Building a DIY Music Server with custom made parts

[Ben-M]

I don't want to crap on the direction of the thread, and it's possible that across one of my multiple readings of the thread I may have missed it, but why not consider a Takachi Enclosures case? 

 

They are a professional case Maker from Japan and they make the chassis for the UpTone JS-2, the Taiko servers, and many other audio products. They have top notch quality, they take custom orders, and if you start with one of their existing base options and modify it, you can save a lot of money while still getting basically what you want. 

 

Another benefit is that they make the same case in multiple, compatible configurations. 

 

Back about 2 years ago I found out about them and requested pricing on their audio component standard size aluminum cases, which I have attached below. This line is called "HY", then the other number is the height.

 

Anyway, as you'll see in the pictures, you can get a full size ATX case laying in the horizontal format (think Taiko's size and style) for $300. 

 

Then you can go far beyond with alterations like material thickness, screw holes, or maybe even changing out materials like how Taiko swapped the side panel aluminum heatsinks for copper. 

 

Anyway, I thought it worth asking because it full achieves the flexibility in unit height, while sharing things like the top panel, bottom panel, footers, and internal mounting plate (if wanted). It opens the door for different buyers needs, all the way from 177mm high down to like 60mm. 

 

 

What're your guys' thoughts about this angle? Or what are the comparisons to the H5? 

 

I think almost any work that's been done so far is almost fully transferable to the Takachi HY177, since it focuses around designs to meet the Mobo and CPU placement, not the case manufacturer. 

[Ben-M]

11 hours ago, Hauser said:

I started with the same idea as you having already used their boxes in a couple of other projects.  After I posted about them, it was pointed out that the heatsinks would not be up to the job.  I checked and the base thickness is only 5mm so when you carve out a 3 or 4mm slot for heatpipes there is not much material left.  I agree they are very versatile with the range of sizes available but not suitable for dealing with much heat.  I am working through making my own case.  The latest obstacle is the Marston heatsinks I ordered have a concave base.  I'm getting Element14 to check whether the Fischer ones are any better.

 

Martin

I see your point, but I wouldn't count them down and out so quickly. We could easily request thicker stock. 

 

Besides that, it'd only be a 1-2mm groove, not 3-4mm. The Takachi side panel heatsinks are similar to the Streacom FC10, which handle up to 95W TDP CPUs. If we could use 1 panel/side per CPU, that may be enough. And if not, we could explore thicker panels or copper. 

 

I am in China now, so I will see if I can source a copper drop-in heatsink replacement for whichever case we end up with. I don't think it'd be too much here, but I could be totally wrong. 

[Ben-M]

I'm not trying to say I'm the authority on this, but I have used this Streacom FC10 chassis in 4 different builds and it's always delivered effective cooling results. 

 

As you can see from the internal picture, there is 0% milling into the side panel to improve conduction or heat transfer from heatsink to heat pipes:

 

 

The heat pipes have been flattened where they interface with the side panel, riser, and CPU block.

 

I think milling grooves is cool, but from my experience so far, it seems unnecessary in order to deliver cooling up to 95W TDP.

 

And since it seems our target CPU's TDP is beyond that, I don't think milling heat pipe grooves into the side panel is the guaranteed approach to gain more heat dissipation capacity. Different material or thicker material is needed. 

 

It's interesting hashing out ideas while we wait for his real world results, but as Peter just mentioned, no point in letting the cart get ahead of the horse just yet.