I never know how to start writing stuff like this, , so..... This is going to be a budget case/system build. Based around ITX form factor, but with a standard ATX PSU. It's going to be mainly used as a HTPC, so quieter the better. This is my first time building a case from scratch. I've done a little bit of modding before, none of its really ever gone perfect, . My Dad is a retired engineer and an excellent bodger, so I've got plenty of support there should I encounter any problems, Got the motherboard and RAM from bdigital for £35 Already had a CPU, a E2180 which was a bit flaky in my Grandads PC, but seems to be working fine so far. CPU Cooler £2.50 from lancer. Got a 400W el'Generico ATX PSU. Got a 2.5" IDE 80GB Hard drive (bought a IDE > SATA converter from ebay for £4.88) I'll probably get a new fan for the PSU to quieten it down as it's a bit loud at the moment. The fans in the case design may or may not be fitted straight away, I haven't decided yet. As it's a budget build, I'm going for MDF as the construction material. Bought a 1.8m x 0.6m x 6mm sheet from Wickes for £8.49. So Total spent so far is £50 ish. The case will be 25cm x 25cm x 25cm. I've not decided on a colour scheme yet, that can come once I've built the case and know that it all fits and is going to work. I've done a few designs in Sketchup, tweaking things to make sure everything's going to fit, and here is the current final design The square supports (15mm square) are going to be screwed to the MDF sheets with small wood screws and probably glued as well. The lid mounting isn't finalised yet, as I may go for some square pieces in each corner, and then cut out the motherboard tray so it can be lifted out. This has just made me realise that the side and front panels are only going to be held on by the screws at the bottom. Shouldn't be a problem I suppose, as the weight of the motherboard tray and components should hopefully help to hold it together. Might have to put some vertical supports in. I've already started, so far I've got the base board cut and drilled and the square support pieces cut ready to be fixed on. I've also got another 250x250 piece cut out, but as it's not exactly the same size as the base, I'm not sure what its going to be yet. I believe this is going to be one of the problems, cutting out the sheets to the exact size, especially for the motherboard tray and lid, as if they're too big they simply won't fit, too small and it might wobble about or fall off the supports. The other problem is going to be making sure that the square support pieces are fixed as accurately as possible, otherwise there will be panel gaps. I'll get some pics up of the current progress tomorrow, and hopefully have some more progress.
Wondered where this post had gone. Sorry Nexxo. It is a project in progress, I've just not uploaded the pics yet.
Update: So, finally got around to getting the first pic up. Started cutting the first sheets. Measured the two 250x250 sheets out and started cutting. My saw skills are obviously rather lacking, as I can't seem to cut in a straight line, . Nothing a bit of filing/sanding won't fix (I hope). So I picked the best sheet out of the two I'd cut to use as the base sheet. Measured up four 15x15x230mm bars. Drilled the holes in the base sheet, and then countersunk the holes. Using some Wickes Instant grab adhesive, I stuck the 15x15 bars onto the base sheet, let this dry overnight, and then screwed them on too. I'll try and get some more intermediate pics for the next update. I get carried away and end up doing loads or forget to take my camera outside,
