Extreme 'custom' desk PC > MEGA-DESK (based of batman vs superman desk)

[Blade00021]

Hi everybody.

 

I am Bjorn from the netherlands. Aka Blade21 / Blade00021

It's been a long time since i posted a full pc build. I hope you guys like this crazy stupid project!

Next to customizing cars and modding them so you can drive your car with a remote control.... I also love building PC's!

Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exAkFbXiorQ 

WHAT am i building?
I decided to build a desk PC. My last PC's where custom Mountain mod's and Danger Den's. I like big cases and many screens 

So now i wanted to do something different. But it had to be something 'special' / a real eye catcher and functional. After looking for hours
around the internet for inspiration from other pc desk builders... i was strucked! There are so many INSANE and beautiful
pc desks in the world... No way i could beat those designs. + I have a big desk for my large danger den case and i also do electronics work/
soldering etc. I didn`t liked the idea having a great fancy desk pc. And the desk next to it will be 'normal'.

So i dropped the idea for a few months.  >> .....Untill i saw the 'desk' from Batman in the movie: Batman vs Superman.

I just loved the design! It's big / it has side desks/ and i am pretty sure its one of a kind. How much ROOM would you have for PC stuff!
But man...thats a big desk! Can i pull if off? I do a lot of customizing on PC's and cars. But this was something else.

However, i was a Laser operator. So i designed and lasercut stuff like acrylic and i can also bend it. So the 'vent' design on the desk
should be possible. Wat really pulled me over the line... The desk is suspended from the ceiling. I thought screw it. I am gonna start building it!!

 

Just 1 thing, i want to give it a gamers/ ROG theme. I am sure Batman will love RGB

>>>
I will show you guys the building progress of this INSANE project. I luv to hear you guys comments! HATE IT? / LUV IT? / INSANITY? > YES!

Pictures of the build will follow soon!

[DoctorNick]

Subbed!

[PriitM]

I will give my seal of approval if you also become Batman...

 

JK: if you pull this off (even not in this grand scale), its gonna be nuts

[Blade00021]

All right!....heads up, lots of text coming up!

 

I hope you guys enjoy this build

 

 

 

Because i could not find any measurements or construction drawings of this desk anywhere online, I guessed the dimensions as best I could by looking closely at screenshots and youtube clips of Batman vs Superman behind the scenes. This gave me a good look at the details of the desk. Also small details like this screenshot where 'Ben' has his hand on the desk + the type keyboard have helped me a lot. I looked up the specs of the keyboard and drew those dimensions on the desk with rough estimates from Ben's hand.

 

 

240 / 5000

 

 

So, my goal was not to make a 'precise' replica. I want to give it a PC mod theme. But it was a challenge to get as close as possible to the original design. I mean that is a big desk!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before I go life size with this....I first made a scale model to get an idea of what it would look like and what problems could arise.

 

 

 

First i lasered a model out of cardboard / Then with plexiglas. This already gave me a better idea what i`m gonna build......and shit, there's more

to it than I thought!

After LOTS, lots....lots of drawing hours. I did the 'entire' design with software: laserworks..LOL. Nothing 3D!

 

 

As I got more further with the desk build (admittedly I thought 'a little' too lightly about this project)...This is not a desk anymore, but a full on functional movie prop, lol.
I want to equip ALL vents with RGBW! (this alone was already a HUGE design challenge for a large floating desk)
Since it "hangs", I also want to be able to operate it electrically in height
I want to see a custom window in the 2 outer desks (between all vents) In there will be sitting the PC's (This, turned out to be a huge structure challenge)
WHAT MORE DO I WANT!!!??? Oh yes.. I want to have 2 PC's. 1 for mainly VR, and the other one for surround / infinity game play.
Independed watercooled loops with 1x 360 rad + 1 x 480 rad .... PER SIDE.
Not only do I want to be able to operate the table up and down....I want to move the side consoles up and down to show off all the cooling fans.
Uhm..... turned out to be a challenge

 

 

So, many wishes for this extreme build. Hopefully I have enough skills to pull it off!

Because i was still figuring out the dimensions and best way to build the desk. I first started with the control panel switches of the middle desk console because those panels would be the easiest and good practice working with the lasers

 

OfcourseI also added some special effects like random flashing leds / moving displays and so on. Just to give it more of a batman feeling when sitting behind it. Many buttons will actually be functional. Moving consoles / turning on PC's / etc.

 

All these panels are designed with laserworks and lasered out of acrylic and wrapped in Brushed metal wrap. 

