DIY HTPC Case - Lego?

E

elleana

2[H]4U
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Apr 15, 2006
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I'm looking to build a HTPC soon and I've looked long, and hard, at available HTPC cases but all of the ones I'm leaning towards have something or other wrong with them - too long, mATX when I'd really like to try for ATX (have a spare P35 ATX board lying around I'd like to use), low profile requiring riser cards, dinky DVD interfaces, non-standard PSU, etc etc.

Ideally, I'd custom make a case like I've seen in this subforum, but I lack the technical skills and equipment to work with aluminum, plastic, wood, whatever. I don't even have a dremel, so... yeah. Custom is more or less out of the question.

I remember a while back lego cases were all the rage. Anyone have experience building a case out of lego? I have oodles of lego lying around from when I was a kid, and I figure I have enough to build a decent sized case but I was just wondering if there were any constraints when it came to cooling. No idea what the thermal properties of lego are like. I figure I could make most of the rest work out some way or other, but I'm just worried about cooling. Planning a P35/E8400/8800GT(4850) build with a HDDVD/Bluray combo drive.

If lego won't work, what else would you guys suggest?
 
Lego's are great insulators - they're plastic and hollow, so they won't conduct heat at all.
You'll have to put some case fans in your design, but if you do that right, I don't think you'll have any cooling problems. Just engineer the airflow well.
 
buy a mobo tray and glue legos to it. Then build a case to your liking that attaches to the mobo tray in some way. Very easy. For HDD and DVD drives, just glue cages to a lego skeleton and then attach to the outer case.
 
Yeah, I'm getting pretty excited thinking about it. I'm thinking of a lego technic based case modelled on the Antec Skeleton. Screw the dust.

Anyone know where I can get a nice-looking motherboard tray and power/reset switches?
 
Power5 said:
buy a mobo tray and glue legos to it. Then build a case to your liking that attaches to the mobo tray in some way. Very easy. For HDD and DVD drives, just glue cages to a lego skeleton and then attach to the outer case.
Click to expand...

I think gluing the lego to the motherboard/HDD cage and then mounting stuff on would be much preferable - what sort of glue should I be looking at? Something that doesn't melt plastic but is strong enough to hold a contact between the lego and the cage/tray.
 
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