Concept "All in one" 3 monitor stream setup

[Teebs]

Hello,

I'm new to the forum, but have been interested in SFF builds for about 5 years.
I am a pro gamer/writer and hobby livestreamer, I spend a ton of time at my desk.

I am working on a plan to free up both desk and floor space by mounting my entire system on a monitor stand.

Here's a diagram of what I'm imagining this will look like:

The system build itself is not particularly groundbreaking (well, the Skyreach 4 mini *IS* groundbreaking, however that's not my innovation), most of my attention is on emptying the desk surface & floor space.

I plan to mount every piece of the entire system & stream peripherals on the monitor stand, and the logistics of doing so are the main thing I'm excited about.
Here is a diagram of how I intend to accomplish the task:

I currently don't have the money to finish the project, but I'm planning to get a few of the pieces here and there as I can, starting with the monitor stand, then the Skyreach 4 (when that becomes available, maybe @Josh | NFC has some info on that front?

I'll keep the power brick for the PC as well as a Power strip to feed all the other components mounted on the underside of the desk.
The rest is all cable management.

Not really sure about keyboard/mouse. I have decent peripherals that I will continue to use for now, but eventually something wireless with contact charging may take this a step further.

Thanks for taking the time to read!

Cheers,
Teebs~

 

[Josh | NFC]

Cool project dude

It will be fun to see how it all bolts up when you get it done.

MINI should be available soon but I've been saying that for a month now...

 

[Teebs]

I've had the idea more recently to transform this from a small footprint build to a portable (fits in a backpack) build.

In order to do so I have cut a monitor and reduced the monitor size, and switched the PC from top mounted to being the actual base of the monitor stand.

Here is the updated concept drawing:


I am running in to the issue currently that I don't know how to use two usb c monitors with a Desktop GPU at the same time, especially when I do not have the luxury of additional PCIE slots (nor the space for them) to play with.

Anyways, going to sit on this version for a little while and think about some possible solutions~

Cheers,
Teebs

 

[1337harcha]

@Teebs depending on your mobo and chipset, you can enable integrated graphics in tandem (assuming your GPU doesn't have USB-C). For example on Asrock Intel motherboards this is called IGPU Multi-Monitor. With this feature it is possible to utilize the motherboards video output ports (such as USB-C with DP alt. mode). Windows 10 also supports to chose which GPU will be used per program, this is done in Settings (Cog) - System - Display - Graphics. So in theory this is possible.

In my experience however there are some limitations to iGPU passthrough, as I cannot change resolutions through the NVidia panel, but only from the Intel panel. I suspect that there are some features you will lose with this solution. Also I don't know how well stuff like NVENC will play with this. Keep in mind that enabling iGPU will also raise the CPU temps.

Anyways I hope this helps, and I wish to see pictures of this thing realized! Currently I have a small rig that I can fit in my backpack, all without any monitors... BTW you don't need to use Bluetooth peripherals, there are plenty of mech keyboards that fit in a backpack.

 

[Teebs]

I don't know much about the passthrough tech, but I'm curious to learn more.

Sounds like I could get a 20X0 series card miniITX card with virtuallink; and a miniITX mobo with type C and potentially get this working~

Thanks for the tip, I'll take a look.

 

[Teebs]

Update: it looks like the only way I'll be able to accomplish this is a single specific gigabyte mini itx card: GV-N2070IX-8GC

Then I would also need a new mobo because my current mini itx mobo doesn't have an onboard usb c port.

Add in an s4 mini & new PSU, this is essentially an entirely new build at this point...

Gonna have to see if I can line up a buyer for my current rig to pull this swap off~

 

[Teebs]

Alright, I was able to charge ahead with more planning for this build together pretty quick.

partlist:

Things not included are monitors, peripherals, custom mounting hardware, cabling, and the power switch.

updated render: (don't mind the grey at the top, the render size exceeded the printing area I had to work with and color shifted)

So the idea here is that the box on the bottom is an s4 mini, I thread the custom mounting bracket (black parts) in to it directly as the base, then I attach two usb c monitors (green) via the right angle usb c cables (orange) and run them through a hole in the mounting arm and down to the PC.

At the top of the bracket is a ringlight, webcam & mic (all in white) with a few more bits of mounting hardware (black) which will also run their cables down through the main tube to the PC. size of the mounting tube might need to be adjusted in order to accomodate 5 cables, but that can be sorted out a little later on when it comes time to fabricate.

Concerns at this time:

1: logistics of mounting the size + weight of the top piece to an S4 mini case (threading, weight, ect). since the monitors are portable USB c I think the whole upper should be fairly light, but its still outside of the scope of what the case was initially designed for. wonder what @Josh | NFC thinks about that portion of the design?

2: the useability of the dual usb c port solution (one on 2070 gpu & one on mobo) for dual display output. I am trying to get a hold of gigabyte for this question, but until then I can only hope it works and proceed with the planning until I hear back.

3: the TDP of the system according to the buildout is about 340W, which should be fine for the HDPlex to handle, though I'm not sure if/how the monitors and other peripherals will play in to that, since its not something I have ever done in the past.

Big W: the entire build will be cable managed such that it sits on the desk and only has a single power cable heading down to mains, which can be region swapped and used in different countries/regions while travelling~!

 

[1337harcha]

Update: it looks like the only way I'll be able to accomplish this is a single specific gigabyte mini itx card: GV-N2070IX-8GC

Then I would also need a new mobo because my current mini itx mobo doesn't have an onboard usb c port.

Add in an s4 mini & new PSU, this is essentially an entirely new build at this point...

Gonna have to see if I can line up a buyer for my current rig to pull this swap off~

Just a quick question - wouldn't the graphics cards USB-C port be able to support multiple monitors much like a laptops USB-C port? (with the use of a small USB hub or so)