Which Computer Desk

Surfn

i want to get a new computer desk, a reasonably priced desk. whats available in ireland. what do you guys recommend. ive seen a few threads on ikea desks. i want something that will hold the fractal r3 and my 24'' monitor. cheers

deceit

Surfn wrote: »

i want to get a new computer desk, a reasonably priced desk. whats available in ireland. what do you guys recommend. ive seen a few threads on ikea desks. i want something that will hold the fractal r3 and my 24'' monitor. cheers

Both of the desks i'm using here are ikea desks and the quality for the prices is unbeatable.
With the corner unit you get a top part but I just took it off so I could use multiple screens. If you want the fractal r3 you could fit it easily up like this. The 2 outside screens are 28" screens and the centre one is a 24" screen to give you an idea of the scale.

Surfn

cheers m8, awesome setup. i like the desks

Serephucus

I have two Ikea desks. They're both Vika Amon/Curry. One is 120x60, the other is a corner unit, 120x120. They're both pretty awful.

Great for the price, don't get me wrong, but a year later, and the desk top on the corner unit is caving in under the weight of a single 14" laptop, and a 22" display, and my desk can barely hold the weight of my 24" monitor on a desk clamp.

For the price, they're great, just don't expect them to last too long.

deceit

Serephucus wrote: »

I have two Ikea desks. They're both Vika Amon/Curry. One is 120x60, the other is a corner unit, 120x120. They're both pretty awful.

Great for the price, don't get me wrong, but a year later, and the desk top on the corner unit is caving in under the weight of a single 14" laptop, and a 22" display, and my desk can barely hold the weight of my 24" monitor on a desk clamp.

For the price, they're great, just don't expect them to last too long.

I would have a totally different experience with them. I found them to be really strong they had no warping at all. The top part i used to have a 22" screen, xbox and a few other things right at the front of it and it would still be perfect even when I took one of the supports from it.

Serephucus

Well your straight desk there looks to have a lot more support than mine does. Mine only has simple metal pole legs, same with the corner. Maybe that makes the difference with the straight, maybe I got a lemon with the corner or something. How long have you had those?

deceit

Serephucus wrote: »

Well your straight desk there looks to have a lot more support than mine does. Mine only has simple metal pole legs, same with the corner. Maybe that makes the difference with the straight, maybe I got a lemon with the corner or something. How long have you had those?

I have them over a year and i've been standing on the a few times for one reason or another without issue. Also the weight of that pc with the 3 rads in it, I would never put it up there if I wasnt 100% confident about the desks strength.
Just realised in the pic how messy under the desk is, when home from work really need to sort that :P

Surfn

the ikea jonas looks to be a pretty decent desk

deconduo

This:
http://www.ikea.com/ie/en/catalog/products/00209839/

And 4 of these:
http://www.ikea.com/ie/en/catalog/products/10105290/

And you have a solid, sturdy desk for under €20

My roommate has this setup and it holds a 27' Apple display, a fully loaded Mac Pro, and a small 19' side screen no problem. He's had it for about 2.5 years and its still as good as the day he bought it.

Serephucus

Maybe I'm just tough on my desks or something, I've got cracks and depressions from the monitor clamp, and the black finish is wearing off in a few places. Might just try buy another one.

deejer

We are moving into our own place soon and Im going to have an "office" for all my stuff. Being putting alot of thought into a desk for this job.

A decent desk from Ikea costs too much and its hard to find anything else big enough. Thats why I have been looking at second hand office furniture (something like this)

Big enough and cheap enough. I have sat at plenty of different ones over the years and seems like a good option

Serephucus

deejer wrote: »

A decent desk from Ikea costs too much and its hard to find anything else big enough. Thats why I have been looking at second hand office furniture (something like this)

That's what I've found as well. Short of building my own (which I might do, when I move somewhere that has the space for the office I have in mind) that's what I'd be doing.

ED E

Excuse the clutter, but this is what DIY can do. Desk is custom. Monitor shelf is custom(19"&22" atm, designed for 2x22"). Shelves are custom.




I have a small room but tailoring it to my needs has allowed me to be very efficient with the space. Worth considering.

Serephucus

Very nice. Where did you get all the wood for that? Something I've always wondered.

