Hello,

I have been building an all in one system.
The main parts:

1. very powerful pc
2. amplifier
3. 3 front speakers, the middle one is a special one and has a subwoofer
4. ups to keep system up in case on electric problems

All that in one furniture element.

Other devices:
Wireless & backlit keyboard + wireless mouse
FullHD projector + rear speaker + Android phone that controls everything from anywhere - no other remotes needed at all.

Project photos can be seen at Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcinen/438 ... 867269373/

It can be extended with any normal pc accessories such as webcams + surveillance software and Z-wave modules to control the whole house. The idea is that it can do anything.
The noise is taken care of by carefully selecting the components and by the structure of the furniture and materials are sound absorbing.

There will be also English version web pages but currently only Finnish is available and even that is not ready yet:
http://www.mcice.fi
(and in future as the project goes forward and to the product level: http://www.olohuone.fi)

Interesting ideea.

Can you give more details about the components you used? (models...)

I have been building this for many years (started 1998 - 2000 depending what counts as a start to what it is now) and during that time I have used different "cases"/furnitures and pc components.

But the basic principle is that I use components that has as long life cycle as possible, mainly meaning that they have the latest technologies supported. One part of the idea is to use 100% image back-ups so if something goes wrong the broken component can be replaced and then the system can be easily recovered using the image.

Front speakers are "AW-7" http://hifitalo.fi/cat/product_details.php?p=1
The center speaker has an integrated AW-7 in the middle of the subwoofer speaker
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upneAZagUB0
and http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcinen/456 ... 867269373/
(Before I used AW-6i speakers but because of the center/subwoofer element I changed them to the closed structure speakers so if you see those on Flickr, they are old ones...)

(I will edit this later and make a list of current pc components)

Any pictures with the insides of the HTPC (showing the location, cooling and other things)? I couldn't find any in the links you posted.

There is still 3 options for different locations for pc-drawer and amplifier + ups. I can post here the current setup I have on my prototype. It works fine but it would be easier to deal with all the cables if the amplifier would move together with pc OR neither of those would move. In that case the front panels would be only doors that opens vertically. I will have to decide soon the first product version structure.



Note! situation without processor fans. This setup never actually tested in practise.
--> power moved and MB "tilted":

These are not pictures of final version. Just some pictures of different test setups.
Air comes in via the "labyrinth" and continues to sound absorption tunnel and finally comes out from the other end of the furniture.
Computer is very cool and silent with this setup. Amplifier may need active cooling, alltough I have had the entire setup powered on 24/7 for almost a year now with out any problems. The amp might move downstairs next to the pc unit...



Using passive components is absolutely out of question, because the idea is, that this "furniture" does everything. Including the gaming (youtube link) and multitasking etc. Sound issue is solved by understanding the difference between sound absorption and sound isolation and using space enough to absorb the sound. Isolate the noisy parts airtight (rule no. 1 in isolation) + use rubber fixing to isolate the vibrations. Make the cooling air flow through a long and twisty tunnel that is coated with sound absorbent material.
Also make sure that the hot air goes straight out of the area that needs to be cooled and never circles back.
IMO ALL the current commercial htpc cases that I have seen are lousy, because the back panel is wide open - no isolations / absorption so they just can´t be silent if active cooling is used.

(vid. using HTC Desire to control the system)

Youtube channel

Very nice! I like that the screen and the unit line up so nicely!

What type of screen is that?

Thanks

The screen is painted mdf* board with wooden frames.
(*material in this case is not mdf. It is a packing material/cover that was used to protect the actual boards. I don´t know what the material is, but it is much lighter than mdf. Anyway it is not important. Mdf makes the same, only heavier).

Hi...,
Nice idea.Where you purchased furniture items?
My dear can you give me more details about it?
Nice post.

I have done the furnitures by myself and I have also new, better, model sketched.
I will try to make this project totally "open source" and put all the info (furnitures, hardware, software, configurations, everything) to the olohuone.fi, but DO NOT HOLD YOUR BREATH. This project has been going on since 1998 so...
But it has never been stopped there will be progress.
(The site is now only in Finnish but someday...(also I am interested to gather a team to make this "thing" even better)