I haven't come across a cheap test bench. With added shipping it actually turns out more expensive than a case.

I came across this lately:
https://de.aliexpress.com/item/QDIY-PC-D60-On … 1783227644.html
I have not bought it or used it because i don't have the need for a test bench, but i thought it is kinda cheap.

My testbench usually is on an empty motherboard box, very cheap, extremely lightweight, non conductive and very easy to work with. 😎

Solarstorm wrote:

I came across this lately:
https://de.aliexpress.com/item/QDIY-PC-D60-On … 1783227644.html
I have not bought it or used it because i don't have the need for a test bench, but i thought it is kinda cheap.

For $30, I'd rather just buy some acrylic (12"x12" (300mm)) or plastic and drill screw holes. Also, since it's a 1 layer design, it wastes a lot of desk-space.

That said, if you have a non-metal base, do you need to have some sort of grounding?

meljor wrote:

My testbench usually is on an empty motherboard box, very cheap, extremely lightweight, non conductive and very easy to work with. 😎

^This.

dexvx wrote:

That said, if you have a non-metal base, do you need to have some sort of grounding?

I've made it a habit to always use a grounded power outlet thingy from the wall whenever applying power to my test bench (my last house did not have grounded power outlets everywhere, so I kinda used lots of extension cables 🤣!)

Tetrium wrote:

meljor wrote:

My testbench usually is on an empty motherboard box, very cheap, extremely lightweight, non conductive and very easy to work with. 😎

^This.

This is what I'm doing for the most part. Use an USPS flat rate box for the motherboard. Attach PSU, DVD, HDD, FDD, etc somewhere around the sides. But my desk is getting pretty messy. We have the Lian Li PC-T60 at work and I think they're really nice. Everything fits in a 12x12" (300mm) area. PSU/DVD/HDD/FDD all fit underneath the motherboard. Has a handlebar so its easily portable. However, it does cost $70. I figure if there was something made of acrylic that was cheaper, I'd be for that as well.

What about this? Im thinking ordering one myself.

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/L-10 … 2743197755.html

Good question. I use the motherboard box method now, but something like the Lian-Li PC-T60 looks convenient, especially if you need to clear the desk regularly. I might be on the lookout for a PC-T60 now 😉

Wow...Modification is easy.
Playing basketball when you are 6'00'' and must shoot in front of a 7' breathing in your neck is easy.
Playing Tomb Raider II is piece of cake. 😵

Sorry, this is just to demonstrate how interested I am on the qdiy PC-D60.
The only thing holding me:
Dexvx said - it wastes a lot of desk-space.

How can that happen ? My desk measures 2m long and is totally messed with 3 motherboards, 5 HDDS, 2SSD and 2PSUS at this moment.
Is this a product for me ?
Yes! And prettier than this spider like bench-test (the only product I could find from Lian-Li).

http://produto.mercadolivre.com.br/MLB-866270 … 2-meses-uso-_JM

@PhilsComputerLab What bench do you use in the Building my new PC for benchmarks and testing video (and probably others)?

Cyrix200+ wrote:

@PhilsComputerLab What bench do you use in the Building my new PC for benchmarks and testing video (and probably others)?

Tech station from the USA. Shipping is super expensive overseas, so I used a forwarder. It's OK but too expensive to get more, which I could use. The card mount is the negative of this bench IMO.

May I add the easiest option?

Just use the motherboard tray from any ATX case that has a removable tray. I know there are some ATX cases that have removable trays and are AT/ATX compatible.

The ATX tray idea is definitely good for something on the cheap. Main problem is again, massive desk area covered (because you have to run the PSU/Drives in parallel instead of under like a Tech Station from Phils link. But even then, that Tech Station is like $80 USD. So I just went ahead and bought a Lian-Li PC-T60 during one of those eBay coupon days. Cost me $72 USD shipped total. So a mini-review.

Lian-Li PC-T60B
Pros:
All metal construction.
Very compact; total surface area covers about EATX size. Everything (PSU + expansion) else fits underneath.
Good expansion; 3x 3.5", 2x 2.5", and 2x 5.25" expansion all underneath.
Easy to change out PSU and all expansion.
Relatively sturdy ATX brackets.
Handle bar for easy lifting.
Nice aesthetics.

Cons:
No AT mounting.
Manual sucks. I had to do double and triple takes on some of the assembly pictures.
Scratches somewhat easily (and readily apparent).
Black is cheapest color. Red and Silver stupidly expensive.

Comments:
I thought $80 was expensive for what amounts to a bunch of screws and various pieces of machined metal. But looking at all the other options, it was actually one of the cheapest on the market.

dexvx wrote:

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Cons:
No AT mounting.

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That's a bummer, not an option for me then 🙁 I think I'll create something myself from a slide-out motherboard tray.

Actually, I took my dead 486 Baby-AT board, and the screws do indeed fit the lower half of the board. However, you need two of those plastic AT standoffs (not sure what they're called), and you're good to go. Otherwise you can drill extra holes. The test bench comes with about 2x the amount of motherboard standoffs and screws needed for standard ATX.

Full sized AT, however, is way longer than the tray, so that's not recommended.

an ATX motherboard try should mount a baby AT board no problems. In fact I've got IO Shields specially for putting a baby AT motherboard in an ATX Case.

Personally I like the LIAN LI PC-T60B option because it has mounts for the optical and disk drives. This makes it easy to either 1) have a PowerSupply, optical, and disk drives set that you use for testing any number of CPU/Motherboard/expansion cards combinations. Any of the cheaper options listed You have to have your drives sit loose either way, which is probably what most of us do and what I do now, but is not optimal.

I found a late 90's super tower server case with no side panels and stole the removable motherboard tray. Kinda looks like that AliExpress special

I'm necroposting a bit here now, but it does seem to be the best thread. I have been getting more frustrated with the cardboard box test setup I have and I have been thinking about the DIYPC Alpha-DB6 as a test platform. It's not really expensive and seems to be available.

Website here:
http://www.mydiypcusa.com/products/cases/benc … a-db6-case.html

YouTube explanation by Newegg:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCFRpKKMZJA

Another option is still homebuilt, like this one (warning; Linus Tech Tips content):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQjMlE7YS5E