This wood desk PC was constructed from scratch after its creator constructed an analogous design for his carpentry course. Not solely is it a superb desk in itself, nevertheless it additionally incorporates a full water-cooled gaming PC in its drawer. The primary design was so effectively acquired that he’s again with a follow-up model that he’s hoping to start out promoting, and it’s model 2.0 that we’re right here.
Due to our quickly rising PC constructing Fb web page, we’ve seen many customized gaming PCs, from mods primarily based on present case designs to scratch PC builds. You may even submit yours for consideration proper right here. On this article, carpenter Mads Alexander takes me by way of the creation of his water-cooled wood desk PC. Over to you, Mads.
This PC-in-a-drawer desktop carpentry undertaking began within the fall of 2019 throughout my coaching to turn into a carpenter. I assumed it will be superior to make use of wooden to construct a pc case, or indirectly mix the woodworking expertise I used to be studying with the artwork of pc modding.
For my closing examination undertaking, I got here up with the idea of a pc constructed right into a desk. Nonetheless, relatively than taking the standard strategy with desk PCs, the place the PC is simply constructed into the desktop itself and topped by a big sheet of glass – making for a really thick desk – I made a decision to construct the PC right into a drawer.
What’s extra, I made a decision to do it in such a approach that the drawer appears prefer it’s hovering underneath the desktop, and when pulled out, a full water-cooled pc simply seems. I additionally wished the drawer to be openable whereas the PC was nonetheless operating, so you may see all of the lights flashing, followers blowing and coolant flowing within the tubes.
I received the inexperienced gentle from my academics, so I started designing. It didn’t take greater than a few hours to make a tough sketch, and from there I made the 3D drawings in Inventor and ordered all of the elements.
What I significantly preferred about this undertaking was that it mixed three features that typically shouldn’t be mixed. Water and wooden don’t belong collectively, at the very least on the subject of nice furnishings. Water and electronics additionally solely combine effectively in very restricted circumstances, and computer systems and wooden aren’t usually paired because of the poor thermal conductivity of wooden, making it more durable to maintain your PC’s thermals underneath management.
I wished to mix these parts in a chic approach that’s each stunning and useful. It felt to me that nobody had fairly achieved this mixture earlier than, so it was a singular problem. I’ve seen numerous individuals constructing computer systems into bins and many superior desktops, however I haven’t seen anybody mix all three components directly, and in a modern Nordic fashion.
The primary try at making a wooden desk PC
At this level, I had just a few weeks of expertise with woodworking, so my academics helped me out so much, however ultimately, I did virtually all of the work myself. I got here up with the concept, made the drawings from scratch, purchased all of the {hardware} with my very own cash, milled each gap by hand, and made certain all the pieces was excellent – with such a clear design, it needed to be good or imperfections can be apparent.
For instance of the precision required, the chamfer across the fringe of the desk sits on the identical three-degree angle as on the legs. In flip, these angles then decide the place the drawer wants to sit down, which determines if the glass is sq. with the drawer and so forth. One mistaken transfer and all these angles and straight strains don’t match up correctly.
Part of the requirement for my course was that the desk was constructed out of chipboard with a veneered prime, which really proved to be an issue by way of the power of the desk. Nonetheless, the oak – a traditional alternative for Scandinavian design – was the right match for the clear look I used to be trying to obtain. It additionally helped that I really like the gorgeous golden-brown colour of this wooden. In my view, it simply appears beautiful!
The general measurements of the desk are 150 x 75 x 75cm, which is a reasonably commonplace single desk dimension. Going bigger would have offered extra room for all of the gear, however would make the construct that rather more troublesome. In the meantime, going any smaller would make the desk too cramped.
The toughest a part of this construct by far was the drawer, determining how you can mill all of the holes and ensuring they had been made cleanly with none burn marks. I used strong oak for the drawer, which helped so much, as its power meant the drawer panels might nonetheless be fairly skinny and crammed with holes, whereas nonetheless sustaining their structural integrity. Nonetheless, its hardness does make it harder to work with.
Total, the desk, drawer, and PC got here out trying beautiful, in my humble opinion. I beloved each side of it. I used to be additionally very comfortable to obtain a 12/12 grade in my examination.
As I used to be constructing the desk, I filmed the method and, as soon as it was completed, I put collectively a video and uploaded it to YouTube. The additional work of filming was a significant headache nevertheless it was value it, as that video acquired over two million views!
