wooden cases

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Hman3434

24 posts

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#96666 1-Feb-2012 21:58

has anyone got any advice about making a HTPC that has a wooden case? is there an issue with cooling that needs t be address with extra fans as opposed to a case made of metal?

Cheers for any points for this total noob to home builds.

B1GGLZ

1961 posts

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#576101 1-Feb-2012 22:08

Hman3434: has anyone got any advice about making a HTPC that has a wooden case? is there an issue with cooling that needs t be address with extra fans as opposed to a case made of metal?

Cheers for any points for this total noob to home builds.

It would be very difficult mounting all the boards and hardware in a wooden case.
Also major problems with earthing, ventilation and absolutely no sheilding to stop emf radiation and interference unless painted inside with conductive paint.
IMO a wooden case would be inviting disaster.

JonnyCam

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#576110 1-Feb-2012 22:30

Just google it, plenty of home built wooden cases.
Will be a good start for ideas anyway.

One guy used silver foil tape to counter the EMF.
I'm unsure if the pc actually grounds to the case, or if it uses the ground pin on the power supply.

kiwijunglist

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#576144 2-Feb-2012 01:48

google, there are hundreads of wooden htpc case projects posted in various forums.

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

vinnieg

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#576154 2-Feb-2012 07:23

As the others above say, Google it :) Bit-tech.net has heaps of examples

It should be very easy to make, the standoffs should be easy to mount, just secure them into the wood

To be honest, you shouldn't have much issues with EMF these days. Used to be a big issue in the past, usually with CRTs.

If you are really worried though, get some silver car touch up paint from repco or supercheap. They should almost all be metal based(with small flecks). Or if you are really worried, do as above and line it with tinfoil, or Dynamat car insulation

Just remember to take lots of pics :), it sucks to finish any build and realise that you've forgotten to take half the pics

I have moved across the ditch. Now residing in Melbourne as a VOIP/Video Technical Trainer/Engineer.

vinnieg

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#576156 2-Feb-2012 07:26

Oh, and for the fans, use draft stopper

As fans vibrate and resonate on wood, louder than they do on steel cases

Have you got an old motherboard mount/spare case? Maybe screw that down to mount the motherboard, then you could ground that to the PSU(use one of the stand offs, and attach it to one of the PSU case screws)

I have moved across the ditch. Now residing in Melbourne as a VOIP/Video Technical Trainer/Engineer.

kiwitrc

4123 posts

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Inactive user

#576176 2-Feb-2012 08:46

A wooden case wooden work.

But a steel case steel wooden work :)

blur

384 posts

Ultimate Geek

#578100 7-Feb-2012 11:09

Seeing this thread reminded me of a DIY article I had read some time ago. After some googling, I finally found it. Check out this link:

http://lifehacker.com/5619746/how-to-build-a-hidden-home-theater-pc-inside-your-entertainment-center

I personally think this is an outstanding example of what can be achieved, and this is something that I would like to toy with.

My only concern would be the noise that the fans would generate, but thinking about it I'd say it would be minimal due to the excellent airflow.

My HTPC - Case Antec Fusion Remote, MOBO Intel DH67BLB3, CPU Intel Core i5-2400S 2.5 GHz, RAM 8GB DDR3 1333, HDD 120Gig Corsair Force Series 3 SSD system | WD Caviar Black 2TB data, Tuners Black Gold BGT3595 dual DVB-S/S2, dual DVB-T, Video nVIDIA GeForce GT 520, 1024MB, Sound Intel® High Definition Audio (onboard), OS Windows 7 x64

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D1023319

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#578660 8-Feb-2012 12:44

Interesting concept of exposed components in wooden surround.
A return to the past when radio compoents were mounted into existing built-in cabinets.

Anyway, the above design got me thinking that you simplify the setup and solve the noise issues by ducting the air from elsewhere to the HTPC components, e.g. a using home ventation duct to place fan under house or away from HTPC components in insulated box.

afterall built in applicances like fridges have airspaces built into back of cabinets.

Azzura

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#578669 8-Feb-2012 12:56

Wouldn't the system be grounded via the power supply ..anyway?