[joybz]

Hi.

My current PC consists of.

thermaltake jr case.
22"monitor

specs:
i5 750
8gig ddr3
Micro Mobo, gigabyte h55 usb3
HD5830
580W Hyper PSU

I am looking to save space by building the pc into a small lay flat horizontal media like case and sliding it under the TV and using it more like a console.

What can you guys suggest I look at getting, if i need to change the GPU I am willing to spend around £100 on a new GPU and £100 on the case, the GPU would need to perform at least on par with the 5830.

I would like something like http://www.xcase.co....-8106-micro.htm

but unsure if this is suitable as it needs to be horizontal, and needs to fit all the above mentioned parts / GPU can be changed for a smaller one that will fit my needs / case.


Thanks in advance for any response.

[Advertisements]

Horizontal orientation is no big deal - after all, that "desktop" configuration is the way all computers used to be before "tower" cases came about. The problem is cooling. If this area under the TV is not well ventilated, the case may not get enough cool air to properly cool the components inside.

And to that, note that micro cases are not much better than notebook cases when it comes to providing enough cool air - they just are not big enough to support enough or large (120mm or larger) fans.

If you plan on using this computer for demanding tasks, like gaming, I recommend rethinking your strategy. If this machine will be used for surfing the Internet, email, or home theater tasks, then a media center case may be fine (if it has enough fan support and access to enough cool air/ventilation.

Also, you need to do some more homework. Note the specs on that case clearly indicates you must use a micro-ATX PSU. That Hiper, besides some not-so-good-reviews, is a standard sized ATX PSU and will NOT fit in that case.

So before we can be of further help, we need to know what this computer will be used for.

Also, is this a new PC you are building, or are you just planning on swapping cases?

[Digerati]

Horizontal orientation is no big deal - after all, that "desktop" configuration is the way all computers used to be before "tower" cases came about. The problem is cooling. If this area under the TV is not well ventilated, the case may not get enough cool air to properly cool the components inside.

And to that, note that micro cases are not much better than notebook cases when it comes to providing enough cool air - they just are not big enough to support enough or large (120mm or larger) fans.

If you plan on using this computer for demanding tasks, like gaming, I recommend rethinking your strategy. If this machine will be used for surfing the Internet, email, or home theater tasks, then a media center case may be fine (if it has enough fan support and access to enough cool air/ventilation.

Also, you need to do some more homework. Note the specs on that case clearly indicates you must use a micro-ATX PSU. That Hiper, besides some not-so-good-reviews, is a standard sized ATX PSU and will NOT fit in that case.

So before we can be of further help, we need to know what this computer will be used for.

Also, is this a new PC you are building, or are you just planning on swapping cases?

[iammykyl]

Just to give you some idea of the shapes and sizes of cases available.

https://www.google.c...iw=1280&bih=829

[joybz]

Hmm,

Maybe this needs a little more thinking.

I mainly game on my PC, but I do alot of photo editing as photography is something I enjoy.

I have realised that the PSU will need to be changed for a Micro ATX and upon looking I dont think they are really cut out for running gaming systems.

My ultimate goal was to replace my console with my pc, as this would essentially become a console that was upgradable, and would also save a huge amount of space, PC generally takes up a whole room.

This is a PC I have owned for over 2 years now and still runs great, I was just looking to change case for the reason stated above.

[Digerati]

I have realised that the PSU will need to be changed for a Micro ATX and upon looking I dont think they are really cut out for running gaming systems.

Not all µATX cases require µATX (or low-profile) PSUs. The µ or micro actually refers to the size of the motherboard.

Since you will be using this for gaming, you need lots of cooling, so I agree, you need to rethink this. Providing good cooling takes priority over looking nice.

[iammykyl]

This case may do the job OK, maybe kill the LEDs..

http://www.thermalta...?C=1466&ID=1989

[joybz]

Hi All,

I thought I would just drop an update.

I have taken the plundge and now have a HTPC gaming machine which so far has faired rather well.

here is the case: http://www.silversto...uct.php?pid=241

cooling has been fine so far, all components fit and im successfully using is as a console replacement / media centre / web browser.

thanks for all the input and advice.

[Digerati]

That looks to be a nice case. It is pretty big in all dimensions - 16 inches wide if the specs are right - so that should allow for plenty of cooling.