New wooden case project begins tomorrow

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Sun Jul 18, 2004 11:25 pm

Unless anyone has any major objections

Blue arrow = cold air
Pink arrow = warm air
Red arrow = hot air

some chunks of the case have been left out for clarity.

peerke · Post by **peerke** » Mon Jul 19, 2004 1:22 am

Just some suggestions:
What about a bottom-intake for your harddrives-box instead of a (noisy) front-intake? And possibly an AC VGA-silencer for your graphics-card.
Since you're building a case completely from scratch you would be free to place your components anywhere you want. I would choose to move the motherboard to the top of the case and put the PSU in the bottom. Then the PSU's fan can be used to pull cool air from a bottom-intake, past the harddrives and out the back. I don't think the drives need more airflow than that and it would elliminate an extra fan and a (noisy) top-intake.
Happy building on this interresting project

.

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Mon Jul 19, 2004 1:59 am

So basically, flip the whole back-half of the case upside down?

Hmm...
Interesting idea.

The only problem I can see arising from this is that my tower sits on the carpet, I'd have to give myself a few inches of clearance off the floor to ensure proper airflow.

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Mon Jul 19, 2004 2:16 am

I just quickly knocked this change together, so it's a little rough, but how about it?

peerke · Post by **peerke** » Mon Jul 19, 2004 3:57 am

That's almost what I meant. You have drawn a divide between the harddisks and the PSU but my suggestion is to use the PSU's fan to draw air past the disks using a duct connecting the harddisk-box with the PSU. This would make one fan redundant.
If you place the harddisk-box nearer the PSU (i.e. more towards the back of the computer-case) there would be room for an extra air-intake in front of that (in the bottom-panel) making air-flow to the rest of the case easier without adding an extra fan.
I wish I could draw it as clearly as you but I have no idea how to

.

PhilgB · Post by **PhilgB** » Mon Jul 19, 2004 4:11 am

When I finish school I will be building one that I have been planning for a while. The reason for the PSU duct is to prevent the hot CPU air from rising up into the PSU. So placing it at the bottom of the case will also prevent this.

What software are you using? You should make the background white.

You might also consider using a filter since you can design it exactly the way you want.

peerke · Post by **peerke** » Mon Jul 19, 2004 4:54 am

Splinter,
Have been thinking for a while about your second drawing and while my suggestion could just be slightly more quiet, your set-up is a good design for a possitive-pressure case making dust less of a problem.
If you keep the fan behind your harddrives this, together with the CPU-duct, will pressure your case a little. Just put a filter in the bottom-opening to filter out the dust particles and you'll be set to go.

pod03 · Post by **pod03** » Mon Jul 19, 2004 6:19 am

Have you seen http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto ... hlight=emc
and other similar posts. EMI/EMC might be an issue.

peerke · Post by **peerke** » Mon Jul 19, 2004 7:07 am

Lining it with conductive material just to be sure is a good idea I think. Household aluminiumfoil will do fine although I've seen leadfoil in a hobbyshop that looked very interesting. It will shield from every thinkable form of radiation (maybe except gamma radiation

) and would have the benefit of making the case even heavier and therefore less prone to vibration. Or is this a little OTT

.

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Mon Jul 19, 2004 9:22 am

No thats not ot at all...

Im not sure how I could work it into the design and still have it look decent tho. I dont have any other major electronic devices around my PC. It's fairly close to my subwoofer, but that's well sheilded. Also, IIRC my physics class properly, aluminum doesnt do much to prevent EMI anyway.

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Mon Jul 19, 2004 9:29 am

peerke wrote:That's almost what I meant. You have drawn a divide between the harddisks and the PSU but my suggestion is to use the PSU's fan to draw air past the disks using a duct connecting the harddisk-box with the PSU. This would make one fan redundant.
If you place the harddisk-box nearer the PSU (i.e. more towards the back of the computer-case) there would be room for an extra air-intake in front of that (in the bottom-panel) making air-flow to the rest of the case easier without adding an extra fan.
I wish I could draw it as clearly as you but I have no idea how to .

Im not sure I understand this.

Do you mean have a single direc path that goes from the bottom of the case, through the HDs, into the PSU and out the back?

I think I would run into a few problems with that. Airpressure would be one (80 in, 120 out), stagnant air under the GPU would be another.

This box is going to be quietER, but I still have some pretty high-performance hot stuff in there. There has to be quite a bit of airflow or somethings gonna melt on me :/

peerke · Post by **peerke** » Mon Jul 19, 2004 9:44 am

Splinter wrote: Im not sure I understand this.

Do you mean have a single direc path that goes from the bottom of the case, through the HDs, into the PSU and out the back?