Fluffy88

Serephucus wrote: »

Very nice. Where did you get all the wood for that? Something I've always wondered.

A shop :P

tylercollins

Have you considered a stand up desk?

I'm actually in the process of switching over from a standard desk to a standing one to try it out for a while. Apparently they are quite good for you and improve your posture and also burn more calories lol

ED E

Serephucus wrote: »

Very nice. Where did you get all the wood for that? Something I've always wondered.

The desk and shelves are veneered MDF, expensive but very much worth it. Sprayed with a clear lacquer, 3 or 4 coats(You need really good weather for this as you cant do it indoors without a huge air extractor. The monitor platform is just unfinished MDF, once I'd put it in to test I couldnt face rewiring everything(there are three externals back there and the total loom coming up is about 25 cables).

As its been in there quite a while now I'm not 100% sure where we got the materials but the three suspects would be Woodworkers, B&Q and Brooks builders suppliers.

To be honest with you, if haven't done something like this before then my setup would be adventurous. I built mine with my father who has been a DIY'er all his life. That said, if you have a basic set of tools or a friend who does, and a bit of patience there's great satisfaction when alls set and done.


If I had the space and the budget I'd love to do something like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDvic-srFnc :pac:

Serephucus

Heh, I saw that on Guru3D's rig of the month a while ago.

I'm alright with DIY stuff. Took woodwork all through secondary, as well as technology, so I've got a fair grip on tools, woodworking, electronics, etc. I've just never really looked into sourcing materials myself. I've just know I can't get them at the local hardware place. :P

Mine would probably be something like this, except with a wall/desk-mounted monitor, and a lot of shelves.

ED E

I've thought about halving my whiteboard(dont really use it) and putting a second unit up on the wall. This but smaller. Another great use of space

silvine

tylercollins wrote: »

Have you considered a stand up desk?

I'm actually in the process of switching over from a standard desk to a standing one to try it out for a while. Apparently they are quite good for you and improve your posture and also burn more calories lol

A fan of Lifehacker then?

tylercollins

silvine wrote: »

A fan of Lifehacker then?

You get to a time in your life where you start thinking about your health!

When you have been overweight for so many years, it's time to kick that habit and get healthy and every little helps :P

tylercollins

Also for inspiration for your desk take a look here!!

www.desktopped.com

Cuddlesworth

Serephucus wrote: »

I have two Ikea desks. They're both Vika Amon/Curry. One is 120x60, the other is a corner unit, 120x120. They're both pretty awful.

Great for the price, don't get me wrong, but a year later, and the desk top on the corner unit is caving in under the weight of a single 14" laptop, and a 22" display, and my desk can barely hold the weight of my 24" monitor on a desk clamp.

For the price, they're great, just don't expect them to last too long.

I have the same desks, I think your desk clamp has done 95% of the damage. A 24inch monitor applies a completely different set of forces to a monitor mounted on a swing arm attached to a clamp. I'm setting up something similar and the first thing I'm doing is putting a base plate under the desk to spread the load of the clamp.

Serephucus

Yeah, I'm figuring this (though that doesn't explain the corner desk caving from a monitor (regular stand) and laptop) when I get a replacement desk top.

Cuddlesworth

You might have got a dud on that one, the inch thick MDF those desk tops are made out of is pretty heavy duty regards load.

ED E

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

You might have got a dud on that one, the inch thick MDF those desk tops are made out of is pretty heavy duty regards load.

I'd still baton it. Any kind of fibreboard will sag eventually.

Cuddlesworth

ED E wrote: »

I'd still baton it. Any kind of fibreboard will sag eventually.

Its a tenner for the top. For the cost and time of getting some 2*1, cutting it and screwing it into the bottom of the board I could get another two tops the next time I'm in IKEA. Which is pretty much every second week at this stage.

settings

is it just me or do ikea have a terrible and very low selection of desks? I thought there would be loads..
couple of ones i really like which i stumbled upon on ebay but they dont deliver here. first second -i much prefer the desks with a lower shelve for keyboard+mouse.
Had a quick look at vikingdirect and they all seem to be the same brand of expensive desks you can get anywhere cheaper..

any luck with yours surfn?