Nice work t_ski, Praz, and Anunknownsource. I have thought about building my own tech station, but never had the need for one.

On my case that I built I used the mainboard standoffs from my old CM stacker. I had a solid piece of wood for the mainboard backing and I just drilled some small holes in it and screwed in the standoffs. Then glued them in. Worked good for me.

For hard drive mounting I used some angle iron. Two screws were used to hold the hard drive upright on the angle iron, the angle iron was then screwed to the wood. Might not make much the way I described it, but it worked out good.

That was one thing that crossed my mind, but the case I had that would have been perfect (the $20 SVC case we all got screwed on a while back) I already sold. That one had a removable mobo tray that slid out the back, so it had PCI slots, hole for the I/O plate and more.



What if you used some vice-grips or channel locks and just squeezed them in place? Just make sure to protect the wood on the bottom with a small piece of scrap...

Didn't matter anyway, My measurements were off.. how does it go? Measure once, cut twice? I just snapped it off, I'll fix it when i'm done using it...

My dek looking a bit crazy:

Looks good. I'm still looking for some more materials. I've been using mine quite a bit. Works great for testing heatsinks, etc...

i still think the cardboard box is the best. haha

I have seen someone who did a lan party rig out of a cardboard box.

ive already done that because my new hardware arrived bu not my case

LOL

Petra had a nice USPS box rig he used for testing out some pumps. I have a few USPS boxes around here *scratches chin* maybe I don't need to take them to recycling.... hmmmm.... lol

i have plenty of usps priority boxs too.
maybe ill make one since im not working this week. lol

pretty darn sure. itll be easier to work with than aluminum or plexi.

clear packing tape. ftw!

dr_bowtie told me about this thread (aint been in this section in like 2 months haha) as we are talking about him and I building one for watercooling. Good ideas and some good finished products in here.

also should mention I bought one of those $80 techstations about 2 years ago or whenever they were popular and that was the biggest xxxxin waste of $80 ever...too short, too narrow, too everything bad =(

I'm looking for a used but still serviceable Halliburton Zero case to build a portable work rig inside.

I've got a 17" LCD that doesn't use a power brick to save some space.

I've got some RAM and a few Processors to choose from so all I need is a mATX board with integrated video, a 2U HSF combination and a SFF power supply.

My maximum inside dimension is 16.25 inches since I have an IBM keyboard that I plan to use must be stored internally along with the mouse, data and power cables.

Something like this would be perfect...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Halliburton-Zero-Refur...1QQcmdZViewItem

I'm not trying to build a portable gaming rig or the worlds smallest computer in a case by any means. I simply want something that supports all the different hardware I run into in the field. IDE, SATA, PCI, PCIe, Floppy, USB, Firewire and a PS/2 mouse and keyboard.

lol it's called "LAPTOP" and you should get one

LOL, I was thinking the same thing...

Come on guys. Reading is fundamental but comprehension is critical! LOL

I clearly state that I need support for IDE, SATA, PCI, PCIe, Floppy, USB, Firewire and a PS/2 mouse and keyboard.

Show me a laptop that supports all those things and I'll buy it.

Alrighty....

No picking on Ex today....

Well I decided to give this techstation a crack as I have been running rigs on my desk for far too long...

This 1st draft is a very rough draft in the fact I threw it together in as little as 2 hours with some stuff I had laying around left over from a job and a old P-II case...

I used sheet aluminum with 1/8 Luan laminated to it....left over from a factory I sheeted. I also used some 1"x1" aluminum angle corner I also used a removeable motherboard tray from an old case along with the drive cages.

I cut everything on a power miter saw in my garage and then drilled and riveted with riveting and washers

I took some rather large pictures and just posting the links...so click away and hopefully enjoy....






Keep in mind that I really over did it on size...as I made this 14"x16" and with plenty of room to add as I go.

I needed room to set up water cooling on this so I wasnt sure how much room but I made sure to have atleast 1/2 the bottom dedicated to the water cooling.

