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Dragonblood
05-27-2010, 06:48 PM
For those that have kids, you may understand where I'm coming from. I've got two small kids that love to get into our entertainment center. as a result, I have to fix the electronics on a daily basis. Per agreement with the wife, I get to build a new one. As an added bonus, I'm installing my desktop pc into the center as an HTPC.

Here's what's in the plans. I don't have the system drawn in. I'm working on the fly for that part.

From the front
http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/5869/centerk.jpg

And the back
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/7439/centerback.jpg

The system is going to be directly behind the 32" LCD TV. Each side is going to house the other electronics; cable box, XBox 360, Wii, surround sound system, and other components.

If I should not have posted this here, I apologize. I thought some may like to see this.

Kayin
05-27-2010, 07:04 PM
You're fine, per staff.

Please, go on. This pleases me.

StormRider
05-27-2010, 07:17 PM
i is intrigued. and can't wait till the fun begins

d_stilgar
05-28-2010, 12:15 AM
I like this and want you to do more.

Dragonblood
05-28-2010, 11:29 PM
Unfortunately, I already started this project just before this log. At the moment, I have the central section put together. All parts are being made of 3/4'' thick particle board. This is to ensure it's sturdy enough to handle the weight of everything. All that's left for this part is adding wood putty over the screws, patching a few mistakes, sanding and painting.

Here's the sleeve for the PSU.
http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/5193/psusleeve.jpg

The central section
http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/6936/centersection.jpg

The central section with the doors open
http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/9150/centerdoorsopen.jpg

I have the computer components mapped out inside as well. I didn't take any pictures of that as I needed to take them out so they wouldn't be damaged. For cooling, I'm going with air and using four 120mm fans. Two on top and two on the bottom.

The next step is to cut out the two wings and prep them. I'm gonna wait on the sanding, patch and paint until all parts are done. One thing I'm going to do is make the inner shelves adjustable. This will allow for more options.

Oh, I almost forgot, the color we're painting this is espresso. The wife picked it out. I think it goes well for our living room. We'll see. Well, time for bed. I'll post again soon.

Dragonblood
05-31-2010, 01:02 AM
Here's another update. I got the lumber cut for both side shelves and started building the right side. Cutting everything took most of the day so here's what I have.

Here's the lumber
http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/5371/shelfparts2.jpg

The right frame put together
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/9586/rightshelfframe.jpg

I even got the adjustment holes drilled in.
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/6940/pegholes.jpg

Well, enough for today. I'm exhausted. Updates coming as progress is made.

I almost forgot. Due to a lack of sheets wide enough for the back, I had to split it. I think it'll look better this way.

Dragonblood
06-03-2010, 11:18 PM
And now, my next installment. I've completed constructing the shelves and lined it up on the workspace. I've got a lot of sanding and filling to do before it can be painted.

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/3226/centerfromright.jpg

http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/3312/centerfromleft.jpg

StormRider
06-04-2010, 12:54 AM
shapes. I see some really sweet shapes

jiggiwiddit
06-04-2010, 05:22 AM
Looking good :up:

Diamon
06-04-2010, 06:50 AM
Seems solid enough to me :)

Waynio
06-05-2010, 06:03 PM
Looking good, subbed :):up:.

Dragonblood
06-11-2010, 09:50 PM
Thanks all. I appreciate it. Well, I've started with the sanding and filling. I went ahead and put the system components into the center for testing and further ideas I've had. Well, onto the pics.

Here's the motherboard and fan control installed.
http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/7105/motherboard.jpg

The Rom drive
http://img816.imageshack.us/img816/1525/rom.jpg

The upper ventilation.
http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/9324/upperfanvents.jpg

The power supply. If you notice the sleeve holds it snuggly in place. There's nothing underneath it.
http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/7700/powersupply2.jpg
http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/7402/powersupply.jpg

Well, it was all installed. I couldn't exactly leave it alone without seeing how it would look turned on.
http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/415/poweredup.jpg

The kids have driven my wife nuts with the old center so I get to focus heavily on this over the weekend. If I'm lucky, I'll have it ready for paint by Sunday. We'll see.