 

 

Watch clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHP_jAJq6a4

 

 

Watch clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pGB3m9DMyQ

 

 

LOTS MORE TO COME

 

 

[Blade00021]

As you can see.....all acrylic !

 

 

 

To give you a idea of the desk size. After designing the desk from the movie, i measured it around 6 meters! Turns out my room is only 4.6 meters.

So i had to do some redesigning in the side desks. I kept the ratio size of the desk the same, i only made the side desks shorter.

 

Time to do some cutting!

 

 

Layed out in the yard with my custom Strike 7. More on that later...

 

 

As you can see, i cut a large opening inbetween the vents. Inside that, will be the PC!

 

 

 

So these are the top plates. And these below are the 'bodem' plates that will house the RGB strips. Inbetween i sandwiched plexglas.

 

I had to made some grooves for the RGB wires...

 

 

 

 

DAMN how fragile does that look? In this state, it is! I had to be very careful moving around with this shredded plate. Especially during the sanding process.

Oh...i can tell you this, i had to buy alot of meters RGB for this desk

And of course I did a small test on how to best place the LEDs.

 

 

 

Ofcourse these plates need wrapping!

 

I wrapped all desk plates myself....and man, those are alot of 'vent' cuts i had to do.....ALOT!

 

 

 

I mean like alot of vents!

 

 

Alot...

 

 

 

 

Oh...remember those bodem plates? This is how it looks when placed under the top plates...

 

You can also already catch a glimp of the 2x Rads fan openings

 

 

 

[Blade00021]

So actually, before i started Mega-Desk, I first modded my old madcatz strike 7 keyboard in about the same style as the desk will be.

 

I Picked up a strike 7 for a bargain 1 year ago...but it did needed some work on the bezel. To make the keyboard look fresh again... I treated it with white plasti-dip.

1 year later...the white color didn't look so fresh anymore!

 

 

It pretty much seen better days. 'ignore the wires'

 

So I started refurbishing the whole bezel and wrapping it in brushed black steel.

 

 

 

 

"Ignore the hole"

 

I had some nice pieces of mirror piece acrylic that was perfect for laser cutting.

 

 

And now i am gonna insult some people....

 

 

I gave the keyboard a sex change...LOL

 

YES ITS WRONG......But wrong never looked so good!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

O.K..... so that was the keyboard. Now back to the desk!

 

[PriitM]

Im tempted to ask you to make a ROG Batman suit and Batmobile... but you might be crazy enough to do it.

 

You just earned a manly nod of approval from me, this is nuts!

[Blade00021]

My original plan was to build the frame out of aluminium tubing to keep the desk light.

 

But after building 1 frame and mounting the top plates on it, it was wiggly/ flappy as hell. No way that would work.

 

So, next thing that came to mind: STEEL

If i build a desk, i want a 'strong' desk. Should be no problem to stand on it. But man, that will become 1 heavy desk!

 

 

Here i layed the frame out on the cut top plate. Also shown are the 2 linear actuators that will pull the desk up if needed.

The large hole will be for the PC / and on top will be sitting 1x 360 + 1x 480 rad. That should be enough cooling for 1 system

 

 

So the tubes are layed out....lets do some   welding! 

 

 

 

 

STILL LEARNING

 

 

 

 

    

 

After welding, i coated them with a thick layer of anit-rust paint.

 

Oh man...its getting almost to big for my garage!

 

 

 

 

Making the angles from the middle desk> To the sides desks, was the hardest part. The first try (picture above) was way off.

 It took some guessing, but after making some calculations, i think that i am very close to the original desk.

 

 

 

I cut out this piece of plexiglas to help me with the angle.

 

The desk consist pretty much out of 3 parts..

 

 

 

Middle desk> Oh yea, you can stand on this, no problem

 

On the next update.....Let me show you guys on how i did the consoles!

[Blade00021]

Now i need some cool consoles and BUTTONS to play with!

 

Lets start with the consoles. These are made out of acrylic! The side consoles are about 1400mm long. The mid section about 1300mm

 

Before constructing them, i first made them out of carton:

 

This helped me alot deciding what angle they needed.

 

I also needed to find a way to 'bend'  the plexiglas, so i build my own 'bender' tool with a heating wire in the middle.

 

 

Before going 1400mm long....lets start short and get the angle right.

 

 

 After some tests....i got in perfect!

 

 

Now what do i need more....LCD screens and some custom bezels.

 

 

 

 

Ofcourse everything is perfectly cut, so perfect fit!

