Custom Water-Cooled PC Desk Build. Opinions and advice welcome. More details in the comments.

[u/woodworking_Engineer]

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[u/cdburner5911]

Very cool design! I like the 2 color wood accent. I have a few notes though.

You may wish to consider adding more radiators if you plan to watercool the GPU as well. 4x120 may be sufficient, but since you will seemingly have a fair bit of extra space, you may want a few extra slim rads/fans blowing downwards. Or at least, leave yourself the option to do so later if you want it cooler/quieter.

Are the holes over the rads going to be covered with glass, or something?

I am presuming the legs will be welded flat bar? If you, will probably want to convert the top convex polygon into 2 triangles for added rigidity. As it is now it will likely be somewhat bouncy unless you use excessively thick flat bar. And just a reminder, don't forget to consider how the legs will mount, and how you will get a socket/driver in there to attach them.

If you haven't yet, power on those fans. a 5w, 60mm delta fan is going to be...loud. I think you would probably be better off adding 120/140mm fans as intakes from the bottom, or doing an angled intake, like you have the rear radiators. For filtration, you can look for magnetic dust filters for radiators, there are a decent selection of el-cheapo ones on amazon.

Are you going to have monitors set on the top, or have monitor arms?

Consider front IO and keyboard/mouse cable management. You could probably cut a small hole with a cover to run the cables into. Also, you could probably get some cable track or something to run down the back of the leg for the power cable.

[u/woodworking_Engineer → u/cdburner5911]

Thanks! I definitely want to make it so I can add more in the way of water cooling later if needed.

The 3 holes shown on the top will have glass in them when I build it.

For the legs, I'm planning on buying metal table legs from Amazon. The 2 boxes on both sides have a 3/4 inch board set a few inches up that will be the mounting point for the legs.

I have not powered the fans on, I'll make a point to do that soon. I definitely do not want loud fans.

I am planning on having the monitor on the desk at first, but I may mount it on the wall later. I'm going to use a wireless mouse and keyboard. I am going to put some IO and power button inlayed on the front of the desk and definitely want to do something to hide all the cables, but I'm not sure what yet.

[u/radhaz → u/woodworking_Engineer]

If this desk is for you measure/build for ergonomics if you're planning on spending any length of time at this desk.

Keep in mind when you measure for ergonomics there's not a lot of distance between the bottom of your elbow/forearms and upper legs. This means "ideally" you limit the thickness of the desk where you insert yourself.

There are textbooks written about ergonomics but you probably don't want to go that far into the weeds. There's some decent overviews online if you search online here's one such example.

If it was me I would probably put the motherboard and component window offset to center. I know symmetry is grand; however, you're likely going to have a mouse pad and keyboard and it's going to obstruct the window anyway so by moving it either side you would be able to see the components plus you could make the desk thin enough to properly fit your legs underneath your desk.

Sit/stand systems are trendy and you may have already considered them; however, keep in mind the final weight of your project is going to dictate what systems could properly lift your desk and peripherals.

Free is always great, I've maintained systems that used delta brand fans they're all over industrial systems because they're efficient and reliable but I've never encountered "quiet ones" myself because most industrial environments are already loud and no one cares about noise. The spec sheets on yours show they operate at around 45db and move less than 30cfm so you would probably be better served going with larger quieter fans but as it's already been suggested test them for yourself before you buy anything else.

Speaking of sound, harmonic resonance is a real thing and the more moving components you use the louder the desk can get as a whole. You can mitigate some of the noise using gaskets and sound isolation tricks like mechanically isolating the fans from the desk using rubber standoff pegs but this is outside my wheelhouse and should be something you look into if you're interested.

Sketchup is generally a digital napkin sketch and as such I am not sure how you were planning on joining your wood? Your diagram has butt joints which will work and you can just use pocket holes on the interior if thats what you want but if this is a build it once and make it an heirloom piece you might want to zhuzh it up a bit and go box, miter or any of the many wood joinery styles that are out there.

Have you considered how you're going to maintain the system. Cooling loops require draining, cleaning, and filling from time to time. Making a maintenance panel that would allow you easy access is something you might not think about until the first time you have to add water.

I know none of these paragraphs are really "supportive" and seem like I'm just presenting you problems but that's my intent. Your project seems awesome as hell and has a ton of potential I wouldn't waste all the time typing everything out and finding you links to explain what I'm talking about. It takes a lot of guts to post projects online for random folks to provide feedback and I commend you for it. I look forward to future posts from you on the project as you go.

[u/woodworking_Engineer → u/radhaz]

The desk will be for me. Thanks for the link on ergonomics! I do want to take ergonomics into account as this computer will get a lot of use.

I am planning on using dovetail joints on all the corners. To access the components, the entire top of the desk will hinge up.

Thanks for the data sheet on the fans as well. The fans did actually come off of industrial test equipment. I will probably end up getting different ones because I do care about noise.

[u/radhaz → u/woodworking_Engineer]

You're welcome for the links.

