HTPC ideas

[Griffyn]

Hi all,

I'm wanting to build my own Home Theater PC (HTPC), and would like some advice on the casing. The available area I have is kinda small and a right-angle triangle, about 500mm on the two equal sides (therefore about 700mm on the hypotenuse). There is already a normal sized DVD player in that space which really limits my choices. Basically - a slim HTPC case with a width of about 430mm won't fit.

So, the options I've been looking at are
[ul][li]some sort of cube case - I've found a few, but these are quite small, and I have concerns about heat and fan noise, as well as the limited space within for harddrives and tuner cards, etc.[/li]
[li]A small case with an external PSU brick (why aren't these really common?) - this will solve a bit of the heat and noise and space issue.[/li]
[li]Get a normal tower case and put it somewhere else (another room), and set up a tiny cube case that somehow just has a wireless (or wired) link of somesort to the main tower, but handles the IR signal, as well as some sort of bay display device to show time, channel, etc.[/li]
[/ul]

Any other options or feedback on these ideas are welcomed. Thanks.

 

[BadBigBen]

if your TV is free standing, e.g. not mounted to a wall, why not attach the HTPC to the back of the TV?

How to Attach an HTPC Behind Your TV

http://mymediaexperience.com/how-to-attach-an-htpc-behind-your-tv/

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[Griffyn]

TV is flat screen, and no space behind. I have a stairwell cupboard nearby that I can discretely run cable of about 1 meter (3 feet) to. However the cupboard is not ventilated, so again, heat may be an issue.

 

[hairlessupportmonkey]

Start here:

http://www.mini-itx.com/store/

the ITX platform has come a real long way.

you can build a decent dual core intel atom or similar for around £400-500 pounds.

http://www.mini-itx.com/store/?c=47

http://www.mini-itx.com/store/?c=65

http://www.mini-itx.com/store/?c=34

http://www.mini-itx.com/store/?c=78

http://www.mini-itx.com/store/?c=76

Just add RAM, (and CPU for non-embedded platforms) a chassis and HDD (and OS of choice)

here is a list of their cases:

http://www.mini-itx.com/store/?c=3

good luck!


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