 

 

Here you can also see the extra structures i placed inside the console. These acrylic plates are glued with very strong bonding glue.

 

The side consoles will also get a aluminium frame for extra strength and structure.

 

 

 

Lets build some custom switch panels for the consoles!

 

 

 

That large silver button is the: Powermate. Its a multifunctional volume control

 

 

I also would like some functional things in the desk. For on the left console, i decided for a Lab-power supply and soldering station.

 

Luckly, i all ready had these parts for daily use

 

 

 

 

 

And now with some crafty laser cutting:

 

 

And installed:

 

 

 

That looks pretty damn sharp! These are also just acrylic and wrapped in brushed metal.

 

Lets see, what else do i want. I always love visual spectrums / vu meters. Lets do that!

 

I cut out a piece of acrylic with the rog logo graved on the inside, and i will place a large spectrum display behind that!

 

 

 

This looks so cool! Check out this clip to see it in action!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQw8jztSnGs

 

I will have 2 of these please!

 

I also needed a custom panel on the right side, so i came up with this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The fuse panel also lights up!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It also has a USB dock / fast charger right bodem angle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Blade00021]

The middle console is wrapped!

 

Original

 

 

PREVIEW OF THE CONSOLE: 

 

Now lets see how it looks so far!

 

original

 

 

 

 

Man thats big.

 

Well, plenty of room to put my feet on the desk's'.....

 

Oh...weight? I weighed all 3 steel frames. All 3 together weigh 120 pounds So, moving in the future will be a nightmare..

 

 

[Blade00021]

Now, lets start looking at some ideal pc cases that i can use.

 

Now, to be honest, i bought these 2 TG4 sharkoon cases...before i decided how big the opening in the desk was going to be...

So that could be a problem. I actually wanted 2x Thermaltake core P5, but went for cheaper option. And glad that i did!

 

 

So this is what i had in mind:

 

 

For cooling the radiators, i went for 14x enermax RGB fans. There are also RGB fans in the front of the 2 sharkoon cases. So i hope this

gives a nice effect

 

 

Now......quoting Linus: RGB, RGB......R.G.B!

 

Since the desk will have alot of RGB / RGB fans / RGB strips on the ceiling........Something is missing... Ohyes, a RGB chair.

Just a ridiculous buy, I love it!  Batman would be freaking out!

 

 

 

 

 

Now that i received the 2 cases, lets see how i need to mount them to the desk frame. Before i could do that, i needed to line up

the plates perfectly with the frame..

 

 

 

This is how thick MDF wood looks like after you laser cut it. You need to sand the entire thing. Including all the vents/shafts

 

 

 

O.K....lets test fit the case. F*K.....I knew it. It was way to small to fit the custom opening in the top plate.

 

Well, it's a custom project. So lets customize the cases. How hard can it be?

 

 

 

 

I felt very comfortable customizing these cases......

 

 

 

 

..........Untill i got to here WHAT AM I DOING.....!?!

 

 

A little mental breakdown.....But i'm o.k now. Lets continue

 

 

 

 

Now lets make some extension plates to make the cases wider >

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looks not bad!

 

 

New size difference compared to stock

 

 

 

 

ITS FRANKEN-CASE.....

 

Now lets see if it fits the opening of the desk!

 

 

 

[Blade00021]

Lets see if the case fits the opening and lets see how to install them to the frame!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice and flush....

 

 

 

From the bodem:

 

 

It sucks that i have to do all the work on the side desk twice!

 

 

 

 

 

The back plate is still removeable like stock

 

 

Now lets see if it fits nice in the center. 

 

 

 

 

 

1 of the 2x 480 rads..

 

 

So i am probably not gonna use my custom cover plates with the ingraved ROG logo and just use clear plates. Just because it will

look to 'buisy'  with the other large ROG logos on the 2 side consoles.  But i can swap them out whenever i want

 

 

 

Man...ROG should sponsor me!

 

O.K...let see how it looks if i put on the middle console on the side desk:

 

 

 

 

 

Just ridiculous. Lets move on!

 

The system! I wanted to do something different. Instead installing the PSU inside the case, i want to install out 'outside' the case. Got plenty of room!

 

Now how to lay out the reservoir pumps and ROG overclock display  ?

 

 

 

Hmmmm...yes, yes....something like this....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Blade00021]

Now before i can make even a attempt to install this 'desk' in my room, i need to take down my current setup.

 

Yea...this will hurt a little....

