Opinion on my machine

[Nephasth]

Super inportant.

[Malenko]

Ive done both, usually decase the PC. When I fixed up the bartop for charity I left it in the case but I checked air flow and stress tested. I covered all the  inportant stuff.

[dylaninwv]

My opinion? rotate the pics prior to posting...

A;ll kidding aside, looks nice. Will the CP be a separate unit that sits on top? If so, you should be fine. Based on the height to wheel base ration though, you may have some issues with it tilting backward due to the center of gravity being shifted back due to the angle. But if it is against a wall, you should be fine.

This is my favorite part of the build - just prior to painting. It really starts to come alive here.

[SAVAGExMLGPRO]

My opinion? rotate the pics prior to posting...

A;ll kidding aside, looks nice. Will the CP be a separate unit that sits on top? If so, you should be fine. Based on the height to wheel base ration though, you may have some issues with it tilting backward due to the center of gravity being shifted back due to the angle. But if it is against a wall, you should be fine.

This is my favorite part of the build - just prior to painting. It really starts to come alive here.

Thank you, the cp will sit on top but screw into place. Ill post more pics when its done. But for the photos, i have no clue why they post sideways. Also it does rock abit but it will be against a wall. Can always add weight to the bottom base of it.

[opt2not]

Pc cases are designed to suck the air through the case and out the other side to create a wind tunnel effect.

If you take it out of the case you are stopping that from happening.
You can create a cabinet which has the same effect but I think that is where people go wrong and the components over heat.

You can have all the air around it you want but if the hot air is not being expelled and cool air drawn in then its going to fail.

All my cabs have had cased PC's in them and none of them have had any issues.
The only machine I have had fail on me was a cocktail cab I had aquired from someone who had stripped the PC and sure enough The HDD failed followed by the processor.
I knew it was going to happen I just couldnt be arsed to fix it until it did.
Then I replaced it with a cased pc and sold it :p

Anyways I will drop out here as I think we have derailed the OP's thread a little!

 
In a bartop design 9/10 people de-case their monitors as well. LCD monitors generate a lot of heat, and while you're right about the PC case windtunnelling air, that doesn't count when we're talking about an enclosure surrounding your PC. With the LCD monitor there will be only Hot Air in the bartop!  So not only are you in-taking hot air into your PC, and expelling hotter air, you've got an encased component inside a wooden case!  De-casing the PC will allow you to maximize the space in your bartop for airflow, and at the same time of cutting in proper vents and installing fans , it's by far a better solution for keeping things cool than just leaving your PC in a case.  Like Neph said, if you've decased everything and still getting component burnout, then you've obviously didn't think about proper air-flow and venting. 

[RandyT]

Based on the height to wheel base ration though, you may have some issues with it tilting backward due to the center of gravity being shifted back due to the angle. But if it is against a wall, you should be fine.

This was the first thing that my brain rebelled against when I saw the profile.  As a general rule, the base depth should be at least the same as the top part of the cabinet, especially at this height where there is a fair amount of weight toward the top.  I noticed in the video that one view showed it an inch or so from the wall, and another view looked like it had been pushed against it.  Purely conjecture, but it appears that he found out that it was tippy and pushed it back to make contact.  Even if the cabinet is designed to rest against the wall, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to make the base shallower.  The room footprint will be the same regardless.  But I guess if the form is more important than inherent stability, one could always sandbag the bottom to add ballast.

I also have to wonder about using such a large screen, so close to the players.  Mine has a 27" 4:3, and for horizontal games, that even feels pretty large.  I tend to favor the showcase-style cabs for big screens, but if you've mocked it up and like the big screen, that's fine too.  I had people tell me a 27" was too big, but you get used to it.

[Titchgamer]

Pc cases are designed to suck the air through the case and out the other side to create a wind tunnel effect.

If you take it out of the case you are stopping that from happening.
You can create a cabinet which has the same effect but I think that is where people go wrong and the components over heat.

You can have all the air around it you want but if the hot air is not being expelled and cool air drawn in then its going to fail.

All my cabs have had cased PC's in them and none of them have had any issues.
The only machine I have had fail on me was a cocktail cab I had aquired from someone who had stripped the PC and sure enough The HDD failed followed by the processor.
I knew it was going to happen I just couldnt be arsed to fix it until it did.
Then I replaced it with a cased pc and sold it :p

Anyways I will drop out here as I think we have derailed the OP's thread a little!

  my god the stubbornness of these new members. jeezus eff.

