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Computer Desks and UPS's? 34

Posted by Cliff from the in-search-of...the-perfect-computer-desk dept.
As the search for the perfect computer desk continues, singularity adds in another chapter: "I just bought a desk for my home computer. The problem that I have is that I have a dual monitor set-up, and I would like to be able to add on another computer to the set-up (laptop with full docking station with additional monitor). Most desks I have found tend to be set up exclusively for single monitor set-ups. The other two limitations were size and budget. As the desk was going to have to go into my (already crowded) bedroom, I did not want it to take over. In addition, I did not want to put down a grand on a computer desk. That is currently worth more than my main computer!" What solutions for multi-monitor desks have you found?

"I looked into Anthro Desks and Biomorph Desks and decided that they were out of my price range. I finally settled on Ikea's Jerker workstation (no picture available online that I have seen). Some of the things I like about it is that the height is adjustable (granted you have to take the desk apart to change that) and that I can add shelves on the side capable of holding up a 17" monitor.

I have had it a couple of weeks and like it, but wondered what solutions other people found.

In addition, what solution have Slashdot readers come up with for the hundreds of cables that currently reside under and behind computer desks everywhere?

I was also reading the article about quiet PCs and saw the reference to APC UPS's. I have been looking at them, and found that Tripp Lite UPS's tend to be cheaper and work better with the Mac OS. What experiences do Slashdot people have with different UPS's?"
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Computer Desks and UPS's? More

Computer Desks and UPS's?

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  • If you're in the UK... (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I had exactly the same problem, I needed a large desk to fit more than one machine on, that would also fit into my bedroom.

    I got a glass topped table from habitat [habitat.co.uk] - I think its called "AcidEtch", I then bought some trestle legs for it - whole lot came to about £250.00 for an 5ft x 2ft glass topped table. It looks gorgeous, has room for 3 machines, as well as enough room for paper etc, and doesn't take up more than its fair share of my bedroom, its almost indestructable as well - the glass is 12mm thick, and weighs a ton!. Also, the trestle legs that go with it (can't remember the name) - are L shaped, and rather skinny - ideal for strapping 4 gang adapaters to :)

    Best of all, as its not designed as a computer desk it can be reused around the rest of the house should I ever get one of those groovy ones from ThinkGeek.
    • Alright, I give up. What's a "gang adapter"?

      - Joe Ignorant American
      • In this context, (and completely off topic), my best guess is that a gang adaptor is the name of the metal/plastic plate in a wall that you install dual 110 electric plugs into. One that holds 2 plugs is a single gang, one that holds for is a double gang adaptor. I live in the US and am familiar with the term, unless you have installed electricity/data wire you probably would never come across the term. Picture a concrete wall that has electricty on the outside, run there with conduit, the metal box is a "gang adaptor".

  • same problem (Score:2, Informative)

    by Snafoo ( 38566 )
    I have a dual-monitor setup; I feel your pain. Although being able to put, say, Maple on one screen and Emacs on the other has done wonders for my workflow (at least, I *feel* more productive ;) I now have less room for those all-important back-of-the-envelope calculations.

    Space-saving tips and tricks: Get rid of your speakers. Get wall- or ceiling-mounted lighting (preferably halogen track lighting; I don't care what you prefer, halogen track lighting's the best :P). Get an n-port KVM to handle your n-1 'other' computers, or run them headless if possible. (Neat point: When you switch computers w/ the KVM, only one monitor will change, so hook it up to your 'secondary' screen (google-search for it, man) because they have ridiculously small footprints. Get a trackball, or better yet one of those little 'mousing pads' (a la laptop); the latter is just amazing for workflow if you put it where you can get your thumb on it w/o leaving home row. Using the pointer becomes almost as efficient as the keyboard. ;) If you go for the trackball option or don't like 'thumbing' the pointer, then see if (like myself) you can comfortably type with the keyboard on your lap (the trick is to lean back and keep the board as close to your knees as possible). Finally, take one or both of your dual heads, a stud-finder (the sonic kind for walls, not some sort of attractive-male GPS locator), some screws, a plank of plywood and some 0.40$ L-supports, and put one/both of the monitors (the smaller one, preferably! Really important that the shelf can bear the load! Do not do this with a 30" monstrosity!) on your wall, and then fiddle your XF86Config to give you a 'tall/narrow' Xinerama rather than 'short/wide' (assuming that you left one monitor on the desk, as I have). Now go and install a cool windowmanager, like Oroborus, and decorate your monitors with whatever stickers/ornaments appeal to you. This makes the workspace *feel* more comfortable and therefore more spacious. Or something.