 

Its a custom danger den

 

And before that / Mountain mods. I love these cases for the amount of space they offer. But horrible if you need to replace

hardware. Well....that problem should be solved with mega-desk!

 

 

 

O.K....I looked at it. Now lets DISSASEMBLE!

 

 

 

Well...i guess it needed cleaning!

 

 

 

Also the entire desk had to go!

 

 

Yea...this was alot of work!

 

 

 

 

 

[Blade00021]

YEA.....THIS WAS HEAVY MOVING IT UP THE STAIRS....

 

O.K....i did a test fit. Had to make sure that it was not TOO wide and if all the angles of the steel extensions where lining up.

 

Which they DIDN'T!

 

 

 

So i had to bring everything back outside.....and redo some extensions.

 

Also i did some test of the desk structure. After noticing some flex in the angle tubing, I needed to at a long steel tube of about 3 meters

for extra strength. That fixed the problem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, lets take it apart again.....and cary it to my room...again.

 

 

 

TADAAAA

 

I got it installed inside the room. Yes, yes...it big!

 

 

Those are 40 " screens on the corner. They look more like 27"

 

 

Room left > 64mm left and right. Not bad.

 

 

To be continued....

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Blade00021]

Ofcourse i could not let the desk stand on a few plastic boxes, so i fast came up with a strong bracket support that i drilled in the wall

where the desk can rest on.

 

 

It will get dusty in this room building up this desk. Still lots of drilling / cutting needed!

 

 

This project took alot of time. In that entire time i did not had a mancave to relax in. EVERYDAY after work, i was working on

this desk.

 

 

 

 

On the plus side.....Its great of having a desk that does not touch the floor. Easy maintenance under the desk and perfect for vacuüm 

or even draining the systems of the coolant if necessary.

 

One thing i kept in mind, i wanted to keep it as much as easy maintenance as possible. For the radiators i made these simple brackets:

 

 

 

Reservoir location is set. Sits inplace of the PSU

 

 

 

 

Lets hope i won't get any trouble with the long travel distance that the coolant needs to travel to the radiators!

 

 

Lets see how the pre-wrapped top plates look. Gotta be very careful not to damage them.

That was alot of wrapping!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I actually also like this look! But the bottom of the desk will be FILLED with wires. And besides.... i already made my decision

on RBG in the cut out vents..

 

 

 

 

 

Lets move on. Since it's pretty much a gaming desk and i am a 80's kid, so lets at some extra goodies to it.

 

 

 

Installing the first: 43" / 4K TV. What, no monitor? No. I've been gaming on TV's as far as i can remember. And TV's still have the 

best value over a monitor. Besides...they run at 4k / 60hz. I am fine with that!

 

By the way, i am not gonna use the same monitor setup like in the movie batman vs super. I like triple screen gaming, so i want 3 monitors in the middle.

 

 

Remember i said that i was going to install the PSU's outside the case?

 

I did>

 

 

I actually love it! Perfect for adding / or removing modular cables.

 

(temporary hardware setup) More info on the hardware later!

 

 

 

Here is 1 little hardware spec: The 6900XT

 

This guy will sit in the left side of the desk. It will be used for daily use / and of course gaming on surround...excuse me....Eye Infinity

 

 

 

I was a little disappointed that it came with pretty much...nothing! But I did liked the little mouse pad

 

 

I NEVER been nervous on installing a waterblock on a graphics card. But i was with this one. It was PRICEY!

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile on the RIGHT side of the desk, i am working on the VR system. And also started customizing some bezels and covers

that sit inside the case to give it a cleaner look.

 

The system here has 2x 1080 in sli. But since this will be my backup PC and of course VR gamer...i removed one later during

the build. VR doesn't really use SLI, so i sold the 2nd card.

 

 

Something different. I installed the ROG overclock panel INSIDE the desk.

 

It took some getting used to it...but i like it!

 

 

 

A little wrapping in the same color as the desk:

 

 

 

 

 

But where do i place all the hard drives? F-it....lets also place those outside the case!

 

 

 

I had these HDD bays left from a different project.

 

Might as well run the coolant tubing also outside the case

 

 

Ah...i received my other screens!

 

4x 43" - 4k screens. Jup...pretty wide!

 

 

 

WHAT A MESS!

 

 

 

The first leak test on the VR PC

 

 

 

I build some custom couplers.....sadly they leaked as hell! So i ended up replacing the black couplers.

 

 

The 3 screens in the middle are only used for the 'surround' gamer. So i needed some extra screens.

I ended up using my old 40" full HD screens. The right screen functions as VR pc - SNES and NES TV

The left screen is my surveillance system @ home.

