The Ultimate Computer Desk - 2 Integrated Desktops

[AmEv]

Is there gonna be enough airflow around the processor?

Mainly concerned, not that far up from the bottom....

[ultimatedesk]

Is there going to be a window on the door? Or fans? Its all looking good and I'd hate for it to suffocate.

Oh, don't you worry, there'll be proper ventilation...

Is there gonna be enough airflow around the processor?

Mainly concerned, not that far up from the bottom....

Yup! LOTS!

Wow, with all those SATA cables there, it sure messes things up, no?

I went ahead and threw in my current video card (Radeon HD5770, which kicks some pretty decent butt still). I'm sure I'll see an improvement from my P4 3.2!!!

And here's the magical moment. It looks like it's already been tweaked around a bit. Running at 3.2Ghz instead of 2.8Ghz, RAM speed up to 1600Mhz... Hey - nice temps! That's only a few degrees over ambient! (It's chilly in the basement)

Only one major problem with this setup... Can you see what it might be? (Well, ok, there's more than one thing not "ideal")

That might cause an issue. I also don't like the way the heatsink exhausts all of its hot air directly onto the back of the video card, so off to the local computer shop!

This should do the trick:

Much better. Fits almost like it was meant to be.

Looks real good there actually. I think the wide fin spacing will be an advantage as well, since there is going to be a lot of general air flow throughout the cabinet.

[AmEv]

Called that there would be a problem. lol.

[ultimatedesk]

Called that there would be a problem. lol.

lol yeah.. it's been resolved though!

So, now that the hardware has been installed, I can proceed to managing those cables a little. I first cut a quick piece out of 1/4" hardboard with a few strategic holes

Already much more to my liking. Time to place the new fans with their new mounting system

Ok - with both "plates" in place, I can cut the appropriate holes in the door and go ahead and install!

Woohoo, that blue furnace filter sure looks out of place eh? Everything fits, it's nice, snug, and square, so I went ahead and added a bunch of closed cell foam

Another view of the almost finished right-hand cabinet old i5 system

*Testing*

I've been using this cabinet setup for a little while now, and I'm happy to report that the temperatures are really quite nice. Because I've "sealed" the air intake portion, all of the intake air is coming through the blue furnace filter. You can literally feel suction if you place your hand in front of the filter. There is a massive amount of air coming out of the CPU hole, as well as the open PCI slots, power supply exhaust, and the half inch of space between the door and the "non-intake-area". (You can see in the previous photos, I did not put foam around the entire door perimeter).

So far it has been idling at ambient (23-25) and at maximum, just under 50 degrees Celcius.

I can hear the fans running - they are louder than all of the hard drives spinning up. I am going to get a small fan controller and get them down to the minimum speed while maintaining these current temperatures (There is a very large amount of air running through the case).

*To Do*

I have clearly got to find something to either replace the blue furnace filter, or cover it up with something a little more visually appealing.

Also, I need something to cover the CPU exhaust area. It will need to match whatever I do for the furnace filter area.

'Til next time!

[ultimatedesk]

On the other end of the desk, things have been progressing along nicely as well - had this beauty cut for me

Placing it in the hole, it sits just a little bit too large. The original square I cut out was about a millimetre smaller on one end than the other

So I took out the trusty chisel and did a bit of shaving!

There we go!

Mm, starting to look so awesome!

The foam fan-holder will have to say bye-bye on this side, just like the one in the right-hand cabinet. Doesn't quite look right.

[Fuganater]

Its gonna look sick to be able to see your system. Too bad your not watercooling this. Did you try for some WC sponsors?

[AmEv]

I'm slightly nervous about the proximity of the HDD to the PSU....


Or should I only be nervous when the HDD is TOUCHING the PSU???