HTPC Project... Use for an old amp(FINISHED)

Its an abit KT7A-Raid.. The board is bust so i used it measuring n that.. and yes it has 4 ide channels..

 

I used to have several of those KT7A-Raid boards, it was a nice board but after a couple of years something seemed to go wrong with the bios and they stopped posting. Its a really old board now, i last used one about 3 years ago. I don't think they are made any more so might be hard to get hold off.
If my memory serves me right it was a real pain to get the Raid(extra IDE ports) drivers to install in XP, so you might wanna look for something else.

 

This is what i took the inards of the pc from, Chieftech dragon(??)... not a bad deal.. should be able to sell the case on n make most of what i spent on it back



Anyways, this is the mobo, gfx n nic in the amp.. Took the plates of the gfx n nic so they fit in perfectly.. The fan on the cpu was huge(depth wise) so gonna replace it...




Will have to cut out a notch there to feed the IDE cables underneath the mobo..


The psu along side the mobo, its a jammy fit... about 1-2mm to spare either side.. Gonna have to cut a hole in the rear of the case for the psu fan, will try n make it look orig as possible..

All i need to do is find something to insulate the mobo from the metal frame, something very thin as i dont have much height left to play with.. As it is i need to remove the supports on the amp case, i figure they where only there as people would most likely have had tape decks n turntables on top of the amp....

 

Im working on this project a hell of a lot quicker than my other project.. god knows why..

Anyways, made the cut out for the psu..




Had to reinforce the mobo base as id cut out the rear support... Have a load of different alu rods n that so cut out a piece, bit of hot glue n thats that



Just a few pics with the mobo n psu in place...








Still need to think od something to isolate the mobo from the frame.. anyone any suggestions??? Only have a few mm to play with

 

Hi nice log u got there i might try something like that myself

u could put a sticky sheet of plastic the stuff painters use to cover the floor to cover the bottem of the amp

 

some stick-on rubber feet meant to keeps things from sliding around. or some long screws with nylon spacers (or a couple of nuts threaded on). or better yet both.

 

The mobo is fine to touch the frame, thats why the standof holes are lined with solder, and brass standoffs are common. Also the PSU is connected to the chasis inside its case.
Unless im totally wrong, i dont think that this will be a problem.
However, if it is a problem, you could use a product called "plasti dip" which is a liquid plastic that you can paint on: http://www.plastidip.com/consumer/index.html

As for the PSU, if you move the PSU towards the front of the chasis, could you redirect the airflow out of the PSU downwards with a tube/duct to the bottom of the case?
I imagine that the case is on feet as most hifi equipment is, so that may be an option. It would prevent the back from being to messed up...

 

The case is on feet, and there's a large vent on the top of the case.. I think i'll do that, duct the fan under the case n take the case off the psu, cut out the top n replace it with mesh to aid cooling..

That plastic coat paint should do the job, just need to find somewhere that stocks it... cheers

 

I wouldn't mount it directly to the frame. You have many exposed traces and through-hole components that could easily short out against it (that's why they use standoffs to begin with). The standoff holes have a grounded annular ring around them to provide a grounded path to the PC chassis when you use the brass standoffs, but that's all you'd want touching ground. I don't know if the clear dropcloth would work as I doubt it's antistatic, which could lead to other problems. The rubber bumper feet would be your best bet, or the plasti-dip. Another idea you could try is getting some of the pink antistatic bags that electronics come in (or you could probably find some on ebay in rolls) and put that between the board and the chassis.

Man I'm glad I didn't toss out that old hi-fi equipment because this looks like a great project. Great job and everything looks like it's going to fit very nicely.

 

I've a load of antistatic bags around, sounds like the cheapest n easiest way to do it for now.. If i find some rubber feet tomorrow i'll use em instead....

 

You could cut a piece of plexi under the board, then drill right through to mount it.

 

Sorted the frame out, anti static bag, some double sided tape... cheap n cheerfull...

 

First hole cut in the rear panel, for the usb ports.. 3 more to do, 1 for the vga, 1 for lan and a hole for the sound...


Doesn't stick out to much, hopefully the others will be the same..

Mental note, always wear gloves when working with metal... the one time i forget

 

Looking good. This has got to be the best way to make a HTPC fit in with the existing stero equipment - USE the existing stereo equipment. It's good to see you are keeping the outside of the case as original as possible. It's a shame when classic stuff is cut up unneccesarily.

Keep it up

 

wrong kind of antistatic bag. those actually conduct electricity around the bag instead of through whatever is in it using those black traces you see all over them. you want the pink plastic ones. i say take your time and dont skimp on little details like that.

 

Or try and use some standoffs. Then you wont have to worry about that staticy-stuff

 

Another thing. You said you were only going to cut the back for VGA and USB. Don't you need to cut a hole for the PSU fan?

If you want the holes small, get a shuttle PSU.

Good project by the way, liking the way it's going to look....kinda makes me want to mod my old VCR, even if I only put the PII in there...

 

Some of you people need to read the thread.

Wow they were both in the same post too!

 

Actually, he said this:
"The case is on feet, and there's a large vent on the top of the case.. I think i'll do that, duct the fan under the case n take the case off the psu, cut out the top n replace it with mesh to aid cooling..."

I was going to suggest that you take the case completely off of the psu and just mount the board - but you got the idea.

I'm glad this is only an old Toshiba, so I only cried a single tear. Now if that was an old Pioneer, I would have come and found you...

 

Oh so your saying he never said that..okay then.