The board you see on the top is an old Socket A mATX board so it looks very small compared to the regular ATX I will have on there....

All I have left to do is mod the optical drive cage and mount it and the rails for the PSU and I will be mounting the hard drive cage under that via rails...

The optical drive cage is the old style quick swap kind and the HD cage is also removeable...so it ought to work out great....

I got enough to build a few more if I could find some more M/B trays...

EDIT

I have pretty much finished this all except adding the water cooling stuff. I have added the modded cages foe the PSU, HD and opticals....I have also mounted the Biostar TForce 550 board I used to test and run my 3G's ocdb entry with.

As you can see there is plenty of room next to the board for working on a heatsink, setting disk or tools....The more I use this the more I like it...the next one will be just like it....

pics....



enjoy...I know I do...

That's what this is all about. Make it from scratch with left-over parts to do exactly what you and only you need. Looks great. And as an added bonus, since yours is all metal it helps provide that extra ground like a real case does.

Don't forget to update us with some more pics when you get watercooling set up on there...

good job dr! Looks good!

mines trashed for now... I broke the PCI card bracket, and I'm going to Basic Training in a week, so it's going to the scrap wood pile it came from ^^ maybe I'll make a better one when I get to my first duty assignment to keep one of my favorite threads alive

Seriously functional and looks good too.

I missed this thread before...here is my testbed...hope you guys like it. It works pretty well. right now it is testing my new asus p5kc motherboard with an intel e6600 and some ocz ddr2 ram.

Those aluminum bars are really handy and surprisingly affordable, they'll probably be exactly what I employ as soon as I get back into this stuff.

Looks great!

I got most of my stuff for free and i could probably see if I could get more..? all of the stuff I have is available at local home depot stores in the metal aisles


I also like those bars....if I could have found those thats what i would have used...

The metal bars are called "80-20"...all made from scrap at work (manufacturing company). The Hard Drive cages are the only thing that are ghetto...but they work.

I like the clear plexi (or lexan, etc) under the drives. I take it that it not only insulates the PCB from contact with the metal cage, but probaby also helps to shim them into place and keep them from moving?

I love the horizontal bar for the PCI card brackets :beer

bump....I edited my thread with more pics....

cool tech station doc

Looking good. I wanna see some water on that

i'll get the pitcher filled....you hold the funnel...

I have been thinking of building me a tech station. But I want to do it cheap. I was thinking of using HDPE. I was thinking of going to Sam's Club and picking up a couple HDPE cutting boards, cutting them up, and making me a station.

Also doc, what is the specs on your station? Thats a sweet design. It would be pretty simple to draw that up on CAD and throw it online for others to use.

well it's 14inches x 16inches....for the platforms

The the space in between the platforms is....10 inches from very bottom to very top...so the corner channels are cut 10inches...

the back rails are 4 3/4's longer to make room for the bar that holds the add in card...

Now your specs maybe different as I used double stand-offs on the board...I did this so i wouldnt have to cut a channel for the tab to set it...it rest on the platform....

that puts the board approx. 1/2in off the tray.....

I did get a single radiator mounted and a fan on 1 side and man is that bugger LOUD...but I put it on the 7v rail and that helped...so now I can add the other fan as A_G suggested and get water on this thing...

I have to get a AM2 water block and then I am good to go...

I have to tell you....I built this thing just because of this thread and the people who posted here...The more I use this thing the more I like it...In fact I am going to whip up another one exactly the same as this one doesnt need much improvement...it is very functional and fits the form I was looking for...

Thanks to all of you for some inspiration...

Hey guys, wanted to put these out there if anyone needs a diagram of the various form factors for their test bed. Could be useful for lining u those holes without bringing your $150-$200 motherboard into your wood shop, lol

ATX V2.2
mATX V1.2

These came from http://www.formfactors.org/ and if you're designing a case, or looking for a list of standard specs, check it out!

I went to High Speed PC and used their measurements and their parts list.

