Critique my new desktop layout

Wangsta

United States776 Posts

July 11 2010 09:08 GMT

For the last 3 years of college, my desktop has been occupied by a crappy single core laptop, some books, and a 10+ year old half broken lamp. I haven't really had any problems with this, since I can play music, video, SC:BW, and browse the internet fine.

...but seriously, an upgrade here is way overdue. I would like to completely renovate my desk, and below is my very long wishlist.

This is a pretty far off dream right now, but if I can stick to my savings plan and not get fired from my internship, I might actually have enough money saved up to buy this stuff by the end of summer. Hopefully...

Anyway, let me know what you guys think. Especially if you have suggestions for other stuff I could get, thanks in advance for any advice/suggestions!

Desk:
I wanted something small, clean and simple. I am plan to keep most of the big items on the floor, so my actual desk shouldn't have anything on it besides the keyboard/mouse, monitor, headphones, and some small decorations.

$70 - Desk from Staples
http://www.staples.com/Staples-Tempered-Glass-Computer-Desk/product_776958?cm_mmc=GoogleBase-_-Shopping-_-Furniture>Computer_Desks-_-776958-9153096ST&cid=CSE:GoogleBase:Furniture:Computer_Desks:776958:9153096ST
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$30 - Floor lamp from Target
http://www.target.com/Combo-Task-Floor-Lamp/dp/B000GOW13Y
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Computer:
My laptop has served me well, but can't really play games and it stutters when playing HD videos. I wanted a quiet desktop PC that can easily play 1080p content and do some light gaming. With some help from the computer build thread, I came up the build below.

$865 - Parts for a new computer
+ Show Spoiler [Details of all parts] +

$235 - AMD Phenom II X4 955 CPU + MSI 870A-G54 Motherboard Combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.445122

$145 - Corsair 650w PSU + Samsung 1TB 7200RPM HDD Combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.431396

$265 - Sapphire HD5770 + Windows 7 Combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.437534.14-102-898

$155 - GSkill 4GB DDR3-1600 SDRAM + Lian Li Lancool PC-K58W Case Combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.432114

$65 - LITEON Blu-ray Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106326

$20 - Logitech Mini-optical Mouse
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/180-6844779-9172912?asin=B00006HMPF&AFID=Froogle_df&LNM=|B00006HMPF&CPNG=electronics&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001

$7 - LITEON Basic Keyboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823107120

$3 - Plain black mousepad
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826999006

$150 - Sceptre 21.5" 1080p Widescreen moniter
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824112017
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Music System:
I wanted a very serious upgrade from my EMU0202 + x-head + k701 headphone setup. Some of this might seem excessive, but I a slight audiophile so it's worthwhile for me.

$675 - Audioengine A5 speakers + S8 subwoofer
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OB16ZI/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000OABTPQ&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=04X1QASQZD5FAFJWMXXZ
http://www.amazon.com/Audioengine-AS8-Subwoofer-Watt-black/dp/B0013J1DI0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1278833666&sr=1-1-spell
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$70 - Moniter/Speaker floor stands (for the A5 speakers)
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Musician-s-Gear-SMS-6000-Monitor-Stand-Buy-1-Get-1-Free-772847-i1142212.gc
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$300 - KICAS Caliente Headphone amplifier
http://www.purityaudio.biz/products.php
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$150 - used KECES DA-151 USB DAC
* Purchased used from head-fi forums
http://www.keces.com.tw/
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$600 - used Lawton Audio LA2000 lite
* Purchased used from head-fi forums
http://lawtonaudio.com/page5.html
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Decorations/Misc.
I'd like to have some interesting things on and/or around my desk. I decided to look for some anime and japanese inspired stuff, because I love that stuff, and I also feel like they go well with the minimalistic and clean look of the other things I'm planning to buy.

$1000 - Fender American Stratocaster
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-American-Standard-Stratocaster-Electric-Guitar?sku=515748&src=3WFRWXX&ZYXSEM=0&CAWELAID=142131435
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$8 - Basic guitar stand
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Musician-s-Gear-Tubular-Guitar-Stand--Black-767108-i1322954.gc
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$85 - Dead Master figurine
http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10120531

$13 - FLCL Cloth Poster
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150445103449&rvr_id=&crlp=1_263602_263622&UA=WVF?&GUID=e75cc1c01220a09c19f56ee5ffbe811b&itemid=150445103449&ff4=263602_263622
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$17 - Miniature Zen Garden
http://www.amazon.com/Toysmith-Miniature-Zen-Garden/dp/B000KKRHU6/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1278836299&sr=8-6
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$150 - Misc. Anime Artbooks
http://store.animebooks.com/bacryartofsa.html
http://store.animebooks.com/artoftotoro.html
http://www.amazon.com/Groundwork-FLCL-Fooly-Cooly-Gainax/dp/B0025NYBQO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278838022&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Die-Sterne-Genesis-Evangelion-Japanese/dp/4048536524

Preview:
I'm thinking about setting things up something like this. Basically, monitor, figurine, zen garden, mouse, and headphones (forgot to draw) on the table (keyboard on the sliding tray) and everything else on the floor.

