Ongoing My HTPC without enclosure in a cabinet. (1 Viewer)

[Peter2]

Hi Luca, thank you for input!

Let me clarify my thinking: if I close the front, I guess I will have to do something to create more airflow anyway.
Good idea to try this with some paperboard!

The reason for closing the front:

1. isolate sound so that the system is not audible
2. keep dust away
3. aesthetics

About your concern to be able to access the system: I'm thinking about some kind of male + femaile plugs that I attach at the back of the front panel to fix the panel just by inserting it. To remove it, I can put some kind of handles/knobs/...

Why I'm thinking about to decrease the height: the 5 cm - or even more by using a riser card - that I take from the volume will not have a substantial effect whether with or without fan.
My reasoning is that with less volume, the forced airflow has more effect, no?

 

[Jay_UK]

Hi there,

I would suggest some holes in the top of the unit, at the back of the top (either behind the TV base, or under it). Top holes will allow heat to escape via natural convection.

I am running 3 fully passive systems now (not even a fan in the PSU), on one system the HDDs are the hottest thing.

J.

 

[Luca Brasi]

My reasoning is that with less volume, the forced airflow has more effect, no?

This is where it gets tricky. It is true for a thermal ideal case like the Mac Pro. If it's true for your system depends on how the airflow will work in your specific setting. Worst case is that you produce an airflow which takes care of some components and some are left behind in hotspots of hot air.
I'd advice again to test. You could put a box into the compartment which reduces the height and close the front. Do some testing. Having a second look at your system specs I guess you will be fine with the additional fan and the holes Jay_UK suggested.

 

[Peter2]

Thanks Jay for stepping in and your suggestion!

So it's possible that I create some kind of corridor by just 1 intake hole and 1 exhaust with fan and that in the rest of my compartment, the hot air is accumulated?
With my previous desktop pc, I had closed the openings in the side panel in front of the CPU cooler and also closed other gaps except for an intake at the front bottom and I had 1 120mm fan at the back top, just under the PSU which also had a 120mm fan.
This worked very well but of course, being a tower it is almost perfect for such a configuration.

I guess it's just a matter of testing and since the back-panel will be replaced, I might create a small rectangular opening which spreads over the whole width to simulate some kind of venturi effect.

Thanks a lot guys for your input!