I'll have to post pics of my MB box tech station now that it's currently not in use :tooth:

lol I just noticed this was sticky :spam:

Here's my MB box tech station:



Don't have any pics of it in use; bet here are some pics of my GFX box tech station in use

hot lol
ill post mine tomorrow, mines a lanparty cart / techstation

heres mine, a bit filled with another pc on it lol, my pc where i was trying to get a server running for something

OK, I got tired of the rickety cheapo tech deck and built a new one. It's not totally complete, but I have most of it done. Even made it big enough for some watercooling, and I used a lot of what you guys showed in this thread to make some improvements.

Hopefully I'll get a chance later today to upload the pics...

I wouldn't mind getting my hands on a Dangerden Torture station for working builds...
http://www.dangerden.com/store/product.php...50&cat=1&page=1

Or maybe an Airbox just for fun...
http://www.dangerden.com/store/product.php...49&cat=1&page=1

OK, here are the pics of my TechDeck 2.0:

The platforms are made out of 3/4" particle board covered with white melanide/formica/WTF it's called. I bought some extra banding to cover the edges, too. Supports are made out of #6/32 threaded rod that is held in place with nuts, washers and lock-washers, then covered with 1/2" copper pipe. I reused the plastic bumpers that go below the motherboard and the rubber ones for the bottom. I also drilled two holes and added anchors so I can mount the radiator.


Here I have the motherboard test-fitted onto the top platform and the watercooling installed on the L. I even reused some Petra's gel that someone gave me, and placed it below the pump.
<- No, I read the rules, but the pic is Potrait instead of Landscape

I added a piece of leftover sound-deadening material to the bottom shelf to add a soft layer for the drives and PSU, plus reduce any vibrations.


Parts list:

• 3/4" particle board (12" x 36") - $8
• 1/2" x 5ft copper pipe - $10
• 2 x 36" #6/32 threaded rod - $4
• Iron-on edging - $5
• Extra pack of rubber feet - $4

Total cost was $31 on top of the parts I already had. The bad part is, now the nylon screws I had are not long enough, and my local stores don't have any longer ones. That means I'm probably going to have to buy online and pay a bunch for shipping

I still would like to add some acorn nuts to the top to cover the exposed threaded-rod and I need to change the PCI card support. I just threw the old one on there for the time being. I may just tweak that one so it works the right way.

Wow, thats awesome dude!

I totally need to build me one of these.

Thanks, glad you like it. Yep, you do need one. Aside from being useful, they're fun to build.

To be fair, the rules are 800x600 because it fits on most monitors with ease. While 600x800 is the same number of pixels, some archaic monitors may not be able to fit it appropriately.


Looks nice though.

@ t_ski

That's an excellent setup you've created. Form really does follow function when you put your creativity into it.

Well done!

looks nice; but that fill-T should be on the leg between the RAD and the pump inlet.

Thanks guys. And Rado, I realized that today when I was filling the loop

I guess hindsight is better than foresight

Wow !!! I should have seen this thread before !!!

I'm currently building my own techstation too. It's almost finished. I tested it yesterday and I was into Windows when it freezed. Then I tried to restart it, but the LEDs on the motherboard were staying lit, and no other thing was happening. I think maybe the PC was grounded on the techstation, because I then removed it from the tech station, put it on the mobo box and it was fine.

But I didn't think to use nylon screws lol... I'll post pictures very soon, but I warn you, mine is not a standard techstation like all of you guys. It is huge and it can carry up to two BTX PCs, and it is also on wheels. Well I'm anxious to fix my problem and send you pics...

Here are some quick pictures of my techstation:

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The left bracket can me moved from left to right to support bigger motherboards:

Click to view attachment

One problem so far:
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As I said, it is huge. Only one ATX mobo on it seems very small. With wheels it is very useful. I can drive it anywhere in the house. The other side is not ready yet for another motherboard. I also need to install screws for PCI cards.

Any suggestions are welcome

If you can double everything and put a KVM somewhere in there it would make a really nice platform

Yup. I definitely need a KVM.