I came across this site while checking out slashdot.org
They’ve got beautiful cases for pc’s, better than the old Dell Beige. I’m a software developer by day, so I might take a stab at making one of these. Hope I don’t get into trouble by “crossing the streams”, mixing my work with my hobby.
Anyone do anything similar?
-Mark
Replies
I'd be curious about heat. The conventional metal tower case moves a lot of heat through the walls. Covering it with a good insulator (wood) might raise the temperature of the CPU.
Actually, this is a bit of a myth. Heat transfer occurs either by radiation, conduction, or convection. Assuming that the PC has a fan in it (which the vast majority do), convection (circulating air) will be the dominant force in heat dissipation. The case material comes into play mainly throgh conduction (direct transfer of heat). This is a relatively minor form of heat dissipation in a PC. Otherwise, aluminum PC cases would be significantly cooler than their steel counterparts, when, in fact, they are about the same.An easy way of illustrating this is to put your hand near the fan of a PC and then anywhere on the case. The exhausted hot air from the fan is going to be much warmer than any spot on the case.
There are a number of computer cases that have no fans. They cool by just conduction.---On the other hand I suspect a big problem with wood cases is the drying effect of moving hot air.
I wasn't saying that you absolutely need a fan to cool a computer. I'm saying that if you have a fan, and assuming that there is adequate airflow, then convection plays such a big role in cooling the computer that the choice of case material becomes irrelevant.
I imagine you are correct about the drying. I would probably use veneer on plywood in a similar application, instead of solid wood. But then, I couldn't charge his prices, either.
The high-end CPU's and GPU's he uses cannot get by with passive cooling. That's why he uses water cooling on his systems.
Many conventional cases have sound insulation, such as the Antec P180. These cases have to be designed with good air circulation in mind. The P180 has 3 large fans.
Regards,
Dan
Would certain types of joints be preferrable for standing up to the drying effect?
(please don't say mortise and tenon, please don't say mortise and tenon, please don't say.....)Good to see i'm not the only techie that doesn't mind a little sawdust. As for me, i keep looking for that RJ45 port on my tablesaw.-Mark
I suppose you could use hand-cut dovetails... Just kidding. Neither dovetails nor M&T joints are optimal for plywood. Veneer would hide most of the joinerery anyway.
I really like the looks of the curvy models more than his relatively conventional square cases. I would build these curvy ones up by stacking several layers of ply cut out on a bandsaw. Then run veneer horizontally. Alternatively, you could build them like bandsaw boxes. Laminating would be a lot of work, but very nice-looking.
The top is more problematic: To get a rounded edge you either need solid wood (back to square one), or some kind of edging or molding.
The squarer (?) cases should be fine with solid wood, because cross-grain joinery is neatly eliminated by the acrylic sides. Veneered ply is most appropriate for wooden sides.
I know what you mean - my tablesaw still uses dial-up. ;-)
Dan
Wooden computer cases aren't new. I remember Macintosh cases and keyboards made from exotics back in 80s.This guys work is spectacular.DJK
C'mon! Get with the program! Your tablesaw should have Bluetooth! It's too easy to trip on ethernet cabling. Would that be cool or what? To be able to set the cuts on a computer, feed the wood into one end and get it from the other end, cut to size. I know they have computer controlled machines in some production shops but to be able to have them at home, wow!
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
"high-end CPU's and GPU's he uses"I believe better wording is "high power consumption CPU's and GPU's he uses."The "high-end" computer systems we use - 4 monitors, large hard drives, ..., have modest power requirements - under 100watts (not nicluding monitors). A single 120mm fan is sufficient to remove that much heat.---
What sort of computers are you running that have a 100w power supply?
Since the house is on fire let us warm ourselves. ~Italian Proverb
It is the power consumption not the power supply rating that generate heat.Plug any computer into a watt meter (even a UPS that reports watts will work) and the consumption is very low relative to the power supply rating.CajunDan ---I was not my intention to argue with you.I happen to have a P-180 case on our server. The server sits in a room without air conditioning. We use 1 of the case fans - on low. The system stays cool.Looking at performance of my system I notice that the CPU, AMD 2800+ (passive cooling), runs about at about 10% utilization when the system, hard drives and network, are near 100%. The ATI 7000 video cards have no problems keeping up and they use little power. (These numbers are valid if the system is used as a server, a workstation, or to record and playback TV.)Certainly, one can configure a computer to produce lots of heat. It is more effective to get the heat out with source of heat fans. The 3 fans you mention are there to remove the heat at the source.I am not sure that a system that produces heat is necessary.
Edited 10/3/2006 5:52 pm by GHR
Average thermal dissipation of your cpu is in excess of 45 watts, max is in excess of 60 watts according to AMD's technical specs. I would be interested to see your cpu temp and ambient case temp.
Since the house is on fire let us warm ourselves. ~Italian Proverb
You guys are mixing rocks and marshmallows! There is a huge difference in talking about total wattage consumed by the computer and individual heating elements (like the processor). A typical PC on 115VAC without the monitor uses around 200W of power. Depending on the type and size of monitor, it could easily dominate the equation. Laptops use anywhere from 30-60W (unless you can afford one of those gaming laptops! Then all bets are off.)