    Then, get some moist towelettes for your friends to clean themselves up with after they've stopped drooling. ;)
  • put the shelves "facing" each other
    put the door on the shelf at the height you want it and make sure the shelves are strong enough
    viola
    even brand new desk with shelves
    all for under $100 even if you buy the stuff brand new
    • The use-door-as-a-shelf idea is a nice one. I found that none of the 'computer desks' fit my needs and I only have one monitor. All I wanted was a big flat desk that is very deep so that my monitor can sit right in front of me and the keyboard is on the same surface as the monitor. Any old-fashioned desk would be fine.


      Instead, I'm stuck with all these lame 'computer-desks' that force me to put the keyboard in one spot and put the mousepad in another. BTW, there is never enough room for the large mousepads that I use for first-person shooter games.

      I unsuccessfully searched for such a desk. Somebody told me about the door idea and somebody else mentioned folding tables. He has 3+ monitors set up in a nice position on folding buffet tables.

      • Also I use a piece of kitchen work surface across the top of the shelves, it's a bit shallower than the door and meakes a great big shelf. There's not much out of reach in here and the claustrophilia I feel is nice. Great for gaming and all round general concentration.

        Mouse mat - get yourself a printers cutting board, nice firm rubber surface and available in big rolls, it's cheap enough to do the whole surface of your desk. heck even linoleum is cool and you can get a funky pattern instead of that drab wood veneer
  • I have been picking up pieces of office furnature that can be connected together. So I have a 60" table for $180. Get two of those and a corner piece, and it should cost you less than $1000, even if you get drawers and shelves for it, and you can put your stuff wherever you want. Works much better than the desks that are suposedly designed for computers.

    And remember, $1000 in computing hardware is going to be obselete in a year or two. But $1000 in good desk hardware will last you for years and years.

    I have TrippLite UPS, and it's great. Never had an APS one, so I can't comment. The only thing that APS UPS boxes may have is slightly better monitoring capabilities, depending on the model.
  • If you are looking for Dirt Cheap, I have exactly what you are looking for. I got this desk [officemax.com] from OfficeMax for less than $200. It has just enough room for 2 19" monitors on each side. I it is just big enough to fit my 2 monitors, speakers, tower, and laptop on it. It could squeeze another monitor on it if necessary. And is just small enough to fit in my crowded room. It really doesn't have anything in the way of drawers, but I got what I paid for.
    • you po'? Go to OfficeMax, but instead of going inside like you might normally, go around back. Find a nice sturdy cardboard box. Make sure it does not have homeless smell. A few stains won't matter, it will give you some punk edge.

  • Wall mount your monitors (Score:3, Informative)

    by dattaway ( 3088 ) on Sunday November 04, 2001 @01:53PM (#2519054) Homepage Journal
    I picked up an attractive, modern looking wall mount bracket from the local furniture/appliance store. Its good enough for up to 27" televisions and holds my other large computer monitor well. The monitors can easily be swiveled in any angle with these mounts.

    Mounting the monitors on the wall left my entire desk surface free for papers and books. With the remaining opening in the desk, I shoehorned in two a stout UPS unit with two marine batteries coupled by 6 guage wire. I also included recessed lighting under the desk. If the power ever goes out for a long time, I'll still have lights, room to work, and play on my computer for a day or two.
    • I shoehorned in two a stout UPS unit with two marine batteries coupled by 6 guage wire.

      Would you please share the brand and model of these UPS units? I'd be interested in something that can take a marine battery. Did you modify the units to do this? Either way, please share :).
      • Mine is just some cheapo APS unit with the guts ripped out and a wiring job. I was using a $60 Walmart special until I found a slightly beefier unit in someone's trash. Any UPS unit will do!
  • A coworker recently rebuilt his home office using kitchen and bathroom cabinets, base units, vanities, and counters. They are relatively inexpensive (come on now, you really don't need marble tops and cherry cabinets, do you?), and come in a massive variety of configurations. He even got some full-height pantries to add storage. Personally, I have an okay desk, but I may get some kitchen wall cabinets to add on due to a severe lack of storage space. Hell, I have a good 4 feet above the desk that's unused, might as well put it to use!

