Planning mounting a PSU outside of a case?

Hey guys im still in the planning stages of my HTPC and ive hit a snag.....no matter how i try i cant fit a psu in the toy im modding for my case.... Right now im entertaining the idea of externally mounting the PSU somewhere out of sight and just extending the cable to plug into the back of the PC. What im wondering is if this would be considered a good idea. Im kinda worried about it being seen as a half assed way of modding the pc? any idea?

 

what kind of hardware do you plan on running? If it's not going to require a ton of power, (which most HTPCs don't need to) then you could go with a Pico-PSU, where it has an external adapter similar to a laptop:
http://www.mini-box.com/picoPSU-150-XT-102-power-kit
That's just an example of it, there are many different sizes (Wattage) available.

 

Maybe you can make the psu look like a stand for the toy you're using. Even the statue of liberty is standing on this square pedestal and it looks perfect

 

ive been thinking about doing that but i dont know if i have the room with a cd drive and fan ducts.

 

@isho

some sketchups would be nice to see - just much easy to gave advices You can fit PSU without housing and fan - PCB is a bit smaller than casing, cooling by exhausted air from system i.e.
if smth needs 2-3 hammer strokes to fit - it fits perfectly

 

There's no electrical reason why the PSU needs to be mounted internally. In fact thermally, it should be better.

Are you considering mounting is or are you considering modding the PSU into a "power brick" like lap tops use?

I've seen mods that integrate the fan on the PSU with the radiator of a water cooling loop. Basically put in a better rated fan and allow it to be controlled from elsewhere (ie not wired into the fan-controller built into the PSU) and then mount the rad against it. Same principle could be used for an air cooled CPU but your options where to mount get somewhat constrained.

Tatty

 

sadly sketup is nearly impossiable but i can link at site that has detail photos of what im using for a case.

http://www.collectiondx.com/toy_review/deluxe_pyramidas_carrier_zord

 

and its the robot mode im modding and im putting this board in it http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16813131789

 

@isho
well... call me annoying or smth but how big this toy??? what the dimensions of it? did You plan to keep it "action" - legs/hands turning etc.

 

i cant find my tape measure but i would say its about a foot wide and just shy of 2ft tall and only the arms move which i plan on keeping them that way

 

how much power do you need?
take a look at the Pico PSUs
and the xbox 360 psu if its enough for your project