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I'm having a bit of an issue trying to figure out how I want to set up my computer location. I had a 24" monitor on a semi decent glass desk, but then I moved it into the living room and used my 55" LED as a monitor.

Desk & Chair
+ Much better at controls. I actually do pretty well playing games.
+ Less electricity and heat generation
- 24" is very noticeably not 55"

Couch and Big screen
+ Better suited for watching videos
+ Couch allows me to lay down about while doing whatever
- Makes the living room seem a bit more crowded, even when using wireless keyboard and mouse

If I don't use my big screen for my computer usage it won't see much use outside of company coming over.

So while I try to figure this out, tell me about your own computer desk setup. I'll probably throw up pics at some point.

22" flatscreen.
Box is on desk surface (no room under desk due to drawers). Printer(s), scanner and HD/printserver are on the hutch over the desk. Otherwise desk serves as modelling desk as well.

If you squint a lot and jiggle, you can almost see some desktop.

I don't game on my computer, and I sit about 18-24" away from the screen - so anything bigger is wasted (let alone Blu-ray/HD compliant. My eyes aren't HD compliant, so that hardware is also wasted for video purposes).

I'm using some kind of workbench thing I got at lowes. I have a pair of 24" LCD's side by side which take up pretty much all the desk space. I keep my UPS behind one of the monitors, and my AMBX behind the other, with the sub on the floor, the fans and speakers on either side. keyboard in the center, mouse to the right, and this is the important part - I keep my tower on the floor under my desk and to the far left. I do so because I keep my drinks to the right of my mouse, and if I spill one it can't get anywhere near my tower. I'm very much accident prone.

Lighting isn't a problem in my bedroom - I work nights so have heavy blackout curtains over every window on there.

I keep my drinks to the far right of me also.
I'm left handed with the mouse on the right and I tend to reach for my drink with my right hand (I can still one hand type whilst doing so) - if I'm going to accidentally spill it, it's going on the floor.

 Ouze wrote:
I'm using some kind of workbench thing I got at lowes. I have a pair of 24" LCD's side by side which take up pretty much all the desk space. I keep my UPS behind one of the monitors, and my AMBX behind the other, with the sub on the floor, the fans and speakers on either side. keyboard in the center, mouse to the right, and this is the important part - I keep my tower on the floor under my desk and to the far left. I do so because I keep my drinks to the right of my mouse, and if I spill one it can't get anywhere near my tower. I'm very much accident prone.

Lighting isn't a problem in my bedroom - I work nights so have heavy blackout curtains over every window on there.

I've been thinking about the idea of someday doing the multimonitor approach. It always did seem pretty cool looking to me. Also, regarding tower to the left...very clever. When using a desk mine sits underneath perpendicular for me in the center. I like to keep my big ole tower hidden as much as I can. Give me desk a nice clean look.

Multiple monitors are practical and inexpensive. Once you switch to one, you'll probably never want to go back.

I run a 286, 40meg hard drive, with windows 95 and netscape for internet browsing.
Here's my computer room.

Nicely done.

A 15.6" screened laptop. Sometimes it's on my desk, sometimes in my bed, sometimes in my couch.

It doesn't fail really.

42" LED tv mounted on the wall, Tower on entertainment stand. Kotatsu and and zaisu to relax and use the keyboard, mouse, etc.

I have 5 folding tables set up in such a way that they form a rough hexagon absent one side facing the door. Behind the middle table is a 32" TV on a floor stand connected to my primary computer, on that table are a wireless mouse and keyboard I use when I'm playing games using the TV. On each of the side desks is a pair of 24" monitors. One pair also connects to my primary computer, and the other connects to the secondary computer I use for data processing (both cases being under their respective tables). My printer is on the second left hand table along with a rarely used gaming laptop, and on the second right hand table is the laptop my company provided for me along with generic office supplies.

All told, the whole thing occupies all of what would otherwise be the living room in my apartment and almost certainly makes my landlord regret including utilities in the monthly rent.