Jayde

Marshall Islands104 Posts

July 11 2010 09:14 GMT

I very much like your idea of clean and simple. I wish I could keep my desk a little more clean, but I keep getting cables and adapters everywhere T_T

Also, you might want to edit your OP because I believe it broke the layout.

Rainmaker5

United States1027 Posts

July 11 2010 09:16 GMT

There are going to be a lot of wires around so make sure you have the power-strip in a place where everything doesn't get tangled. Besides that it looks good.

Wangsta

United States776 Posts

July 11 2010 09:24 GMT

I've been reading some articles about tempered glass and I'm getting a bit worried about the desk.

Is it possible that vibrations from the subwoofer + weight of stuff on top of the desk could cause the tempered glass to shatter after a few years?

Damian

Germany335 Posts

July 11 2010 09:25 GMT

1000 $ for a guitar just as decoration ? Also get a bonsai tree !

Julmust

Sweden4867 Posts

July 11 2010 09:33 GMT

that desk will take 4-5 years off your shoulder. look into another one because having the keyboard down there and the mouse on a diffrent level WILL fuck your shoulders and back up.

JohnColtrane

Australia4813 Posts

July 11 2010 09:34 GMT

i dunno g, your lamp isnt very masculine... im joking

looks pretty good

Saechiis

Netherlands4989 Posts

July 11 2010 09:34 GMT

A woofer underneath the table seems like a good idea until you're trying to find out where to put your feet . Also why get pedestals for your speakers when you can just get a bigger desk for less money and put them on there? You can never have enough deskspace

Seems pretty sweet for the rest, glad you're putting some thought into it!

Wangsta

United States776 Posts

July 11 2010 09:51 GMT

Thanks for the replies, I might need to find a different desk, but I'd like to see if the keyboard could maybe fit on top of the desk without making things too cluttered. Is it practical to be viewing a monitor like that from ~3 feet away though? I've been using a laptop exclusively for years so I don't really know what it feels like to look at a larger screen for long periods of time...

Regardless of what desk I use though, I would still use pedestals to hold my speakers. Putting speakers directly on top of a table degrades their sound quality because of reflections from the table surface; and it also seems like it would be very difficult to get good speaker placement on the small space of a table (A5s are almost a square foot in size)

Ahzz

Finland780 Posts

July 11 2010 09:52 GMT

#10

On July 11 2010 18:33 Julmust wrote:
that desk will take 4-5 years off your shoulder. look into another one because having the keyboard down there and the mouse on a diffrent level WILL fuck your shoulders and back up.

definately. The picture the author posted didn't seem comfortable to spend long hours in in the least especially if we take to account that you play SC. IMO first priority is that it feels comfortable to game with, and after that comes the rest (because if its good to game with, it's prolly going to be good otherwise too.

moon`

United States372 Posts

July 11 2010 09:59 GMT

#11

Those headphones and anime figurine thing are freakin' baller.

CoL_DarkstaR

Germany649 Posts

July 11 2010 10:03 GMT

#12

I really hate people for getting such expensive guitars as a decoration. Hell, i would murder to own an original fender stratocaster. Otherwise i guess it looks cool.

phosphorylation

United States2935 Posts

July 11 2010 10:05 GMT

#13

eh i dont think u are really asking for critique here, any more than "hey tl, look at the expensive audio gear i am gonna get"

Wangsta

United States776 Posts

July 11 2010 10:10 GMT

#14

On July 11 2010 19:05 phosphorylation wrote:
eh i dont think u are really asking for critique here, any more than "hey tl, look at the expensive audio gear i am gonna get"

Isn't that the point of blogging?

This is also a good way to keep track of all these links. I have to save them anyway since I can't afford this stuff yet, might as well share it on a blog incase anyone else is looking to buy something similar.

Also, about the guitar comments, I've been playing for quite a white now so I am certainly not buying a new guitar just for decoration. I always keep a guitar next to my desk because it's simply the best way to get myself to practice regularly.

paper

13196 Posts

July 11 2010 10:17 GMT

#15

Miniature rock gardens are tacky as hell D:

Plus, you're gonna knock that shit over or get random shit in it. Or get random shit in it and then knock that shit over.

Shatter

United States1401 Posts

July 11 2010 11:21 GMT

#16

On July 11 2010 19:17 paper wrote:
Miniature rock gardens are tacky as hell D:

Plus, you're gonna knock that shit over or get random shit in it. Or get random shit in it and then knock that shit over.

I think spilt Mountain Dew would be the perfect addition to the rock garden

. That set up is pretty awesome. But I agree on the desk, I used to use a desk when I was younger with uneven height on mouse and keyboard and when I switched it was so much better to have them level.

Boblion

France8043 Posts

July 11 2010 12:09 GMT

#17

600$ headphones , 85$ anime figurine and a 150$ 21,5" screen is LOL

haduken

Australia8267 Posts

July 11 2010 13:49 GMT

#18

Yeah bro, seriously, i know you are into music and all but for that kinda of setup you might you know wanna invest in like a bigger desk and a more comfortable chair?