Building an HTPC or hack up a pc?

[Outlaw]

Just having another idea here that I don't have the funds to build.

Was looking into building an HTPC for my bro and started thinking of what I wanted. lol..

I was looking at the ones with the touch screens and though how small the cases were with that in there and then saw the price. They are crazy!

I was looking at an 8" LCD Touchscreen with USB connection and VGA input. Thought that would be cool to have in the case over those 6.5" ones. Then I saw the price again and it was $370 just for the monitor. OK, at least you get a bigger screen for it. But what about a Car Deck instead? 6-7" screen, multiple inputs.. under 300 for some and would take up about the same or less room in the pc. Or both? lol

I was looking at tower cases to mod. If using the 8" screen, the case is going to have to be at least 8" wide and that is a snug fit (width is 7.92"), and if the tower is set on its side, it has to be at least 8.2" wide (height is 8.16"). The depth is only (with the casing 5.5") so that wouldn't be a problem.

Then I was thinking of building the case out of aluminum or sheet metal. I'm thinking sheet metal because it is probably easier to get a hold of. But I don't know what would be a good thickness to support it, and how do you make perfect 90 degree bends without the proper tools?

Here's a picture of what I was thinking of the front.

or the 120 can be side mounted and have another one on the other side. All the fans would run at low speeds to make the least amount of noise. I would like to be able to upgrade to better hardware in the future and the way the graphics cards are, depth would have to be considered. At this time I would probably put my current setup in the case (in my sig).

Any thoughts on this or what to do for a case?

Thanks,
Outlaw

[rithunder916]

a cm stacker might be wide enough, could use that as a base, i'll check when i get home. otherwise i suggest building one by scratch. the car pc screens there are awesome! I used to have a mini-itx system in my car with a 6.5" touch screen and it was great for playing music and what not. you might be able to find one on ebay for cheaper. As for the Blue ray, I would try to stay away from it right now, since those drives are rather expensive (280 where i live) unless that is a must. you could also go with a cube case like the nxt rouge or microfly, those have a rather large front area, and could be modified to fit more stuff. as for the fans, Id say use either the 120's or a 92mm. to again give you more space.

[Outlaw]

I'll have to check on those cases. All the cases I had found that were big enough were also really expensive (200+). I would try to stay with 120MM fans. With the size of the case, I don't think it would be a problem but would have to make sure once the build was on. I found a SATA Lite-On Blu-Ray player and DVD-RW for 90 bucks on newegg.
Link- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106270

Thanks for the quick reply! Do you or anyone else know any way for bending sheet metal/aluminum at 90 degree angles? I would be doing this in a garage or basement with limited tools.

[rithunder916]

I do it by using a vice and a rubber mallet, depeding on how thick the metal is.

[Outlaw]

I have one of those tools and its not the vice. What about using a wooden box that is the same size and then taking the mallet to form around that? Not sure how that would work though. Right now, I'm not sure how thick it is. Thick enough to support the pc and itself with 4 legs under it, but not too thick that I can't bend it. I'm sure that helps. haha

Thanks again.
Outlaw

[rithunder916]

well the issue with the wood is that it bends. you could use a piece of angle iron and use that.


Mike

[Outlaw]

Do you or anybody else know a good thickness of metal to use? I saw the rogue mod and it was talking about 1 and 2mm thick. Any good?

[rithunder916]

for aluminum, thats all i would use.


MIke

[Outlaw]

Cool. Thanks!

[rithunder916]

No problem! Glad to help