 Waaagh_Gonads wrote:
I run a 286, 40meg hard drive, with windows 95 and netscape for internet browsing.
Here's my computer room.

Spoiler:

No that is not.

 Necroshea wrote:
I'm having a bit of an issue trying to figure out how I want to set up my computer location. I had a 24" monitor on a semi decent glass desk, but then I moved it into the living room and used my 55" LED as a monitor.

I was actually having this same problem in reverse. I'd been doing all my gaming in front of my 43" TV, but I'm doing more programming at home, so I wanted to get myself into a more work themed environment. Here's what I came up with:

Desk and Chair:
+ More comfortable (ergonomic?) to use a keyboard and mouse at
+ Monitor resolution is better than TV
+ 24" when you're 12" away from it is pretty damn close to 55" at 4-6
+ Further from kitchen (two flights of stairs = exercise)
- Further from kitchen (god, I was _JUST_ down there....)
- Need to come up with something to hook up to the TV to display media
- Crappy $20 speakers

Couch and TV
+ Computer doubled as media center. Don't have cable
+ Could chill out on the couch playing oldschool NES games.
+ Speakers appropriate for retaliation after neighbors play crappy dance music at 3 AM on a Tuesday.
+ Closer to kitchen (yay beer!)
- Closer to kitchen (why does my head hurt?)

I'm going with the Desk option, for now. I may buy a cheap off-lease computer from Microcenter or one of the other computer shops in town for a couple hundred bucks to replace the functionality of the TV in the living room. In all fairness though, I hardly use the thing except when company's over, and even then, we're usually DOING something, not watching someone else do it, so it's not even always in use then. My desk is a rather spartan $40 thing from Target. It's got about a 2'x4' surface, drawers for paper/etc, and just enough room on it for a 24", keyboard, mouse, a joystick, speakers, and a bottle of beer.

So far, I'm digging it, and I think the higher resolution of the monitor has helped my gaming. I went from being in last place consistently in Left for Dead 2 to being generally in either first or second place, and the gap between me and everyone else I played with in Payday widened that much more. In addition, Visual Studio is now readable. without sitting a foot away from the screen.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 dogma wrote:
I have 5 folding tables set up in such a way that they form a rough hexagon absent one side facing the door. Behind the middle table is a 32" TV on a floor stand connected to my primary computer, on that table are a wireless mouse and keyboard I use when I'm playing games using the TV. On each of the side desks is a pair of 24" monitors. One pair also connects to my primary computer, and the other connects to the secondary computer I use for data processing (both cases being under their respective tables). My printer is on the second left hand table along with a rarely used gaming laptop, and on the second right hand table is the laptop my company provided for me along with generic office supplies.

All told, the whole thing occupies all of what would otherwise be the living room in my apartment and almost certainly makes my landlord regret including utilities in the monthly rent.

This is amazing, possibly the biggest abuse of free utilities since I heard someone threaten to build hydroelectric wheels in each of his sinks so that he could run the free water nonstop and offset his non-free electrical bill. I am jealous.

 dogma wrote:
I have 5 folding tables set up in such a way that they form a rough hexagon absent one side facing the door. Behind the middle table is a 32" TV on a floor stand connected to my primary computer, on that table are a wireless mouse and keyboard I use when I'm playing games using the TV. On each of the side desks is a pair of 24" monitors. One pair also connects to my primary computer, and the other connects to the secondary computer I use for data processing (both cases being under their respective tables). My printer is on the second left hand table along with a rarely used gaming laptop, and on the second right hand table is the laptop my company provided for me along with generic office supplies.

All told, the whole thing occupies all of what would otherwise be the living room in my apartment and almost certainly makes my landlord regret including utilities in the monthly rent.

This is hilarious.

a desk that holds itself together using gravity and duct tape, a frankenlaptop wired into 7 or so different devices, a whole garbage bag filled with clutter and a swivel chair that seems to be made out of cardboard make up my desk setup