  • HomeDepot (Score:3, Informative)

    by jmenezes ( 100986 ) on Sunday November 04, 2001 @05:15PM (#2519850) Homepage
    While not what most people would think of as classy, I was in teh search for a desk that i could put in at least 2 computers, and maybe still have space for doing my paperwork in the middle...
    I was even considering getting a somewhat cheap computer desk for around $200, which would definately crimp my wallet for a while.
    But instead, i found the perfect solution, which gave me far more space then any desk that ive seen available...
    a quick trip to home depot:
    I picked up a 3/4" sheet of pine, 2x6 ft. for $25
    Using 2 speakers i had lying around (from an old ent center i obtained, about 30" high) i put the table on top of them, gave it a nice coat of stain..
    The result: a good, sturdy desk thats currently holding 2 comps, gives me space for 2 keyboards and associated mice on the table, and i still have a foot or 2 of paper/junk space in between.
    all for $30, and less time then it would take to assemble one of the desks you get from most places.
    Definately a good idea for the geek on a budget.
    My next step, is to build some shelves onto it, to keep my books and assorted periperals..
    estimated cost: another $20 or so.

  • wicked computer desk... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by wbraunoh ( 22509 ) on Sunday November 04, 2001 @05:28PM (#2519897) Homepage
    Perhaps not the easiest-bought-at-Office-Depot solution, but I've found something that works wonders. An old friend of mine actually did the dirty work on it, and I inherited the thing when he graduated college.

    You get a hold of a large piece of thick, bevelled glass (3/4" thick.) As big as you want, but keep in mind this stuff's heavy. Then you get some cinder blocks/bricks/felt on top [so you don't scratch the glass] and you're all set.

    Looks dang sharp, it's solid, never shakes, and correctly supported holds a few thousand pounds. The paine of glass was about $150, and the bricks under $1/a piece.

    Here's [braunohler.net] a picture of mine, if you're interested. Good stuff.
  • if you look into pro audio and recording magazines you will find many desks setup for multiple monitors and extra gear...these usually have places for large speakers as well...

    most studios will use 2 monitors...one for the "mixer" one for the track waveform diagrams for editing...
  • can be found here [slashdot.org]. Building the desk yourself is a very enticing option, especially, as I had mentioned in the previous posting, if you add in monitor arms. With the monitor arms, you lift the monitors (or better yet, your LCD panels) up above the working desk surface and free up the space for your paper clutter. If you use good unfinished plywood or solid wood as your desk surface, I'd personally add a few coats of stain and polyurethane, and then top it off with an epoxy surface (you essentially pour on the epoxy) that gives it a glass-like top, much like what you see on nice bar surfaces. The epoxy kit can be purchased from Environmental Technologies Inc. [eti-usa.com].
  • The thing I found best to handle the mess of cables is the twisty ties used for loaves of bread.
    If you buy a box of trash bags you get about 30 of 'em. Works alot better than tie wraps because you don't have to cut them and risk nicking the wires. The velcro things are way too expensive.
  • They cost about $39 at staples.

    can't get easier than that.
    • Actually, you can: if you spend over 50$, staples will generally deliver it for free (if you're in the vicinity). So splurge and buy some paper, or a new mouse, or any of a myriad of things. I got my table delivered with some iron-on transfers and a ream of paper.
  • File cabinets and kitchen countertop.

    You can buy cheap 2 drawer file cabinets from any discount store for about $20. Kitchen countertop is avaliable from home improvement stores and is quite inexpensive if purchased in standard colors and lengths. I think that I got a 6' section for about $25 last year. this arrangement supports my 19" monitor, printer and stereo just fine. If you need space for another monitor you would probably want to get an 8 or 10 foot section. Overall, it's really a cheap way to get a desk and you probably needed a few file cabinets anyway.

  • I finally settled on Ikea's Jerker workstation

    Just the thing for the average computer-pr0n viewer.. it includes a special shelf to hold the box of tissues and bottle of lube, and a salad bar-style, er, "sneeze guard" to go over the keyboard. Choose from four delightful colors, or buy one "naked" and stain it yourself! :-)

    Back on topic, I too have a computer desk from IKEA. I just waltzed in there and bought the desk with the largest surface area they offered, which was about 63.0" x 29.5". Screwed a couple of the cableways they sell to the underside, and I was in business. I carefully set up all my hardware to minimize the number of cords on the floor, and I've been computing away on it since 1994. I wish it were a little sturdier, though, it needs support in the middle or it bows. Of course, that's with a Power Mac, 17" & 14" monitors and a big old SCSI scanner on it.

    ~Philly
  • It's surprisingly sturdy, which is more than you can say for a lot of the stuff Ikea sells... I have a 19" Monitor and my FongKai603 case on the upper of the two shelves, with keyboard, mouse, and etc. on the work surface. Since you can add on more shelves vertically, too, I have a topmost shelf with my scanner and printer... With the Jerker, you can really customize things to the point that you have a nice work cockpit or pod with things arranged all around you...

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