gjh.willard
New Member
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2012
Hi, and welcome to my build log for project Unity.
Project Unity is my design & build of a PC within a desk.
My first build was a HTPC System. This was fine for what i wanted at the time but limited my options for upgrading the system.
The original idea was to implement a watercooling system into the HTPC using a Koolance Exos v2 system and then to modify the top of the HTPC case to enclose the whole system then having the tubing go into the back of the case onto the various components.
After a lot of looking around at other builds i decided that i want to show the whole system off as a show piece, something to admire. I decided that an EK Watercooling system was the best route and a new case to suite the system.
After much looking around for something that was unique my partner came across a coffee table implementing a PC.
I was totally amazed by the idea and started to wonder if anyone else had done any other desk or table builds Then i came across Cross by Red Harbinger, I was completely mesmerized. Instantly, i knew that there was an idea worth replicating in my own way.
After a few sleepless nights of dreaming up concepts in my mind i decided i would try my hand at having a go with SketchUp and putting my ideas on the screen. after many many hours the design was beginning to to take some shape.
I had never built anything in my life so the obvious thing was to speak to my step father who has many years joinery experience; he instantly loved the idea and said he has to be involved with project. Which was great news for me!
We threw ideas back and forth for a few weeks until we had something set in stone. and came up with a final design and measurements.
The next step was to head straight to our local B&Q to price up materials, the most feasible option was to go for Plywood it was cheap and sturdy enough to support weight.
The build begins...
Front and Back cut (the back differs from the original design)
My step father doing the Beading to support the bottom panels
Beading front and back done
Attached all sides, waiting for the glue to set
Nailing the bottom panels
More drying time
EK Shipment arrived :-D
CPU Block: EK-Supreme LTX - Nickel CSQ
EK-MOSFET Max IV Gene - Acetal+EN (Nickel)
VGA Block: EK-VGA Supremacy - Acetal+Nickel
2x EK-RES X3 250
Pump: Laing DDC-1T Plus 12V DC Pump (MCP 355)
Radiator: EK-CoolStream RAD XT (360)
Coolant: EK-Ekoolant Blood RED (premix 1000mL)
Compression Fittings: EK-PSC Adapter 90° G1/4 Black Nickel & EK-PSC Fitting 10mm - G1/4 E-Nickel
Thermal Paste/Grease: Arctic Cooling MX-3 thermal compound (4g)
Tubing: TUBE Masterkleer 12,7/9,5 CLEAR
Inside panels cut and beading to support, the panels are able to lift straight out in case of any future modifications needed
Marked out the rear vents for cutting
Rear Vents cut and cut inside panel to accommodate the radiator
We once again changed the design; I wanted to be able to control the fan speed while gaming etc so we decided to make a fan controller enclosure. So i bought a Aerocool Touch 2000
Here is the top cut, resting on top is the housing
Testing the enclosure with the fan controller unit
Cut out for the I/O panel
Lots of sanding and levelling out was needed, we discovered that a lot of wood filler was needed to fill in those rough edges
Routed out the edge for the glass to sit in. discovered that we hadn't quite made the originial edge straight enough with the jigsaw
Second attempt, success!
I started to get very excited as i could see that the desk wasn't far off completion, but a spell of bad weather had interrupted the build process.
During this time i decided to make a render of the desk
The weather once again improved (gotta love British weather!) testing out the filler by skimming the surface, sanding then priming
Production of the bottom half started, we decided to make the legs detach from the main desk which is bolted together
Side panels being drilled out, the holes will have Perspex behind them with red LED's fixed around the inside of the legs with another piece of board on the inside
Figuring out where to attach the MB Tray and allow enough room for cabling to run underneath
Testing the anti vandal Switches fit properly. as you can see from the edge, some cuts were not so great. Filler to the rescue though
All starting to come together nicely
Legs and top skimmed, sanded and primed
Painting started
Finished second coat of paint inside, on top and on legs now to sand down and apply the final coat
Cutting glass to size and rounding off the edges, you can see that we have started to also fine sand the paint
Final coats getting applied. i was so excited that the build was coming to a close that i forgot to take more pictures. we applied a further two coats and then after a six hour dry time we applied 6 coats of matte varnish fine sanding after the third coat.
Now the fun part of fitting all components.
You will notice in this picture that we didn't apply any paint to the underside of the top (out of sight out of mind) and you can see the full effect of the matte varnish on the left compared to the right.
At this point our backs were starting to hurt form all the leaning over to fit all the components, but the loop was now filled!
Final finished product! (Apart from inside panels on the legs) I was so happy to get to this stage after a two month long build
LED's now installed (no, this is not my computer chair :-D )
Newer Photos after some tweaking (apologies for the poor quality)
Specifications are:
(Nothing Spectacular)
All cable extensions from overclockers via BitFenix
Water Cooling Specifications
Here is a video of the above and some added extras
Project Unity is my design & build of a PC within a desk.
My first build was a HTPC System. This was fine for what i wanted at the time but limited my options for upgrading the system.
The original idea was to implement a watercooling system into the HTPC using a Koolance Exos v2 system and then to modify the top of the HTPC case to enclose the whole system then having the tubing go into the back of the case onto the various components.
After a lot of looking around at other builds i decided that i want to show the whole system off as a show piece, something to admire. I decided that an EK Watercooling system was the best route and a new case to suite the system.
After much looking around for something that was unique my partner came across a coffee table implementing a PC.
