Building Dream setup

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slippery

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I'm looking for advice and recommendations on stuff. I currently have a pretty solid PC (8700k, RTX 2080, 1440p 144hz monitor) so I don't really need to upgrade. I'm likely going to next year though, or whenever the next generation of stuff comes out. Next gen Ryzen is speculated to be announced at CES next year, and that will probably be the upgrade point for me. I'm going to go full new and completely unnecessary shit like raid 0 nvme ssd's, full custom loop on both CPU and GPU, full RGB, everything.

Part of what I want to do there is use a second PC to run video and bullshit stuff like browsers etc, and pipe all the sound into the main PC through a mixer (and probably back the other way for streaming?). I have zero experience in that, so I definitely need some direction in hardware and software for that. I'll probably use input director for software to use 1 mouse/keyboard on both, as I already have a license for it. It's possible I just drop the second PC option (which would really just be my current PC getting pushed over to that use case) and go dual video cards. That's really just going to depend on how I feel at the time, and how much trouble the second PC stuff would be.

I'm looking to do a 3 monitor setup I think, although I might get by with 2. I want to buy a 4k monitor for watching video on, but I feel like I'm unlikely to actually game on it just because the performance on my current monitor is great
If I do 3 it would be something like 4k on the left for watching stuff, 1080p in portrait in the middle for internet stuff, and the 1440p on the right for gaming. One of the big things I'd like here is a good mount, or two different mounts, either clamp onto the desk or even freestanding on the floor. Part of the goal there is to get them a little farther away from where I sit, as my desk isn't quite wide enough for my preference.

Maybe I'll add some pictures of my current setup when I get home for reference, it requires cleaning my disaster of a desk first though so probably not.

Help me build a dream setup friendo's. What are you thoughts, what things have you thought about, what experience do you have with these different things? Some of the stuff I'd like to do this black Friday/Cyber Monday. Mainly the monitor/mount.
 
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a_skeleton_05

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I'm wondering if a cheap laptop with an HDMI port to connect a monitor to might be a better option for your second system. Can save a bit of space, power, and have the option of moving it elsewhere at times. Could do your browsing on that and have vids/streaming on the connected monitor.
 

slippery

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I'm wondering if a cheap laptop with an HDMI port to connect a monitor to might be a better option for your second system. Can save a bit of space, power, and have the option of moving it elsewhere at times. Could do your browsing on that and have vids/streaming on the connected monitor.
I always think about getting a laptop, but I feel like I just wouldn't use it. I travel so infrequently, and if I'm at home I could just use PC. Plus, I can just use old hardware for the second PC
 
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slippery

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Does anyone have much experience with monitor arm mounts? If I do 3 monitors would I be better off with two different mounts, a single and a double, or a triple like this?
Also in hindsight, the back of my desk only has a 1 inch lip before it hits the bar.
 

Crone

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Does anyone have much experience with monitor arm mounts? If I do 3 monitors would I be better off with two different mounts, a single and a double, or a triple like this?
Also in hindsight, the back of my desk only has a 1 inch lip before it hits the bar.
Lanx Lanx will have arm recommendations!
 

Lanx

Oye Ve
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Does anyone have much experience with monitor arm mounts? If I do 3 monitors would I be better off with two different mounts, a single and a double, or a triple like this?
Also in hindsight, the back of my desk only has a 1 inch lip before it hits the bar.
Lanx Lanx will have arm recommendations!
sure one issue with double/triple mounts is the mounting surface, the more monitors you add, the greater chance for denting your surface, or just breaking if you have tempered glass, or it just sinks in b/c you have a mdf desk
jL4FTzwuCfg9yO_RkRzg05lv7UjPixlPrNU2rJOPlCk.jpg


remember it's not the weight of the LCD, they're light, it's the leverage when you extend the arm that far.

i mean maybe if you want to spread the load and put a read piece of wood underneath it (which i have done to my glass desks)

so i'd never recommend dual mounts, imo.

personally i've used ergotron for years, my new favorite is the ones from north bayou at 10x less price

re-examine your work area. currently i use a triple monitor setup, but i have desk mount for the tradional side monitor and i have a wall mount for the top monitor, you might find that might be something you'd want.

i love monitor mounts, i've said previously my best mod is mounting a wall mount arm to a light up mirror for my wife and she loves it. currently all my tvs are on monitor mounts too, even a 50in tv on a wall (with stud mount of course) works nice.
 
