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Dave Richards
02-07-2006, 10:05 AM
I've been thinking about building a computer desk/armoire sort of thing for one of my computers. I'm going to keep it as small as possible, put it on whells and make it so I can access the back of the computer from the back of the cabinet. It would have doors or maybe a tambour so I can close it all up when I don't want to look at a computer.

I got to thinking that it would be nice to be able to stick the tower in an insulated enclosure with a fan and some good air filtration so I could keep the dust out and not have to listen to the fans.

I also started thinking that it would be nice to put the disk drives, the USB, Firewire and other front side ports as well as the power and reset switches above the desktop. Maybe back under the monitor. I also need to have a VCR which I'd like easily accessible for doing video editing.

I would remove the flat panel display from its base and mount it on the back of the desk or on a GCX type arm. Maybe the keyboard and mouse would be mounted on a slide out tray to reduce the depth of the unit. if I can figure it out, the chair for the desk would be somehow integrated so it would slip into the knee space when not in use.

My question for the gurus to answer is this: is there any reason I couldn't or shouldn't separate the disk drives from the rest of the computer? Also, do you know of separate power switch and port panels? Thanks for the help.

Chris Gregory
02-07-2006, 10:33 AM
My question for the gurus to answer is this: is there any reason I couldn't or shouldn't separate the disk drives from the rest of the computer? Also, do you know of separate power switch and port panels? Thanks for the help.[/QUOTE]

Sounds like a lot of needless expense and work why not just buy a small form factor HP computer, the new 64bit models are very quiet they have a very small footprint. Use the cabinet you had planned for the tower as storage.

Bob Winkler
02-07-2006, 10:48 AM
Although I'm not sure I qualify as a guru, I am an EE and we do build test stands where we mount the disk drives (floppy and hard drives) a ribbon cable length (1 meter or more) away from the mainboard. Power cable extenders are available.

I also might suggest the following multi style flash memory reader, that can be mounted a few feet from the mainboard, limited only by it's cables:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1112574&CatId=942

As another alternative, we use a very slick Iomega 3.5" floppy drive that contain built-in flash card ports- an best yet, just uses a USB interface that can be extended several feet. Other manufactureres have them as well.

Just some ideas.

Bob

Jim Becker
02-07-2006, 11:04 AM
My new secondary drive (300gb) is a USB device that is on my desk, but I wouldn't put the primary drive out there. The current crop of internal SATA drives are darn good performers and I'm also more comfortable with the primary boot device being internal to the system. Performance is also something to consider when it comes to DVD/CDROM burners. USB works, Firewire is better than USB but internal should have an edge when copying device to device.

Bill Simmeth
02-07-2006, 11:11 AM
I can think of no reason not to separate the drives. I assume you are talking about the CD-Rom or DVD drive and possibly a floppy drive. You can purchase extension ribbon cable to achieve this simply. There would be no reason to relocate the hard drive. The only caveat would be to make sure you cover the openings from whence they came. Air flow through the cabinet is (usually) engineered and assumes those openings aren't.

As for remote power/USB, Rockler has a nice selection. Here's a sample...
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=11248

Dave Richards
02-07-2006, 11:13 AM
Chris, we have those small box computers at work. The computer folks thought they would be a good option and changed out all the computers on our anesthesia machines. Now they've decided that wasn't a good move due to reliability issues so we're having to replace the clips with larger ones to hold new larger computers.

Besides, I only just bought this computer a few months ago. I don't want to buy another one.

Bob and Jim, thanks for that info.

I want to move the DVD/CD drives away, not the hard drives. Those can remain in the box. I just want the parts that I need to interact with within easy reach and the rest of it packed away in an enclosure that would allow it to remain clean.

Jim Becker
02-07-2006, 2:03 PM
Dave, you can safely move the DVD/CD drives using USB or Firewire. But it may affect performance for burning disks.

Chris Gregory
02-07-2006, 2:40 PM
Chris, we have those small box computers at work. The computer folks thought they would be a good option and changed out all the computers on our anesthesia machines. Now they've decided that wasn't a good move due to reliability issues so we're having to replace the clips with larger ones to hold new larger computers.

Besides, I only just bought this computer a few months ago. I don't want to buy another one.

Bob and Jim, thanks for that info.

I want to move the DVD/CD drives away, not the hard drives. Those can remain in the box. I just want the parts that I need to interact with within easy reach and the rest of it packed away in an enclosure that would allow it to remain clean.

Hi Dave,

Which models were they? We have deployed quite a few of the small form factor HP's with zero (knock on wood) issues, our biggest problem is the limited number of aftermarket cards that are available to fit in the slots and they are pricey.
But back to your question, as you now know firewire would be your best option but USB should do the trick too.

Cheers,
Chris

Ian Abraham
02-07-2006, 3:30 PM
We have built some PC cabinets for housing PCs in a very dusty environment and although you can't hear the PC, the cabinet fans make more noise :o . The PC's sit beside a Weinig 6 planer / moulder machine though, so noise isn't really an isssue.

If you want to quieten your PC it can be done, there are many companies specilising in this. Usual option is to replace the CPU heatsink / fan with larger units. A larger slow fan will make much less noise than the small fast one while moving the same amount of air / heat and the larger heatsink will move the same heat with slower airflow. The power supply can likewise be swapped for one with bigger / slower fans to reduce noise. PC wont be silent but it will be MUCH quieter. I'd suggest you mod the PC to quieten it and leave the cabinet as open as possible. Maybe a louvered front door and open back? Airflow is your friend ;)

Should be no problem extending power switch up to a panel on the desk, and likewise any USB or firewire periphal can be run thru a hub or extension cable.

IF you want to go the whole hog, scrap the PC's case and build the machine into a desk with the layout you want.

Cheers

Ian