1U Server / TV Mount

awol · 2008-08-04, 05:57

My media PC client / LCD TV mount

A while back, I purchased a 32" LCD for my master bedroom. I was planning on connecting a PC to is as a client of my main media PC, but didn't want a big ugly box stuffed somewhere. Also, I needed to mount it to the wall and found that "flush" LCD TV mounts are about an inch thick. Hmmm.... a "1U" rack-mount chassis is only 1.75" thick....

So, I decided to repurpose a spare 1U server chassis and turn it into a TV mount AND the client for the bedroom!

The chassis originally was designed for a (small) full-size ATX motherboard mounted sideways, and had pass-thru connections for two ethernet cables. (Was originally designed as a router/firewall box.)

I ground off the original motherboard standoffs, cut out the rear of the case, and epoxied in new standoffs to fit a standard MicroATX board. It was not as simple a task as the one sentence above makes it sound! Quite a bit of planning, measuring, cutting, modifying the hard drive mount, removing cooling fans, making room for right angle PCI adapter & hard drive, etc.

The 1U 300W supply originally had two super-loud 40mm fans. I rewired them in series, cutting down the noise, but eventually replaced them with two much quiter units. I also reversed their flow, to send the heat UP and out.

The motherboard is a "Notebook-on-Desktop" board I got as a sample a few years ago. A desktop form factor, but using a low-power notebook CPU. (Released before Core2Duo was available on the desktop). Intel integrated graphics, two gigabit, four SATA, and a couple of PCI slots. Im using a notebook Core2Duo chip from a scrapped notebook - a T7200, IIRC.

The chassis is mounted directly to the back of the TV. It took quite a bit of careful positioning to figure out where the mounting screws could be safely located under the motherboard, without touching any protruding components. Much trial and error found a suitable location that centered the chassis right/left, kept it obscured top/bottom, and didnt short out the motherboard in the process! I also installed an aluminum brace along two of the TV mounting screws to minimize twisting forces - the chassis wasnt designed to be load bearing in that orientation.

The top of the 1U chassis has a "tab" that slipped under a "lip" on the top/front of the case. This provided a perfect mechanism to hang the TV+PC on the wall. The thick metal and welded contruction of the chassis provide plenty of strength to hold up the completed unit.

These pics were taken when I was using XP:MCE2005. I've since converted to Vista Media Center, and am in the process of converting to MediaPortal (on XP) as we speak.

AWOL

funkstar · 2008-08-06, 10:28

That is pretty cool

Ingenious use of the rack case.

ThaClown · 2008-08-06, 12:12

Sweet! I really think you could take this concept and develop a great product...

DaFixer · 2008-08-08, 00:35

Very nice

And it looks very good!

allanp81 · 2008-08-16, 21:21

You wanna be careful the heat doesn't kill your TV though.I used to put a light behind my TV to give it a nice effect and twice it killed the main board in the TV.

awol · 2008-09-09, 02:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by allanp81

You wanna be careful the heat doesn't kill your TV though.

Laptop CPU + efficient power supply + one 3.5" hard drive = not that much heat.

Been running pretty much 24/7 for about a year now. Other than the occassional Windows glitch, it's been A-OK. TV's had zero problems.

Awol

2008-08-04, 05:57	#1 (permalink)
awol Portal User Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 4 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Country:	1U Server / TV Mount My media PC client / LCD TV mount A while back, I purchased a 32" LCD for my master bedroom. I was planning on connecting a PC to is as a client of my main media PC, but didn't want a big ugly box stuffed somewhere. Also, I needed to mount it to the wall and found that "flush" LCD TV mounts are about an inch thick. Hmmm.... a "1U" rack-mount chassis is only 1.75" thick.... So, I decided to repurpose a spare 1U server chassis and turn it into a TV mount AND the client for the bedroom! The chassis originally was designed for a (small) full-size ATX motherboard mounted sideways, and had pass-thru connections for two ethernet cables. (Was originally designed as a router/firewall box.) I ground off the original motherboard standoffs, cut out the rear of the case, and epoxied in new standoffs to fit a standard MicroATX board. It was not as simple a task as the one sentence above makes it sound! Quite a bit of planning, measuring, cutting, modifying the hard drive mount, removing cooling fans, making room for right angle PCI adapter & hard drive, etc. The 1U 300W supply originally had two super-loud 40mm fans. I rewired them in series, cutting down the noise, but eventually replaced them with two much quiter units. I also reversed their flow, to send the heat UP and out. The motherboard is a "Notebook-on-Desktop" board I got as a sample a few years ago. A desktop form factor, but using a low-power notebook CPU. (Released before Core2Duo was available on the desktop). Intel integrated graphics, two gigabit, four SATA, and a couple of PCI slots. Im using a notebook Core2Duo chip from a scrapped notebook - a T7200, IIRC. The chassis is mounted directly to the back of the TV. It took quite a bit of careful positioning to figure out where the mounting screws could be safely located under the motherboard, without touching any protruding components. Much trial and error found a suitable location that centered the chassis right/left, kept it obscured top/bottom, and didnt short out the motherboard in the process! I also installed an aluminum brace along two of the TV mounting screws to minimize twisting forces - the chassis wasnt designed to be load bearing in that orientation. The top of the 1U chassis has a "tab" that slipped under a "lip" on the top/front of the case. This provided a perfect mechanism to hang the TV+PC on the wall. The thick metal and welded contruction of the chassis provide plenty of strength to hold up the completed unit. These pics were taken when I was using XP:MCE2005. I've since converted to Vista Media Center, and am in the process of converting to MediaPortal (on XP) as we speak. AWOL Attached Thumbnails Last edited by awol; 2008-08-04 at 06:00.

2008-08-06, 12:12	#3 (permalink)
ThaClown MP Donator Join Date: May 2006 Location: Amersfoort Age: 27 Posts: 721 Thanks: 147 Thanked 14 Times in 12 Posts Country: My System	Sweet! I really think you could take this concept and develop a great product... __________________ Work PC: Lian Li V2100 B Plus II Black, Asus P5E , Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600, Arctic Freezer 7 Pro, 250 GB, 3x 500 GB, Tagan TG480 480W, GeForce 8600GTS Silent, 4096 MB DDR2, Vista Ulitmate x64. Server PC: Some black Midi case, MSI K9AGM2, Athlon XP 3200+, AC CPU Freezer 64 lp, CM Silent Case Fan, 512MB DDR2, HighPoint RocketRAID 2320, 4x Samsung HDD 1TB 32MB SATAII in RAID5, FireDTV-C, Windows XP pro. My second build... My HTPC and Server...

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2008-08-06, 10:28	#2 (permalink)
funkstar Portal Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Home Posts: 393 Thanks: 7 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts Country:	That is pretty cool Ingenious use of the rack case.

2008-08-08, 00:35	#4 (permalink)
DaFixer Portal Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Age: 25 Posts: 72 Thanks: 5 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Country:	Very nice And it looks very good!

2008-08-16, 21:21	#5 (permalink)
allanp81 Portal Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 494 Thanks: 2 Thanked 8 Times in 8 Posts	You wanna be careful the heat doesn't kill your TV though.I used to put a light behind my TV to give it a nice effect and twice it killed the main board in the TV.