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slippery

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sure one issue with double/triple mounts is the mounting surface, the more monitors you add, the greater chance for denting your surface, or just breaking if you have tempered glass, or it just sinks in b/c you have a mdf desk
jL4FTzwuCfg9yO_RkRzg05lv7UjPixlPrNU2rJOPlCk.jpg


remember it's not the weight of the LCD, they're light, it's the leverage when you extend the arm that far.

i mean maybe if you want to spread the load and put a read piece of wood underneath it (which i have done to my glass desks)

so i'd never recommend dual mounts, imo.

personally i've used ergotron for years, my new favorite is the ones from north bayou at 10x less price

re-examine your work area. currently i use a triple monitor setup, but i have desk mount for the tradional side monitor and i have a wall mount for the top monitor, you might find that might be something you'd want.

i love monitor mounts, i've said previously my best mod is mounting a wall mount arm to a light up mirror for my wife and she loves it. currently all my tvs are on monitor mounts too, even a 50in tv on a wall (with stud mount of course) works nice.
I feel like I'd probably go with a single and a double. A large part of my motivation for the arms is to be able to move the monitors a few inches further back, as well as not have the giant stands on my desk. With that in mind they would generally be putting the weight straight down on the desk, and not at an angle. I could easily put a piece of wood between the desk and the clamps though.
 

a_skeleton_05

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Wall mounts should be considered as well if desk-mounted isn't an option. Far less adjustments available, but makes up for it in saved space (looks better too IMO)
 

jooka

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Guy got what he deserved if that is a hollow core door used as a desk top, which is what it looks likes to me. Definitely not the arm that is the problem.
 
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Lanx

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I feel like I'd probably go with a single and a double. A large part of my motivation for the arms is to be able to move the monitors a few inches further back, as well as not have the giant stands on my desk. With that in mind they would generally be putting the weight straight down on the desk, and not at an angle. I could easily put a piece of wood between the desk and the clamps though.
i mean like i said then, try wall mounts if you want a super clean, floating kind of look, do you have a wall in front of your desk? for options, i put my desk in the corner and my wall mount is on the side (to put it on top of my current monitor)
 

Kais

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Don't underestimate the versatility of a vertically mounted monitor. Display a long webpage or reddit thread or pdf whatever, amazeballs if you do lots of side by side stuff.
 

alavaz

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I would go with the desk clamping mounts unless you have a stationary desk against a wall and know that it will be that way for quite some time. I'd go crazy having 3 different monitor types though. I could maybe get behind having a big one on the wall behind me with two matching on the desk. I'd probably also get a KVM switch for flexibility.

As far as the sound goes, a line mixer like this should do the trick. Use the headphone or line out jack on your second PC and plug the output into the line in on your main PC
 

mkopec

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sure one issue with double/triple mounts is the mounting surface, the more monitors you add, the greater chance for denting your surface, or just breaking if you have tempered glass, or it just sinks in b/c you have a mdf desk
jL4FTzwuCfg9yO_RkRzg05lv7UjPixlPrNU2rJOPlCk.jpg


remember it's not the weight of the LCD, they're light, it's the leverage when you extend the arm that far.

i mean maybe if you want to spread the load and put a read piece of wood underneath it (which i have done to my glass desks)

so i'd never recommend dual mounts, imo.

personally i've used ergotron for years, my new favorite is the ones from north bayou at 10x less price

re-examine your work area. currently i use a triple monitor setup, but i have desk mount for the tradional side monitor and i have a wall mount for the top monitor, you might find that might be something you'd want.

i love monitor mounts, i've said previously my best mod is mounting a wall mount arm to a light up mirror for my wife and she loves it. currently all my tvs are on monitor mounts too, even a 50in tv on a wall (with stud mount of course) works nice.

For this type of situation you could use a 1/8 in piece of aluminum or steel, even hard plastic to put underneath the mount on top of the desk to spread the forces out over a larger surface area. The problem with these types of mounts and mdf or other such shit desks is that the forces are pretty much concentrated on like a couple of inches of desk. Think of it like a sandwich of reinforcement, desk, more reinforcement underneath and that shit will never break. Kind of like a washer does when you use bolts and shit.

200 iq
 

slippery

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Okay so step 1 I'm doing is getting a new 1080p for my second monitor. My current one is super old, and not that great, and doesn't have a VESA mount. Like said earlier, it's just used for browsing internet and watching streams. So I'm mainly looking for a good video experience without sacrificing readability. This is what I've landed on, any thoughts for why I should do something different?


Also going to get this mount

 

Alasliasolonik

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Okay so step 1 I'm doing is getting a new 1080p for my second monitor. My current one is super old, and not that great, and doesn't have a VESA mount. Like said earlier, it's just used for browsing internet and watching streams. So I'm mainly looking for a good video experience without sacrificing readability. This is what I've landed on, any thoughts for why I should do something different?


Also going to get this mount

You can prolly get that monitor for like 75 bucks in the next week. Or even just go for an open box one and make it super cheap since its just a youtube/music/stream screen.
 

a_skeleton_05

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You will run into problems with mixed refresh dual monitor setups when it comes to watching video while gaming. Something to keep in mind if your main monitor is high refresh
 

slippery

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You will run into problems with mixed refresh dual monitor setups when it comes to watching video while gaming. Something to keep in mind if your main monitor is high refresh
I've had 144 and 60 for a long time and been pretty fine. Although I wonder what the price difference is for 144...
 

slippery

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You win this time, I'm going to get higher refresh monitor just to make life easier and hopefully cut out some of the silly bugs I've had with video.