Scratch Build – In Progress Tiny HTPC (semi) passive, Full HD, 1080p bluray(really finished+lil report 28/6)

That looks stock, great execution!

 

If this wasn't a family oriented site I could tell you
what that case just did to me.
Absolutely gorgeous!

 

I love this case... It seems to be just bought from your local store but it's home made. Congratulations!

 

That's some awesome work!
I think the best way to describe it is 'sexual chocolate'.

I only skimmed the thread and looked at the pics so I apologise if this has been discussed.
How is the cooling from the heatpipes and stuff?
Does it play HD movies smoothly etc?
Is there a remote?

 

class!

The _only_ thing i could comment on is the fact that the VFD and the DVD tray aren't aligned. I'm a fool for geometric correctness, and this build is otherwise so precise, that it jumped to my eye. The fact that the rest is perfect enough for me to notice is a compliment in itself i guess

 

Very cool man, great work there! It looks flawless from the outside. I really like the clean, classy look too, this case gets two thumbs up from me!

 

wow, that looks really nice. great execution.

any chance of a detailed guide / more pictures on how you made that heatsink?

 

Thank you all for your very nice comments on this worklog. I haven't reckoned that there'd be so much attention. Thanks again.

There arose some questions I try to answer.

I fiddled around abit with a software that came with the board. It's Gigabytes "EasyTune5" which should allow a fine adjustment of the cooler. Until now I was'nt able to set the right values that it works as intended.
At present it runs continuously. It's not a disturbing noise. Would say...noiseless.
But that was not my intention. I'll try some other adjustments to get it to work....

The cooling works. I felt the fins heaten up during workload as I've playbacked a blu ray( "AC/DC live at donington", the first Br I ever bought). No stuttering or any other negative side effects happend.
The temp monitor shows continuously 55°C for the cpu at 41% max load... But as always you can never trust this software meter.Neither TAT, Everest home nor other. As long as it works...never mind.

Yes, there is a remote came with the vfd. It's a MPLAY blast 202 from http://www.vlsys.co.kr/English/retail_blast.php. It works out of the box with M$ mediacenter.So it shall work with mediaportal as well. We'll see.

hmm, sry..no. There aren't more pictures. But I can describe how I fabricated this heatsink.
First thing ist to find a block ofy alloy or copper where you can take in the heatpipes.
Make a layout/plan and screw the block onto the motherboard.

Use instead of the heatpipes some fitting cables as a dummy to find out the needed length of the pipes and order accordingly.
Measure the distance between the heatpipes holes on the cpu block and drill the holes accordingly in the fins. I used a 6.0 mm drill. Try different drills on a dummy beforehand to make sure they will fit.

Cool down the heatpipe with some cooling spray that the will shrink abit and accordingly heaten the fins that they will widen abit and take the heatpipes in.

For the bending of the heatpipes I used a bending spring ( see page 3, noxx asked).

Then you can mount it in the block and adjust depending on your wished rig.

Next time I will fabricate the block also by myself. I'll use two copper plates and put a 0.3mm alloy sheet in between. That makes shure that the pipes will fit nicely and theres no fiddling around with cooling spray and heating up the copper.

That's it so far.

Thanks again for the nice words. On Wekend I'll come up with a small update and report on the Mediaportal software installation.

 

Very nice! Only one thing I see as a potential problem. Dust :S Are the sides open? Could fill up with lots of dust witch isnt helping cooling

 

thanks for the explanation

 

thank you...

yes, this has been dicussed before. but i'll blow some compressed air inside from time to time. since the sides are open it'll come out easyly.

 

I can only add to the list of positive feedback - Congratulations on a superb piece of craftmanship. Clean, subtle and classy!

May I ask where you found that VL systems display?

 

fantastic!

 

Ok ty for answearing I do the same with my system : Gratz on an imba system!

 

no words are necessary, just:

 

tiny?
mine can be called tiny
http://picasaweb.google.com/tommarnk/GigabyteGAMA78GMS2H/

Specs:
Athlon 64 X2 5000 Black Edition (cool"n"quiet Enabled) 30c
Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H
OCZ Gold XTC 2GB Dual Channel
Samsung T166 500GB
Hiper Media Series Black with 200W PSU
D-Link DWA-140 Wireless 802.11n USB Stick

 

hey tommy why don't you build your own custom case and create your own thread.

 

Turned out awesome! Truely a great case with a classy minimalistic look, well done mate.

@ wiak - Don't insult the modder with a thread highjack, especially after a brialiant project log. As Tec said, if your eager to show others your mod than by all means please start a thread.

 

i didnt mean to insult
his mod is a good one
the custom cooling cpu alot better

 

Beautiful!!! total quality!!!