Custom HTPC

roman83 · May 4, 2013

I am planning on building a custom Aluminum case utilizing a front exhausting water cooled fan/rad assembly. The reason for this is so I can keep the HTPC in my media cabinet without worrying about the heat being trapped in the cabinet(Got the idea from an Epson projector). Wanted to hear your opinions on this idea. I have some preliminary drawings but nothing set in stone. I was planning on using an H100I for the cpu cooler and possibly an A10 processor /crossfire setup. Let me know what you think I could do to make this case idea better as concerns Parts/design. I want to keep it around the same footprint as an average A/V receiver. Any constructive criticism would be appreciated.

IVIeLt · May 4, 2013

What do you mean A10/xfire setup?

If you mean xfire the A10 GPU with a 6670 in hybrid mode then don't bother because in most cases it actually performs worse then either of the gpu's on their own.

If you mean use the A10 as well as 2 discrete cards in xfire then don't bother because you're far better off with a stronger cpu from either AMD's FX line or an intel chip.

roman83 · May 4, 2013

Thanks. I'll take that into consideration. Was trying to keep the initial component cost down cause the cost of aluminum alone is going to be in the $3 - 500 range but maybe I'll just go all out on a cpu/motherboard/gpu setup. Only thing i have to be careful about is the airflow.

IVIeLt · May 4, 2013

AMD FX 4350 coming out soon, it's a better CPU than the A10 5800k and costs less too. Then you can put in a 7790/650ti boost. Would cost similar to an A10 hybrid crossfire setup and perform alot better too

roman83 · May 4, 2013

AMD FX 4350 coming out soon, it's a better CPU than the A10 5800k and costs less too. Then you can put in a 7790/650ti boost. Would cost similar to an A10 hybrid crossfire setup and perform alot better too

That might work. Should be able to overclock an fx-4350 quite easily too with the H100I.

roman83 · May 8, 2013

Here is a rough sketch of the design i have in mind. The top piece will be plexi/aluminum. Still trying to work out the airflow problem though. Only way it can come in is from the top/sides. Anymore input would be welcome guys/girls.