk Speaker:

You can never go wrond with a pair off Nubert nuPro A-200 With roughly 700€ a pair definetly not a cheap choice.

For the console get a good soundbar: Nubert nuPro AS-250 Trust me, this thing is awesome. Definetly worth a test. German sound engineering in its best form.

 

Goodies:

Add a few USB Extension Monitors like this. These are great for Streaming and Twich chats.

 

And PLEASE for the love of every admin in the world. Put A LOT of effort in the cablemanagement, not like you usually do

 

 

 

 

[Billiam1515]

What about roaming user profiles with an Active Directory Domain? That way no matter which pc you're on you'll have the same settings(ish). You could run it in a vm on the server that will be doing the Steam caching.

[Bouzoo]

So... are you technically paying them to lose so you can finally win some?

 

But seriously, for peripherals.

 

Mice: get 8 of G403 and Steelseries 600, so people can choose (best, get 16 x G903).

Headsets: Arctis Pro

Keyboard: this is a difficult one. Don't go Corsair and Logitech as everyone will suggest. I wouldn't even recommend a full size but a TKL. You will definitely want to go RGB I reckon, so Ducky One 2 TKL RGB with either MX silver or Silent red (for non speed). If you're not for RGB, then KBParadise V80 with Kailh Box Silver or Black (again, for non speed) for water resistance (mentioned Ducky has non RGB model as well). If you want full size keyboard, Ducky One 2 RGB. If those are a bit difficult to get, you can never go wrong with Masterkeys Pro M/L.

Mouse Pad? Custom them all. 

[Cynagen]

1 minute ago, Billiam1515 said:

What about roaming user profiles with an Active Directory Domain? That way no matter which pc you're on you'll have the same settings(ish). You could run it in a vm on the server that will be doing the Steam caching.

Setup of every user who visits? Some people may only visit one or two times, waste of the time to sign somebody up.

[Billiam1515]

Just now, Cynagen said:

Setup of every user who visits? Some people may only visit one or two times, waste of the time to sign somebody up.

Just make an account that will act as a "burner account" and resets the settings every time you log out with that account. That way the PC's will stay clean and uniform. You could also create a lot of default setting with group policy so that you don't need to touch all of them to change something.

[Ross Siggers]

1 hour ago, rockero_8727 said:

I think that a big-beefy air-cooler would be a better choice for the CPU, especially considering you're building 16 computers. Maybe high refresh rate monitors would be a good idea since this is about gaming and not productivity; heck since you mentioned streaming 1440p would be a nice resolution to have. 

I think noise is a consideration too, this H100 setup will be slightly quieter and with the software like linus mentions, you can set a 0 rpm mode on idle, for machines not in use

With regards to mounting, I instantly got vibes of a VR cafe I went to, where they mount the PC's high up on the walls. Layout would obviously be different, but that kind of idea, maybe just level with the top edge of the monitor?

[Jake99691]

This is more of an idea for a layout rather than components. Instead of having 2 tables with back to back chairs, why not do something like this? You can still safely run wiring, have easy acces to all machines, and it takes up basically the same space, without having a clutter of back to back chairs.

[trogdor0]

If you need to do any electrical work with this project, you should put some serious consideration into putting in 240V for the PCs and monitors. It's worth it if you have more than 2 or 3 powerful computers in a room. I put in a new line and breaker in my parent's house last year for their computer room. The guy that built the house back in the 80's did all the work himself and cut some corners along the way. Before putting in the new electrical line, there were 2 desktop PCs, a server, a laser printer, a freezer, a washing machine, the overhead room lights, and an outlet in the garage (which was the most convenient place to put the radial-arm saw) all in the same 120V breaker. The lights would dim or flicker whenever the washer's spin cycle was going or when the saw was cutting through hard things or while the laser printer was going. Now since it's rewired, almost all the equipment (printer, PCs, monitors, etc.) that can run on 240V, is running on the 240V circuit. Most PC equipment can take 240V (and your PSUs even get a couple percent more efficient to boot), you just need the right plugs. IEC 60320 C13 240V power cables aren't as common, but are still readily available.