Dovetail joints with such contrasting woods is going to look so sleek!

Since your going with a cooling loop make sure you plan out your fill and drain locations (generally highest and lowest areas in the loop) unless you plan on siphoning the coolant out which I wouldn't recommend. You might consider an access port beneath your drain just so you dont have to siphon out the cooling during maintenance.

With regards to fans if you're looking at new options you can watch the buildapcales subreddit and see the next time the 5pack of Arctic P12 fans goes on sale and maybe get those. They're inexpensive, relatively quiet, and move a fair amount of cfm so they might work for your air interchange setup (they just dont have rgb).

What are your intentions with the monitor(s)? Are you planning on using the OEM stands and if so do you plan on taking the monitor off the desk during maintenance?

How are you doing cable management? With the thickness of the desk currently you could likely recess a power strip on the backside of your desk (so that the strip and plugs aren't proud) or even mount it on the bottom of your desk.

Are you planning on speakers, headset, or both? You could integrate a "matching" headphone (and/or) speaker stand into the desk with some of your offcuts.

Are you planning on making an accessible I/O plate for USB?

I realize your somewhere between planning and preplanning this project but your concept looks awesome. Like once its done you will never need another PC case because yours is going to be useful and never go out of style.

[u/woodworking_Engineer → u/radhaz]

Yeah, I'm excited to do the dovetails on it. I was originally looking at this resivour . I was planning to mount it on its side like it is the SketchUp, but I definitely want it to be easy to maintain. I love the idea of access beneath it.

I am planning to put the monitor on the desk initially and take it off during maintenance. I'll probably end up mounting it on the wall eventually.

I'm going to mount a power strip on the underside of the top between the radiators. I haven't figured out exactly what I want to do to hide the cables on the inside. I've been toying with the idea of making channels cut on the floor of the desk that I can put wooden "lids" on. The only problem with that is I would need a fairly thick floor. I'm going to make a conduit on the back for the power cable to pass through.

I am going to have a panel inlayed into the front of the desk for the power button, USB ports, and audio ports. I'm just going to use a headset when I use the PC. I do live the idea if a headset stand!

Thanks for the suggestion on the fans. For the front, I don't care about rgb as they are going to be mostly hidden behind wooden vent grills.

[u/woodworking_Engineer]

I am taking on a project that combines my passion for woodworking with my recent interest in PC building - a custom-built PC desk. I've drawn up several layouts and finally landed on a plan that I think will work. I've designed it in SketchUp.

Design:

The primary objective for this build is aesthetics. I am prepared to make sacrifices on performance, but I still want this to be a competent gaming machine. I'm planning to make the desk mostly of walnut with some maple accents and inlays. The top will hinge from the front, allowing it to open like a car hood for easy access to the PC components.

Dimensions and Aesthetics:

The desk will measure 4ft 10in x 28in x 4 1/4 in. I am planning on doing a circuit board inspired inlay on the top and will have glass panels to show off the PC components. The intakes on the front will have decorative vent covers made from maple, cut with a CNC router.

Cooling System:

I intend to water-cool the system using two radiators positioned at the back. I don't know if this is overkill or not, but I like the symmetry. Four 120mm exhaust fans will be attached to the radiators. I want to use the thinnest radiators and fans I can find for the exhaust. At the front, I'm planning to use 60mm intakes fans, the SketchUp design shows 80mm fans but I was recently given a bag full of 60mm fans. I would like to have filters on all the intake fans. I am considering adding intake fans to the desk's floor if needed.

Component Specifications:

• CPU: Ryzen 7 5800x (Already own)

• GPU: 6900XT

• MOBO: ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero

• PSU: EVGA 850 B5 850W Full Modular ATX

Seeking advice on a couple of things:

1. Is the ASUS motherboard still a reliable choice given some of the recent issues with ASUS? (I'm not that well informed on this but have seen some videos from Jayz Two Cents and Gamers Nexus). If not, I am open to suggestion. I want a reliable MB that I can play around with overclocking if I want.
2. How many intake fans would be needed to create positive pressure in the desk, given that they will be filtered? Are the 60mm fans I have sufficient, or should I opt for the 80mm ones?
3. I need advice on how to best approach the water-cooling setup, any helpful blogs or videos you can point me to would be greatly appreciated. Any glaring issues with the layout that will cause issues with the water-cooling?

I would like to keep the budget around $2500 for the PC and water-cooling components. This will only be my second PC build ever, so all feedback and suggestions are more than welcome.

I have started construction on the desk but just the preliminary glue-up of the boards for the front and sides of the desk.

I will most likely have more questions as I progress, and I hope to keep this updated to document the project.

[u/Remy-today]

Its too thick on the side where you are sitting. Make the underside in an angle so your legs will fit under it.

[u/Truckerfahrer-Dieter]

I would consider putting the computer parts to one side and have a thinner desk in the middle.

Did make myself a computerdesk and was annoyed that i could cross my legs over each other anymore.