Due to this success, I instantly began engaged on a second model of the desk to enhance its design, and with the hope that I might really manufacture and promote the brand new model. This was the start of MA Modified, the modding firm and YouTube channel.
The second wooden desk PC
I spent the subsequent eight months working solely on creating the brand new model of the desk, working with expert individuals in Denmark who excel at water cooling and high-end pc building, in addition to individuals who have their very own corporations and expertise of all of the small particulars wanted to show an thought right into a enterprise.
We sat down to look at my idea, excited about how we might optimize it, and one of many first jobs was to strengthen the desk. The straightforward addition of a single cross brace mounted a number of issues, including assist for the desktop, in addition to stabilizing the entire unit.
Subsequent, we eliminated some followers. There have been eight at first, however we received this quantity down to only three behind the drawer. They had been all organized as exhaust followers, with no consumption followers. As an alternative, air is drawn in by way of 12 holes within the backside of the drawer. The holes are lined with mud filters to maintain the insides of the PC clear.
We had been additionally in a position to scale back the variety of followers as a result of each the CPU and GPU are water-cooled. So long as the radiator is highly effective sufficient to tug out all the warmth, it’s the one half that must be equipped with common, sturdy airflow. That requirement meant the radiator needed to be very thick and the followers fairly highly effective. Nonetheless, as we hid the 60mm-thick Alphacool X-Circulation radiator in the back of the drawer, it’s going to virtually by no means be seen.
The drawer’s false backside was additionally a vital side of the design. The true backside is the panel into which all of the air flow holes are drilled, then above that is the panel for mounting all of the elements. Air passes between the 2 panels by way of two massive holes underneath the motherboard, which implies the motherboard (with its scorching energy supply elements and M.2 SSDs) will get provide of cool air earlier than it’s sucked by way of the radiator.
Additionally hidden – at the very least when the drawer is closed – is the ability provide, pump, SSD, and the again of the USB ports and energy button, that are on the entrance of the drawer. These are housed in a piece on the entrance of the drawer, which is hidden underneath the entrance fringe of the desk when closed.
It took months to search out the precise pump/reservoir combo unit that may permit us to mount the pump upright and nonetheless have it match within the drawer, and we nonetheless ended up having to switch it to make it match. By making certain the pump is mounted vertically, and the tubing is rigorously organized, we get rid of air bubbles within the system, decreasing noise. The tubing goes by way of the underside of the drawer and comes again out once more at different areas, including a singular, fashionable and clear look to the system.
Water cooling the wooden desk PC
Creating such a clear search for the PC concerned making a variety of small tweaks, such because the tubing and hidden radiator described above. One other instance was the bracket used to carry up the GPU, which I discovered on EKWB’s web site. It’s mounted to the wall separating the compartments, creating the looks of the graphics card simply plugging into the facet of the drawer.
To help with airflow and cable administration, the motherboard is mounted on 20mm standoffs, relatively than the extra typical sub-10mm standoffs. This easy change means no additional holes or different machining processes are wanted in that common space, decreasing the quantity of labor and nonetheless leading to a clear look.
As we’re trying to promote these desks, we considered the place we might add customization choices for patrons and we got here up with just a few concepts. The fitting facet of the drawer subsequent to the motherboard is on the market for customized names or different logos to be added, for instance, or a customized reservoir/distribution block might be added.
On this model of the desk, we additionally drilled particular person holes by way of the false flooring for the 24-pin and 8-pin energy cables, which appears tremendous clear, however this will likely be a customized order choice within the closing product. I’ve additionally made a standalone drawer model with rails on the perimeters, so you may mount it underneath any desk you want, so long as it’s fairly sturdy.
Desk drawer PC specs
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
- Motherboard: Asus ROG Strix X570-F Gaming
- Reminiscence: 32GB (4 x 8GB) G.Ability TridentZ Neo 3200MHz
- Graphics card: AMD Radeon RX 6800
- PSU: Cooler Grasp SFX 650W
- Storage: 1TB NVMe SSD, 2TB 2.5-inch SATA SSD
- Cooling: Customized water-cooling loop, utilizing EKWB waterblocks, a 360mm Alphacool X-Circulation radiator (60mm thick), and a Swiftech pump/reservoir combo
I’m actually impressed by Mads’ carpentry expertise right here – that could be a nice trying desk, and the PC is built-in rather well into the drawer – the eye to air flow and tidy cable administration is nice.
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