Here's what I'm replacing.
http://img815.imageshack.us/img815/8497/oldcenter.jpg

Dragonblood
06-17-2010, 09:29 PM
Ok, a short update. I've filled all the screw holes and smoothed them out. I've primed the two side shelves and the doors to the center section. Here's some pics.

Here's the shelves primed. I had issues getting the upper vents done.
http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/8232/shelfprimed.jpg

http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/2135/shelfprimed2.jpg

Here's the center section doors. Right now, they're only half primed. I still have to get the sides and backs.
http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/8117/doorsprimed.jpg

Ahhhh, Bull's Eye Primer. This stuff works great for covering blemishes and sealing.
http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/3993/seyeprimer.jpg

Dragonblood
06-25-2010, 06:07 PM
Just a quick update. I've got all parts primed and ready for paint. Everything's cleaned and the shelves and front panels have their first coats. Here's a couple pics.

http://img682.imageshack.us/img682/8656/panelsfirstcoat.jpg

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/8418/panelsupclose.jpg

The nice thing is the paint is almost dry. I should be able to put another coat on tonight.

Bopher
06-25-2010, 06:43 PM
This is looking awesome. I had some ideas for an entertainment center to keep my daughter away from the electronics and had my HTPC in it too. But that is a long way away for me. Keeping an eye on this one.

Twigsoffury
06-26-2010, 03:30 PM
Experience says

Make sure the kiddos can't either fit the fingers in there, or shove pencils or other objects in the fans.

man they love putting things in the fans (lil' bastages :P )

looking good man, excellent idea

Dragonblood
07-02-2010, 04:33 PM
Thanks everyone for your comments. Well, here is my final input of work. We've finished painting all the parts and mounted it to the wall. It looks great! The kids can't reach any of it unless they move and climb the ottoman, but that's a rarity. Here's the pics of the final results.

The center console installed. We used 10 lag bolts to secure it to the wall.
http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/8229/centerconsole.jpg

The left shelf
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/2504/leftshelf.jpg

And the right shelf
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/2894/rightshelf.jpg

Alright, everything is on the wall. Now to put the components in.
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/6943/allpartson.jpg

Good lord that's a lot of wiring!
http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/5046/andthewiringbegins.jpg

Everything installed and running. The center speaker sits over the HTPC power switch.
http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/2088/operationalii.jpg

The upper 120's and power switch. It adds a nice blue glow to the top.
http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/5503/81457244.jpg

Here's the bottom 120's. The boys can't reach them, but love to look up in it to see the blue light.
http://img816.imageshack.us/img816/5245/13153963.jpg

During installation, we only had two hardware problems. My video card (GeForce 9400GT) fried itself and the XBox 360 overheated. As a result, I had to move the 360 to the top of the shelving and now the HTPC runs off the motherboard video until I can replace the card.

This was a great project and thanks all for your support. I'm already designing mark II for a future build.

StormRider
07-02-2010, 05:05 PM
wow, that is one seriously impressive build

msmrx57
07-02-2010, 05:17 PM
Very nice end result. :up: Too bad about the GPU.

Luke122
07-02-2010, 05:29 PM
I was just thinking about how the heat from the cpu would get caught on the underside of that GPU.. :( Maybe rotate the board 90' counter clockwise..?

Awesome build though! From the initial project render, I thought it was going to be waaaaay bigger! I didnt realize it was going to be wall mounted, this is definitely a killer project! Great work. :)

Jolly-Swagman
07-09-2010, 01:23 PM
Nice job on the cabinet, well done!

Dragonblood
07-10-2010, 10:21 PM
Thanks all for your approvals. At this time, I had to make a few adjustments. I had to remove the hinges on the front panel and secure it with screws. The weight kept ripping the hinges off. I also installed Ubuntu onto the HTPC and it's running like a dream. Now comes the fun part... teaching my wife how to use it.

msmrx57
07-11-2010, 01:02 AM
Looks great. :up:

Now comes the fun part... teaching my wife how to use it.
A bit of sarcasm here???