I am a silent PC kind of guy and my main machine is a P180 loaded to the gills. This unit is particularly interesting from a wood case perspective because it has relatively few openings. Building a wooden case that mimics it would not be that hard. Personally, I would wrap an existing case. Then all of the mounting issues go away. The nicest wood cases that I have seen veneer exotics or burl to an existing case. Then they trim it out with thin trim in contrasting materials. Have you seen the wooden mice?! There is one company that will make a mouse for you out of almost any wood.
Bill in CA
Another advantage to wrapping is you don't lose the rf shielding. And before someone says it I know you can do a Faraday cage but what a PIA.
I mentioned the thermal output of his processor because he mentioned it was passively cooled and he was running only one case fan.
What do you consider loaded to the gills?
Since the house is on fire let us warm ourselves. ~Italian Proverb
Absolutely true on the RF point. Computers generate a huge amount of radio noise if left open :-(
CAUTION:Buzzword blizzard ahead!
I have a 3.2Ghz Intel box, 3G Mem, 2x 72G 10K rpm SATA Disk Raid 0, 1x 300G 7.2K rpm PATA disk. 2x DSDVD burner, Nvida 8500GT video+ Nvidia 6100, three displays in panorama mode 1280x1024,1900x1200,1280x1024, Creative Audigy 2ZS, Logitech Z5500. Miscellaneous junk attached via usb and networking... The whole thing has been "silenced" through use of Zalman coolers and a Silenx PS. I am not a gamer, but I do push it hard with Photoshop.
Bill in CA
Well if not fully loaded it's certainly populated. What is your cpu temp with the Zalman cooler?
My system has 40 fans give or take a couple, (quick tally). I have tinitus and the sound of the fans bothers me less than silence, when it's quiet all I hear is the ringing in my ears.
Since the house is on fire let us warm ourselves. ~Italian Proverb
Well it is about 37/98 right now. The case is open. It runs about 2 degrees C cooler closed up. I don't have my video card temp monitor running, but it is pretty cool too. My case fans are setup as 1 input, 1 ouput + PS, positive case pressure generated by the input fan running a little faster (~50rpm). Fans are running at 1200 rpm (really quiet). Bout the only thing that makes any noise are the 10K drives, but I just can't give up the performance :-)
As to CNC woodworking, I have been toying with that for a few years. I haven't gotten the DW to agree to the expense tho. (Shopbot or BYO). I DO like the new digitally controlled drillpresses from Delta. Sweeet!.
I tend be be a bleeding edge adopter. I will probably upgrade my MacBook to a MacPro when they bring out the dual QuadCore systems this next year. (You can never be too rich, have too many clamps, or too much computing power!)
Bill in N. CA
Thats an impressively low temp. I wish mine was that low. I also wish I'd bought a ShopBot when they were $4500!
Since the house is on fire let us warm ourselves. ~Italian Proverb
dgreen ---My CPU temp is in the 30's at peak use. (I don't remember the brand of CPU cooler I have. The cooler is an L-shaped object. A copper heat sink on the CPU, 4 heat pipes, and a radiator that sits just below the top case fan.) CaptainChoas ---I agree with what you have to say.Using a watt meter, Kill-a-Watt, on my server allows me to say that the computer - CPU, hard drives, video cards, uses under 100 watts. The hard drives and monitor shut down after 5 minutes of none use.Cyberpower has control panel software that shows the power output of their UPSs.You are correct about monitors using a lot of power. We use 19" LCD monitors. I think that one of our lesser workstations with 4 monitors uses 219 watts with all 4 monitors running. (I am too lazy to go up and look at the Cyberpower conrol panel.) But the monitors which produce the majority of the heat do not heat up the case.---In any case heat production and removal needs to be considered when building a wood computer case.
GHR,
I check all my stuff with a similar device; the Watts-Up meter. I have so much electronic gear and power tools, I have to keep an eye on the meter. Pacific Gas and Electric Co. loves me. I think I must help fund their Executive Suite. LOL <back on topic> This discussion has me thinking about how a nice slipcase made from tiger maple might look... The P180 case has a cool front door that would accept a panel quite nicely as well.
Bill in N. CA
You misunderstand. The reason the P180 case has three 12cm fans is that it has a separate fan for the hard drives, video card, and main case. It is built for occassional overclocking. The serious overclockers all use water cooling. That may change soon.
The AMD X2 dual processors he puts in his computers are comparable with AMD Opterons, such as my workstation (and yours probably) has. And the video cards he uses are among the most powerful currently available for non-commercial use. Yes, they are very high wattage. I stand by my statement that he makes high-end PC's.
Recently, Intel has released Conroe, a low wattage CPU which outclasses even the AMD FX-62. But even the Conroe Dual 2 Extreme 6800 needs a fan and heatsink (or water cooling). AMD has started making low-wattage versions of their X2 processors. Low wattage CPU's with multiple cores seems to be the trend today.
Regards,
Dan
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled