None of the HTPC cases on the market really satisfied my needs (and I liked a little project) so I decided to build my own case from scratch. The case is fully constructed from MDF. I only have basic tools and woodworking skill so it was difficult to saw the plates in the exact dimensions, but I think the result is quite nice.
I used the following components:
-CPU: AMD athlon X2 5050e
-Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-2SH
-Videocard: Ati Radeon 4350 Low profile (I need it for S-video out)
-Cooling: Scythe Big Shuriken with Nexus fan
-Harddisk: Samsung HD502HI
-DVD: Samsung slot-in laptop drive
-PSU: PicoPSU + Dell DA-2
-TV-tuner: Hauppauge HVR 2200 (low profile dual hybrid tuner)
Interior view:
On the left you can see the power button, power led and USB posts glued into the front panel. Above that the harddrive screwed onto a DIY bracket with the rubber grommets from my Antec Sonata III. No room for a real suspension but good enough with such a silent drive. On the top left is a chopped up ATX connector glued into the back panel which accepts the connector from the Dell DA-2 power brick. Two of the three lines from the brick go to the PicoPSU, the third is directly connected to the P4 connector on the motherboard.
Behind the videocard is the only real exhaust from the case (some air leaves through the DVD drive opening and the space around the PCI backplates). This means that most air flows through the videocard heatsink keeping it pretty cool. The fan on the CPU heatsink features as the intake fan as it sticks through the top panel. On the bottom you can see the PicoPSU and the DVD drive secured with a homemade bracket. A DVD is ejected by pressing a button attached to the aluminium strip you can just see at the bottom right. One end of the strip presses the button on the drive itself, the other end is screwed into the front panel. This way, the strip functions as a spring.
Top view:
The nexus fan on the CPU heatsink sticks through the top panel so it sucks in cool air from the outside through the CPU heatsink. The low power CPU barely reaches 45 degrees on load with the fan spinning slowly.
Front view:
The front panel contains the power button, power led, two USB ports and a slit for inserting DVDs and an eject button.
Amplifier and tuner stacked on top of the HTPC in my closet:
I'm happy with the end result. It looks good and it's pretty quiet. The harddrive is almost inaudible (1 cm MDF pretty much shields the tiny bit of noise it makes). The nexus fan has a bit of vibration which you can hear if you pay attention from close by. I can't hear it from two meters away. Thanks for all the information I found on the site and the forum that enabled me to build a good HTPC!
