My first own build (Deskbuild / Battlestation) Project:VisionDesk

[SirBasti]

So .... where should I start? First of all you need to know that I very like much RGB and also much screen real estate. Even the eyes can see just one point, yes I know.

 

My first idea of a Deskbuild came when I bought the windowed sidepanel for my old beQuiet! case. I thought it must be possible to have a better look at the interior while not have the case standing on the desk and wasting space. So when the pandemic hitted and I had over half a year time to do what I wanted just not to go outside, I made a workshop in my living room.

 

 

 

 

I ordered some boards online for the case that should be right in the middel of the table. The cutted parts were not the most expensive as the giant kitchen workplate, made from solid beech was much more. Since I am not an engeneer and I dont know how to calculate the thickness of an glassplate to hold a specific weight, I ordeder the thickest tempered glass plate I could find online for a reasonable price. In the front I cut out some holes for intake fans (Scynth) as well as on the opposite side on the bottom (white fans). For the internal RGB I took my old Vulcan 100 without the keycaps and back cover.

Of course as a chef I dont earn that much so I placed my old gaming setup inside. It was solid but I always dreamed of a shiny RGB setup like seen in these videos and pictures online.

Then I sold my car because the insurence was too much (beeing at home for half a year because of the closed restaurant with only 60% of the normal income makes the decision easy), and when we were allowed to work again, I slowly upgraded part by part.

First the MB and CPU had to go. The old B450 and Ryzen 5 1600x I replaced with and B550 in black and white (Gigabyte Vision D-P) and a Ryzen 5 5600x. Then the 1050ti got an upgrade to a 1660ti when Cyberpunk came out and as this wasnt eough, it got quickly replaced by a RX6600XT, but not before the old PSU, I think it was a beQuiet! 350 or 450W... something, got a slight upgrade to a gold certified CoolerMaster V2 750W in white. For the RAM I already had two Vengence PRO RGB with 8GB each and I just put in two more to double the RAM to 32GB.

I tryed different placements inside the desk, almost every time I got a new upgrade.

 

 

 

 

At one point I replaced the CPU cooler that was a Arctic (I guess) E-Sports (not duo) with a self installed second fan on the pulling side, with an Alpenföhn Gletscherwasser 240mm AIO. The cooling got a little better but not much. The main point was to get the Mainboard closer to the glassplate, getting it in a better angle to see it from sitting position. Also I tryed to place the radiator outside the case but it didnt change that much as the airflow in the case is really good.

 

At this point I think I can say to everyone who dont dare to build a computer on their own: If you are not that much into hardware, get help online on what to buy. Dont be afraid of damaging something when you put it together. As long the case is not super tiny or punishing in case of cable management, you really cant not damage something unless you are really brutal. But most parts will take some wiggles, pressing, bending, aso.

 

At one point this year, I had my setup inside the case almost as it is yet. Placed every component so that its good visible from the outside.

 

 

(oh yes the cable management is bad. I mean really bad. You dont want to see behind the desk.)

 

Since then the only upgrades was a 7800XT and I replaced two of the RAM sticks with Mushkin Redline 2x32GB Sticks (same speed) because of AI-text-generating models.

 

the Vulcan 100 guides the air from the bottom fans to the radiator while the Vulcan 122 hides some of the cables

 

I still need some good cable covers, best 3D printed, I guess, but since I am very bad at CAD-things and lack of a 3D-printer, I cant do it myself.

And here is the final form of the VisionDesk Mk1 (somewhere I also painted the top white to match the interior):

 

topview

frontview (360 wired controller for steamdeck and wireless for desktop)

 

The screens are two AOC 23" IPS panels (not listed anymore but great colors and viewing angle), a ASUS VA326 (also not listed anymore) and as mainscreen I use a Samsung G5 34" WQHD. At the side there is also a 15,6" touchscreen which I mainly use for WarframeHub and clock (wallpaper engine) and runs from a ThinClient. Also you might notice no Win11. Thats because I want the taskbar to a side monitor and only to one.

Since a neighbor gifted me his old components last spring, a H87 board with CPU and RAM and also a 1060, I let it run StableDiffusion and control it via RemoteDesktop on the top screen.

 

Thats what I´ve come up with in three years step by step. Let me know what you think, I love to hear your thoughts or maybe you have an idea to improve the build.

Here is also a PCPartPickerList for the parts I used: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/hKB9t7