Feature: Build a living-room PC

Here’s a real challenge: build a PC stylish enough for your living room that effortlessly records videos, plays music and yet doesn’t run into difficulties when running the latest 3D games.

It should all look as classy as possible, have the ability to be operated with a remote control and match your hifi components.

It doesn’t, at first, sound possible – at least it’s not a project you’d think could be done cheaply. However, it can be done and we’ll show you how, by building a home-made unit which anyone can copy in a couple of days with a bit of effort and some simple tools.

We’ll be making use of off-the-shelf components and some of the stuff which often ends up cluttering up your attic or junk cupboard: outdated hifi components, such as amplifiers, receivers, cassette and CD players.

These latter items can make an elegant shell for your classy computer. Of course, if you prefer you can buy a brand new hifi-style case. Manufacturers such as Silverstone have had aluminium-finish PC cases in their product range for years, but they are not exactly cheap – a decent model will set you back at least £70.

If you really want one that looks like a bit of hifi kit, such as the Dign HTPC Media Case HV 7, then you’ll have to fork out close to £200.

These cases are designed for computer use and do have all the necessary fittings, holes and certifications, but they are not as well made as high-end stereo components.

Older amplifiers and receivers made in the 1970s and 1980s stand out with their solid frontplates, better workmanship and – importantly – aluminium cooling elements for optional passive cooling. They also have that much sought-after retro look.

Cheap hifi cases from Ebay
If you don’t have any old hifi gear handy, then you can easily buy some from an auction on Ebay, where non-working kit can be found very cheaply. But here’s a tip: don’t bother with the well-known big name brands.

Even if the output stage is burnt out, amplifiers from the likes of Marantz, Revox, Onkyo, Sony or Denon often cost more than £100. It’s much cheaper to go for one of the brands hifi purists turn their noses up at, like Akai, Fisher, Sherwood or Sanyo.

You shouldn’t have to pay more than £20 including shipping for one of these. For more advice on buying from Ebay, see our cover feature on page 43.

When buying, make sure that the casing is at least 15cm high. It’s a good idea to use search terms like ‘receiver’, as these devices are normally a bit taller than conventional amplifiers.

Words such as ‘large’ usually yield good results for self-build enthusiasts as sellers often use that term to describe older, more robust kit.

The condition of the casing is also important. Check the photos of the item being auctioned and check that its condition is described as good.

It’s a good idea to ask follow-up questions as items being sold often have cosmetic damage which cannot be seen on the photos.

Heat build-up
Putting high-performance components into a small hifi casing has its problems. There’s a good reason for putting gaming PCs into full tower cases – the bigger the casing, the easier it is to cool the components.

CPUs and graphics cards together can push out almost as much heat as an electric cooker hob plate. To protect the main processor from emergency shutdown as a result of excessive heat, elaborate cooling systems are needed. These have to remove the heat as quickly and quietly as possible.

In practice this means large fans which rotate slowly and blow a lot of air over solid cooling ribs. The radiators have now become so big that they can weigh over half a kilo – although both Intel’s and AMD’s specifications for CPU coolers lay down 450g as a maximum.

The Zalman CNPS7700Cu copper CPU cooler, popular with silent PC fans, weighs 950g.

There are lighter alternatives, such as the one we used in our system, the Thermalright XP-120 which tips the scales at 350g, thanks to a clever mixture of a copper socket and aluminium radiators.

Despite its light weight the XP-120’s cooling power is at the same level as the 1kg CPU coolers in towers. The light weight and a height of just 95mm including the fan make this an ideal unit for hifis and desktop cases.

Another advantage of the XP-120 is that it is very easy to fit as its construction means it does not get in the way of any protruding motherboard components.

The heat is fed straight from the CPU via five heatpipes to the large aluminium vanes. A 120mm diameter silent fan is placed on top.

A better fan can be fitted separately later; for example the Noiseblocker SX1, which costs about £12.

We decided to use a preconfigured fan system, the Ichbinleise Cooler 1216 R. In normal operation inside a hifi casing the fan reaches a noise level of just 29dBA.