 

[Berenthor]

Linus i can make a 3D model off the space you want the LAN setup to go. I also can make a VR model to see what it is going to look like. If you want a example off what i can do for you, i can send you a link to a Virtual home. ( i have a licence for twinmotion and archicad) 

[Hannah_Isabele]

I have a floorplan proposal, since it'll be a more open feel. it also gives more space to record video. I hope it gives you some ideas. I placed the crt on a car next to a nice big couch area. I have no clue on how big the actual space is and its paint style drawing so I hope it's clear what I mean.

[GS Caden]

Here's an idea from my side of things:

Why not elevate the Console gaming area to an overlooking position with a ramp/stairs leading up to it?
This could isolate it a little more and make it more of a chill place to hang out to brainstorm away from all of the chaos of 16 people gaming at once? And on the supporting wall you could have a snack lounge with a fridge and whatnot.

[Speekz]

Try to use diskless node technology, is faster to have one server sharing caching ssd to multiple cpu's insted of updating a server and later transfering the data to each unique computer via lan.

Also, you can get ideas from china, taiwan or any other asian country where LAN Cafes are well supported with diskless software.

In Peru, with a 500 usd CPU you can boot 16 or 24 computers easily.

[Claesfranhjo]

Hi LinusTechGroup. May April this year, I've got my own lan room / room.
I'm a small business in my little city. And today I've managed to get some nice chairs and old game computers that people can play on, both new and old classics like LoL and WC3 and more. This is how it looks today and has a picture when it looked after all the cables and color were in place. It has happened a lot in 5 months. Becomes a little long-term project when you do not have a sponsor. But me and my friends LAN here today and think it's right nice. Some bring their own computer while others are okay with what's on here. It is from i7 2600 to be 2 core AMD and graphics cards ranging from 2 gb to 512mb.

 

And the tv has Steam link and Googel crome link.

 

And the Dr Pepper the computer with 5 screens is my computer. Has just not moved it to the office room yet. It should not be there.

 

And the computer you see that has a lot of hard disks. It is the server we have.
It works perfectly!

 

Hope you like what you see, and maybe get some great tips from the pictures that you can use.
Keep it up!

ClaesFromHjo

[Bacon_Bitz27]

I had a few ideas.

 

-Instead of rows that are set make each computer have its own desk. Everyting is attached to the desk. You can rearrange the desks so you could have 2 rows of 6 or 3 rows of 4.

The desk can be locked together.

 

-Wheels on desks

 

-height adjustable desk.

 

-Have facecams. 

 

-get custom mousepads from that padzilla site from that episode of Holy SH!T (With LTT Logo and custom size)

 

-Cupholder cuz why not

 

Servers for TeamSpeak, Gmod, Minecraft, CSGO, and any other games would be cool. Especially if they are all always running.

 

Make a stream PC that had physical buttons to switch between the different game footage and facecams. (Macro King Get On That).

 

I created a little model from the only program I'm capable of using... CSGO's Hammer Editor.

 

Here's a link to the map

Here's a link to some photos

 

It would be really cool to finish off the project with a Company wide CSGO Wingman tournament on Twitch. (Wingman is a 2v2 gamemode BTW).

[wiLD0kl]

Instead of having all the PCs be the same, I would actually go with a heterogeneous mix of PCs with all about the same spec levels. As in: RGB builds, a dark build, an Intel build, an AMD build, Ryzen/nVidia, Intel/Vega, 240hz 1080p monitor, 2560x 144Hz, a custom loop watercooled build, a 100% air build, Logitech mouse, Razer mouse, etc etc.

You guys are literally a channel that does so many PC builds that having 16 of the same computer would be antithetical to what you guys do IMO.

