Advice for an MC600 Build

[raj.t99]

Hey @breakfast! A while back I got that MC600 from you guys and I'm finally trying to do something with it!

My current plan is to "2D print" a laser cut top panel that has a hole cut out for a fan/filter over my CPU cooler'heatsink. In order to do this, I'm probably going to have to print out at least one test/template and correct my layout from there. Basically I'll end up with a piece of acryllic affixed (glued?) to the original top panel, but most of the material that actually covers the top of the case will be cut away--this way I can use the case's normal latches/tabs that the top panel slides into.

Is there any way you can help me figure lay out measurements for the top panel and its cutout? Perhaps where the 170cm(?) square of the M-ITX motherboard should be under it?

Edit: For anyone who this might be useful to, here's my old thread about the MC600.

You might just want to wait till you get your case and CPU cooler so you can measure exactly where the cooler will be for yourself. I don't think that you'll want to just cut the entire area over the motherboard because it would probably be better to only need to use mesh to cover the fan instead. Any idea on components?

@breakfast when I put just a 40mm fan on the AC-DC unit it cooled down quite a bit so I'm hoping the GPU fan I'm adding will cool down the PSU by extension. If the DC-AC unit is already flush against the GPU side fan grill will adding a thermal pad really help? I know I'd definitely like to add some for the DC-ATX unit since it's not completely flush with the front panel.

 

[zovc]

I already have the case and components, I just don't really know how to measure how the motherboard/heatsink all fit under the top panel, since it "closes the case" when it's where it goes. I'm not an engineer or draftsman so I can't think of any good way to take the measurements I need.

Regarding components, it's technically prone to change. I'm kind of waiting to see what happens with CPUs (and to a lesser extent GPUs) this year before making a move. I have an i7-4790K, I'd like to upgrade to something with more cores and threads, but I need to still have integrated graphics... this means I might have to begrudgingly go with one of Intel's Coffee Lake offerings.

Regarding your question to breakfast, I suppose the thermal pad "could" help by way of filling in any gaps between the side panel/mesh and the AC-DC unit.

 

[breakfast]

If the DC-AC unit is already flush against the GPU side fan grill will adding a thermal pad really help?

Probably not much in that instance. Plus the pad would be ugly to see from the outside..

I'm not an engineer or draftsman so I can't think of any good way to take the measurements I need.

I got this, hang on a minute.

 

[breakfast]

Here's a quickly dimensioned view of a random board in the case, you'll have to figure out where your processor is relative to this. I also marked where the front welded flange is so you don't hit it.

 

[raj.t99]

@zovc oh ok, I also had issues at first with trying to measure where to make the cutout for the CPU cooler and CPU as well. What I did was measure relative to the top right corner where the center of my CPU cooler was as well as one of the corners. From there I was able to have someone using a hole saw (not sure if this is the exact tool though, not familiar with the terminology) cut out a circle where the venting for the CPU was supposed to be. What CPU cooler are you going with? I used a Noctua L9a which gives me reasonable temps but because of RAM clearance I can't upgrade the size of the fan. If you can, I'd try getting low profile RAM so that you can get a large fan which will also help with cooling mosfets. If you're not planning on putting in a dedicated GPU, what are you planning to do with the other side? Without a GPU to take up space you could fit in a DC-ATX unit like I did with a lot more ease, as well as a 40mm fan to keep it cool.