I was totally amazed by the idea and started to wonder if anyone else had done any other desk or table builds Then i came across Cross by Red Harbinger, I was completely mesmerized. Instantly, i knew that there was an idea worth replicating in my own way.
After a few sleepless nights of dreaming up concepts in my mind i decided i would try my hand at having a go with SketchUp and putting my ideas on the screen. after many many hours the design was beginning to to take some shape.
I had never built anything in my life so the obvious thing was to speak to my step father who has many years joinery experience; he instantly loved the idea and said he has to be involved with project. Which was great news for me!
We threw ideas back and forth for a few weeks until we had something set in stone. and came up with a final design and measurements.
The next step was to head straight to our local B&Q to price up materials, the most feasible option was to go for Plywood it was cheap and sturdy enough to support weight.
The build begins...
Front and Back cut (the back differs from the original design)
My step father doing the Beading to support the bottom panels
Beading front and back done
Attached all sides, waiting for the glue to set
Nailing the bottom panels
More drying time
EK Shipment arrived :-D
CPU Block: EK-Supreme LTX - Nickel CSQ
EK-MOSFET Max IV Gene - Acetal+EN (Nickel)
VGA Block: EK-VGA Supremacy - Acetal+Nickel
2x EK-RES X3 250
Pump: Laing DDC-1T Plus 12V DC Pump (MCP 355)
Radiator: EK-CoolStream RAD XT (360)
Coolant: EK-Ekoolant Blood RED (premix 1000mL)
Compression Fittings: EK-PSC Adapter 90° G1/4 Black Nickel & EK-PSC Fitting 10mm - G1/4 E-Nickel
Thermal Paste/Grease: Arctic Cooling MX-3 thermal compound (4g)
Tubing: TUBE Masterkleer 12,7/9,5 CLEAR
Inside panels cut and beading to support, the panels are able to lift straight out in case of any future modifications needed
Marked out the rear vents for cutting
Rear Vents cut and cut inside panel to accommodate the radiator
We once again changed the design; I wanted to be able to control the fan speed while gaming etc so we decided to make a fan controller enclosure. So i bought a Aerocool Touch 2000
Here is the top cut, resting on top is the housing
Testing the enclosure with the fan controller unit
Cut out for the I/O panel
Lots of sanding and levelling out was needed, we discovered that a lot of wood filler was needed to fill in those rough edges
Routed out the edge for the glass to sit in. discovered that we hadn't quite made the originial edge straight enough with the jigsaw
Second attempt, success!
I started to get very excited as i could see that the desk wasn't far off completion, but a spell of bad weather had interrupted the build process.
During this time i decided to make a render of the desk
The weather once again improved (gotta love British weather!) testing out the filler by skimming the surface, sanding then priming
Production of the bottom half started, we decided to make the legs detach from the main desk which is bolted together
Side panels being drilled out, the holes will have Perspex behind them with red LED's fixed around the inside of the legs with another piece of board on the inside
Figuring out where to attach the MB Tray and allow enough room for cabling to run underneath
Testing the anti vandal Switches fit properly. as you can see from the edge, some cuts were not so great. Filler to the rescue though
All starting to come together nicely
Legs and top skimmed, sanded and primed
Painting started
Finished second coat of paint inside, on top and on legs now to sand down and apply the final coat
Cutting glass to size and rounding off the edges, you can see that we have started to also fine sand the paint
Final coats getting applied. i was so excited that the build was coming to a close that i forgot to take more pictures. we applied a further two coats and then after a six hour dry time we applied 6 coats of matte varnish fine sanding after the third coat.
Now the fun part of fitting all components.
You will notice in this picture that we didn't apply any paint to the underside of the top (out of sight out of mind) and you can see the full effect of the matte varnish on the left compared to the right.
At this point our backs were starting to hurt form all the leaning over to fit all the components, but the loop was now filled!
Final finished product! (Apart from inside panels on the legs) I was so happy to get to this stage after a two month long build
LED's now installed (no, this is not my computer chair :-D )
Newer Photos after some tweaking (apologies for the poor quality)
Specifications are:
(Nothing Spectacular)
- G-Skill 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz RipjawsX Memory Kit CL9 (9-9-9-24) 1.5V
- Asus GTX 560Ti DirectCU II 1GB GDDR5 Dual DVI Mini HDMI PCI-E Graphics Card
- Intel Core i5 2500K 3.3GHz Socket 1155 6MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor
- Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z Gen 3 Z68 Socket 1155 HDMI SupremeFX X-Fi 2 8 Channel Audio mATX Motherboard
- Kingston 120GB V+200 SSD - 2.5" SATA-III
- monitor: Acer Nvidia 3D 27 " HN274h
All cable extensions from overclockers via BitFenix
Water Cooling Specifications
- CPU Block: EK-Supreme LTX - Nickel CSQ
- EK-MOSFET Max IV Gene - Acetal+EN (Nickel)
- VGA Block: EK-VGA Supremacy - Acetal+Nickel
- 2x EK-RES X3 250
- Pump: Laing DDC-1T Plus 12V DC Pump (MCP 355)
- Radiator: EK-CoolStream RAD XT (360)
- Coolant: EK-Ekoolant Blood RED (premix 1000mL)
- Compression Fittings: EK-PSC Adapter 90° G1/4 Black Nickel & EK-PSC Fitting 10mm - G1/4 E-Nickel
- Thermal Paste/Grease: Arctic Cooling MX-3 thermal compound (4g)
- Tubing: TUBE Masterkleer 12,7/9,5 CLEAR
Here is a video of the above and some added extras
Awesome build. 
Really like the look of desk computers. 