Bonus points, bring back some of the builds you have done videos on already so I can sit at that anti-RGB pc I saw in the build. Or maybe I'd try out a Razer mouse again to see what they're like these days. I'm thinking maybe making the LAN center a showcase of products that gaming manufacturers would want gamers try out.

More bonus points, you can probably make more videos out of new builds.

[Franck]

I have worked on a project like this in the past (helping with installing the setup not imagining it) and what they did is custom built a large wall cabinet with 3 shelves and they could fit 4 computers on each shelves all in 1 corner of the room with led stripes it was nice. Then they had A/C trough duct in the floors and there was a traps right below the cabinet so all computers has really nice cooling. Then they installed an equipment that i don't know what it is but all i know is it look like a KVM switch. 3 USB, 1 DVI into a small box that the output was a CAT6 cable i believe that is the only thing going to the user seats hidden around the desks coming out on the desk into a small box that took that CAT6 cable and had 3-4 USB and 1 DVI output. We plugged in a mouse, keyboard and screen in there.

 

Note that it wasn't for heavy gaming so i don't know the input lag but i personally didn't see any lag with that setup using SolidEdge and Visual Studio.

 

This setup was leaving ALOT of desk space for the users as it was very limited. And the cabinet was possible to move with a hand lift to gain access to the back of all 12 computers very very nicely.

[Anubiz27]

Thoughts on the video, why not make custom cases in-house with the lazer cutter and acrylic much like JPModified.

 

If you guys wanna check out my design on a LAN HUB here is a link to the sketchup design done on Sketchup 2017.

https://1drv.ms/u/s!ApnipyVpAbvPggRdG77fhWB9AzHi

 

Any feedback would be helpful and much appreciated.

 

I also have design for a modular desk case with extra systems that can be added and also  a central cooling hub(experimenting with a peltier cooling idee for the cooling Hub)

 

BTW huge fan of the show all the way from South Africa, waiting till 02:00 AM on Friday/Saturday for the WAN show.

[Guest]

Maybe invite the Tom's Hardware's Chief Editor and he can get you as many Nvidia RTX's as you want. After all, why live without one?

[unijab]

IMO

 

each gaming station should be on its own subnet/vlan (to prevent anyone from trying any funny business against other gamers) (would need to get serious with your firewall rules)

 

each vlan needs a dhcp/dns server (or relay)

 

I'd build separate game cache servers and gaming servers.

 

 

[Billiam1515]

1 minute ago, unijab said:

IMO

 

each gaming station should be on its own subnet/vlan (to prevent anyone from trying any funny business against other gamers) (would need to get serious with your firewall rules)

 

each vlan needs a dhcp/dns server (or relay)

 

I'd build separate game cache servers and gaming servers.

 

 

Thats a lot of unnecessary work, and even if you were to set it up like that you could still have the same dhcp and dns servers without needing routing between the individual pc vlans. However if you were to do that you would be bottle-necked by the router unless you had a layer 3 switch. 

[Sun Djinn Kari]

BEHOLD!  The desk custom made perfectly for the chosen case!  The features included are listed in the image.  One Semi-caveat: I want to help you build your LAN center!  As for layout, Im great with spaces and organizing them, so I would be a great aid to your cause!  I also included a 3d model for you to use if you want to inspect the sizing and figure out dimensions of various parts.  Good luck, looking forward to seeing the progress!

 

Gaming Desk.stl

[unijab]

13 minutes ago, Billiam1515 said:

Thats a lot of unnecessary work, and even if you were to set it up like that you could still have the same dhcp and dns servers without needing routing between the individual pc vlans. However if you were to do that you would be bottle-necked by the router unless you had a layer 3 switch. 

 

Sure is, if you dont care about security.

 

Could easily built a 10Gb router. They said they only wanted each PC to have 1Gb.. so 16 clients @ 1Gb each is 16Gb.. Easily handled by 2x 10Gb NICs