I think I would run into a few problems with that. Airpressure would be one (80 in, 120 out), stagnant air under the GPU would be another.

This box is going to be quietER, but I still have some pretty high-performance hot stuff in there. There has to be quite a bit of airflow or somethings gonna melt on me :/

That was exactly what I meant.
I think the stagnant air under the GPU can be fixed be the use of an Arctic Cooling VGA-silencer, but your own design, with the extra fan behind the harddisks, would be a safer bet regarding airflow and doesn't have to make a very big difference noise-wise.
The VGA-silencer still comes recommended though.

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Mon Jul 19, 2004 9:49 am

Im trying to decide between the VGA Silencer and the Zalman ZM80D-HP

The Silencer is tried and proven, but the Zalman has potentially fanless idle cooling. However, I can only find a couple reviews on the net for the 80D.

peerke · Post by **peerke** » Mon Jul 19, 2004 10:08 am

I have the 80C and it works cooling my Radeon 9800pro with a japanaflo 80l blowing towards it, but this setup is not so good for your casetemps as all the heat is dumped in the case. The 80D would not make a difference in this regard. The AC silencer has the big advantage of blowing the heat directly out the back and, according to the reviews and experiences on these fora, is very quiet on the low setting.

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Mon Jul 19, 2004 10:22 am

I only use one PCI slot, so feasibly, I could rig up a low-speed 120mm fancard to remove air from under the GPU. The rest of the air would theoretically get sucked out the 120 at the top...

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 3:56 pm

If Im building the case out of particle board, whats gonna be the best way to make it look not like a giant piece of crap?

I dont think it takes paint very well

grey · Post by **grey** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 4:21 pm

Use MDF (short for Medium Density Fibreboard - also called Customwood in my neck of the woods) instead of particle board. It is a smooth panel and takes paint really well. This is what is used for painted joinery (kitchens and the like) and can also come with a plastic coating (melamine) on one or both sides in a lot of colours. I also find it easier to work thatn particle board, though you will need to use screws that are designed for MDF.

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 5:41 pm

Jeez...I come here looking to find a wooden case project, only to find you're using particle board. What's wrong with real wood, maybe furniture grade oak plywood? You're not going to be using much material for a case, so cost shouldn't be a factor.

Looks will play a big part of this project.....real wood would be my choice.

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 6:40 pm

I dont have 60 sq feet of real wood lying around in my garage

Besides, if I am not mistaken, real wood is an excellent transmitter of noise, and also resonates quite well, which is waht makes it a great choice for Pianos and Guitars, and not PC cases.

grey · Post by **grey** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 7:35 pm

Only if you make the case flimsy. Remember, most speaker enclosures are made out of some form of timber product (usually MDF with a veneer making it look like real timber). MDF comes in all sorts of thicknesses and even with real timber veneers on both sides, though to make a case out of that, you will need to be more particular about the corners.

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 7:47 pm

I found some really nice shrinkwrapped particleboard with a melamine laminate in our garage, it'll be ideal for the front bezel and the top.

The sides will be made out of a slightly different laminated particle board.

The back and bottom will be unlaminated particle board.

I think it'll look pretty good.

flyingsherpa · Post by **flyingsherpa** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 8:06 pm

Splinter, what CAD program did you use to make those pics? looks nice. i have a bit of CAD experience, but I never made anything look that purty (never had texture map shading).

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 9:31 pm

flyingsherpa wrote:Splinter, what CAD program did you use to make those pics? looks nice. i have a bit of CAD experience, but I never made anything look that purty (never had texture map shading).

3D Studio Max 5

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 10:51 pm

This is the stuff it's being made out of.

It looks damaged because it's in a plastic wrap.

The label may be of interest

In case you can't read that (the flash bleached it somewhat) it says 'Melamine Panels'

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 3:00 am

If I build something that will be labor intensive.....I usually try to use the best material, that will result in the best finished product. That pressed board you found in the garage will probably work, but is not easy to work with. The edges/corners have a tendency to crumble, and unless you have a lot of experience with the stuff, it's going to be a frustrating build.

I'm sure the super hardware store down the street has enough real-wood products for your project. Course if you're super-cheap or broke.....ignore my suggestions.

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 11:06 am

We're talking starving-student broke here

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 3:52 pm

First picture of what it's gonna look like:

Obviously I havent actually assembled it yet, its just balanced there

I need to cut out the front bezel as well, but I havent completely decided how I want to lay it out.

shathal · Post by **shathal** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 4:14 pm

Whose tables did you vandalize for parts ?

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 4:22 pm

Ironically enough, I believe the darker side panels used to be my dad's computer desk

The top and front are brand new tho.

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 11:13 pm

Is that 120mm in the HD cage in the right place, or should it be on top?