 

 

On the ceiling you can also see the first mountings for the steel cables that will hold the desk

 

 

I also started to play around with a MEGA-DESk sign..... :)

 

 

Finished it with some spot lights

 

 

 

 

[Blade00021]

I added some extra screen support brackets. Mainly so the screens sit nicely horizontal if you place them in surround.

 

 

 

Now in the movie, there was a scene where alfred pulled out 2 joystick from underneath the desk

 

A joystick set that i noticed in many movies. The Thrustmaster Warthog. In the movie alfred 'pulls and slide out' the joysticks.

I thought that was a cool idea. But i did not like those large fabrications next to my legs when i sit behind the desk.

 

Also...i like it if i can place the joystick in the middle (between your legs) for fighter jet games.

 

So i came up with this idea. I used 3 monitor support brackets that i can fold in underneath the desk:

 

 

 

 

 

Because of the heavy price of the warthog, i settled for the Logitech X52 black.

 

 

 

 

Time for a little preview:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[alyen]

This project looks insanely good. You should have redone the room floor, walls and ceiling so things won't look out of place. I'm looking forward to see this one finished.

[Blade00021]

3 minutes ago, alyen said:

This project looks insanely good. You should have redone the room floor, walls and ceiling so things won't look out of place. I'm looking forward to see this one finished.

You are right....but it was kinda a money/time and space thing. But i will surely do some more modifications in the future when i earned some more cash fighting crime, lol

 

 

[Blade00021]

 

The bottom plates with the upper console

 

 

 

Now how can i let these consoles rise so it shows all the fans under it?

 

 

 

 

Hm..something like this. But i need bigger actuators!

 

 

 

 

I really wanted a foot-rest, but did not like the idea that i sat on the ground. I wanted it of the ground like the desk.

 

While sitting at the barbershop, that gave me a idea!

 

 

 

 

It has RGB lighting that will match with the color of the desk. I also made the foot rest bar wider!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Blade00021]

Started with building the mega desk logo sign.

 

It of course will get a RGB panel behind the letters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Talking about RGB.... Lets start laying some RGB strips in the desk. I decided instead laying the strips in every vent, i will place them every 2

vent openings. I lost count how many meters RGB i used in this build!

 

 

 

 

For best led effect, i wrapped the underside of the plate white.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OOOOEEEEEHHHH

 

A little preview with the wrapped top plates>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AAAAH, welkom to my lair Mr. Bond....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Blade00021]

Little change on the RGB seat... I did not like the flat black chair legs. So i swapped it for chrome. 

 

Looks less cheap now

 

 

 

 

[Blade00021]

Leak test on the 2nd system with the 6900xt.

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile i can finish up the 2 fan panels that sit in the back of the desk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All fans are connected!

 

 

 

 

Now lets move on to the consoles....

 

 

I upgraded the linear actuators for longer ones and black in color.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Console....Going up!

 

 

 

 

First test:

 

 

 

 

A couple more tests with the Spectrum analyzer before i can continue. The right spectrum is hooked up to the right speaker,

and the left spectrum to the left speaker.

 

 

 

 

 

Hmm...you know what these consoles are missing?

 

More RGB!

 

 

 

Lab power supply

 

 

 

[Blade00021]

The consoles are wrapped!

 

LEFT SIDE console: 

 

 

 

 

 

The spectrums will get a black tinted cover in front of it. So you will only see the logo and not any light bleeding from the back.

 

 

 

The media players are used for showing special effects clips. You could also use them as monitors, but i will use these for showing stuff

like this

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black tinted cover over the spectrum analyzer for a more sleeker look..

 

 

 

 

 

Now.... The RIGHT SIDE console

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time to install the consoles to the desk

 

 

 

 

[Blade00021]

Console closed.....

 

 

Console open

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sound check.

 

I am using a logitech z5500 speaker setup for 'both' PC's. Placed a optical splitter in-between them. Works great! 

I have a feeling that the electricity bill will be a little bit higher this year

 

 

 

 

Added moulding/ strips around the desk edges.

 

 

 

 

 

Added some decals to the switch panel and a red overlay

 

 

 

 

Doing some wiring....so much fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hmmm...Something is missing. AH YES..... Rotating warning lights

 

 

 

 

 

A little add on for my RGB chair. A little bracket where i can keep my steam controller. 

 

 

 

[Blade00021]

Yes...the logo 2 times seems a bit much?

 

What do you guys think?

 

 

 

 

 

 

No logo