Well done Miika.

Although a few years ago I promised to post details of my DIY case on SPCR I never did, mostly because I never actually finished it.

It was basically an MDF box that was the size of a mATX motherboard and just high enough for me to use the 120mm fan in the PSU instead of the (removed) fan on the standard AMD heatsink. With less than 5mm between the grill on the PSU fan and the top of the CPU heatsink it worked perfectly, the CPU didnt get hot, the GPU/southbridge didnt get hot, and the 2.5" HDD balanced upside down on the PCI slots was also quite cool because I never got the suspension working, if the PSU fan did spin up it never got beyond its minimum. It was I have to say a great idea that was as ugly as hell and as never close to complete, the top with the PSU hanging from it was held in place by gravity and it only ever got 2 sides a top and a bottom, no front or back, but hell it was a cheap case - about £3.

The system was as follows, 330W Corsair PSU of Seasonic manufacture, single core 3500+ AM2, an Asrock motherboard with integrated nVidia graphics, with a much larger passive heatsink taken from an old dead motherboard, the whole system is still in use although in an Antec NSK 2480).

Here are a couple of simple and cheap ideas to sort out the PSU problem without having to replace anything in a dramatic way.

If you have a spare PSU with a 120mm fan and the time there are 2 things that might be worth trying.

Either swap the PSU directly, with the fan on the inside to stop small fingers getting a nasty surprise and also cooling the HDD which then makes suspension more attaractive.

Or here is an outlandish thought that will strike fear into the hearts of the readers. Put the PSU at the back with the fan next to the GPU heatsink so it "sucks" the hot air from the heatsink and blows it out of the back of the case (like I did with my CPU with no ill effect), and then put a fan (with a grill) where the current PSU is positioned blowing cool air into the case, which will then circulate out via the other 2 hot components and their cooling fans, again keeping the HDD cool.


Regards Andy

Then again, there doesnt look like there is the room to use the fan in the PSU to cool the GPU, so that one is out.


Andy

I shudder to think what you might have built if you had access to 80/20. I have no idea if you can get it in Finland, but it was the first thing I thought of when I saw your frame.

Nice job with the paneling.

Nice project, I would have liked to hear a little more about the external finish, it looks nice. What plastic, how you cut them, how you got a good finish on the corners, etc.

Also, a pico PSU should definitely work on that system as-is, no need for integrated graphics and SSDs.

..and if you have the room, give those speakers some more!

'Miika Hyvönen is a 23-year-old student from Finland. His first contact with computers was in the late eighties...' really guys?? unless his age is out of date, you thought it was a good idea to mention his computer experience from when he was all of 2 years old??

How much power does it draw? Do you have access to a Kill-a-Watt?

If you can keep it @100-120 Watts, you could safely use a Pico. Especially if you switch to a 2.5 in data drive and a small (16-32 GB) OS.

That 80/20 looked awesome, never seen it in Finland though. Thanks for the feedback!



There is a bit of an error with my age because we had quite a bit delays with publishing the article, I'm born in 1986 which means I'm 24 by today. Hope to get that fact fixed. But the fact is that my father introduced me to computers when I was less than four-years-old.

What comes to the speakers, you are quite right. Let's see what I can do when I finish with hanging my TV on the wall and building a new stand for my gear.

You were also interested about the external finish. The material is polycarbonate, which is good looking but extremely easily scratched, so first thing I polished it and gave it a wet coat of car lacquer. And that's all. The pieces came readily cut from a plastic company and there was no need for working on the edges. The opening for the dvd-drive was made with a multi-tool (Dremel).



About the components. There has already been updates with 'em and they are gonna appear in the article also, hopefully soon.

Thanks for everyone for the interest, every question and all feedback is welcome!

-Miika

Interesting design =).

I recently re-did (again) the old HTPC. I am STILL using an Ahanix Dvine5 case. It just doesn't seem worth it to me to get rid of it. (Shipping costs would kill any non-local sale). I have now updated it to an ITX Core i3 530 setup and the room within is ridiculous, seeing as it even fits full sized ATX. I also now have a picoPSU so that too is a big factor. Aside from the CPU fan, there is only one other 120mm fan for intake, so this thing is inaudible in any room in the house. I'm going to mod in some HDD racks for expandability, and it will eventually be server-only use. It still is a great looking case, almost feels like a shame to have it hidden =P.

Any photos of it? Sounds interesting.
The same fact with my DIY case, it fits mATX easily and ATX if needed, actually the biggest difference to a store-bought HTPC-case is that there is the room for "external" ATX-PSU.