In a bartop design 9/10 people de-case their monitors as well. LCD monitors generate a lot of heat, and while you're right about the PC case windtunnelling air, that doesn't count when we're talking about an enclosure surrounding your PC. With the LCD monitor there will be only Hot Air in the bartop!  So not only are you in-taking hot air into your PC, and expelling hotter air, you've got an encased component inside a wooden case!  De-casing the PC will allow you to maximize the space in your bartop for airflow, and at the same time of cutting in proper vents and installing fans , it's by far a better solution for keeping things cool than just leaving your PC in a case.  Like Neph said, if you've decased everything and still getting component burnout, then you've obviously didn't think about proper air-flow and venting.  I swear these noobs are killing BYOAC.

Because I am new on here does not mean I am new to the hobby or indeed this kind of "work" Just to elaborate on that I am a Electricaly biased facilities engineer with lots of experience of large AHU's, Air conditioning and a whole host of other crap.

I agree you have alot of hot air in a bar top which is why IF I used a PC (Which I said before I prefer Pi for bartop) then i would install additional intake and extract fans at the sides to keep a constant air change within the machine.
I operate the  same system in my full size cabs which all run with cased (or partially in my main cabs case) PC's without any problems.
Indeed there is the added noise of 2 additional fans but when you are playing a game and the music is blaring out of the 2 speakers above my head I cant even hear them doing there thing.

Also keeping everything in one place keeps it tidy and "modular", Which when you have to move a large cab is nice to be able to remove a little of the weight etc and transport the guts without any chance of damage.

Just because I prefer to do things a different way to you (and probably others) is not necisarily a bad thing and certainly doesnt make me a noob.

Live with it.

[opt2not]

Just because I prefer to do things a different way to you (and probably others) is not necisarily a bad thing and certainly doesnt make me a noob.

Live with it.

Let's see your work then. IMO, put up or shut up.  (incoming "i don't need to prove anything to you" response in 3-2-1..."

[Titchgamer]

Well you are right I have nothing to prove and this is totally derailing the OP's thread for no real purpose.
I use cased you dont we have established that and we all agree that you need to keep everything cool and good air flow we just do it in different ways.

But just becasue you asked so sarcastically here is a pic of my cab:


Its gone through several incarnations as my needs, funds and ambitions grew over the last 6 or 7 years but its still the same cased PC buzzing away in there.

I did have to change the CRT last year though that finally died of old age but well no biggy.

As I said before though I prefer Pi now for smaller projects like my Mega Drive i did.





Runs a Rpi 3 with retro pie front end and accepts original joy pads.

Simple and effective with little consideration towards cooling required.
Admitidly no good for heavier games but hell I dont really play alot of those kind of games on cabinets etc so personally not a problem for me.

[opt2not]

Well you are right I have nothing to prove and this is totally derailing the OP's thread for no real purpose.

Well this is a fake "opinions wanted" thread anyway so derailing it is completely fine.

I use cased you dont we have established that and we all agree that you need to keep everything cool and good air flow we just do it in different ways.

But just becasue you asked so sarcastically here is a pic of my cab:

Its gone through several incarnations as my needs, funds and ambitions grew over the last 6 or 7 years but its still the same cased PC buzzing away in there.

So you just have the PC sitting at the bottom of the cabinet, unattached?   That's another reason I pull for de-casing, it's easier to mount the PC in the cabinet so that it doesn't move around. This is important for when you have to move the cabinet from one place to another.   I don't know if you've ever had to transport a cabinet, but one of the rules-of-thumb when moving a cabinet around is to have NOTHING loose inside the machine, for fear of bits flying around inside causing shorts.

Here's a pic of one of my cabinets from awhile back:

Everything is mounted, bolted, L-bracketed down (including the sub woofer). Don't mind the mouse in there, I was in the middle of updating the software when I took this pic. The cables are also tied-up now as well, and a KVM switch is in there too for attaching an external console. In this case it was a XBOX360 for a little while. This cabinet was finished in '09 and the PC and internals have been running strong ever since.

And yes, of course we agree on the heat issue, but I still don't agree with not having the PC or Xbox de-cased. I can live with that disagreement though.

[Titchgamer]

Well thaty is true but still totally derailed   

Nice build, Whats the white dome thing next to the HDD?

As for the computer yes it is technically loose, Its secured in place with battons the same as the monitor but like I said its basicly modular.
Sadly I have had to move it twice and as I am sure you know yourself they are damn heavy and awkward to move.

But because the PC and monitor are cased and secured with battons I can remove 8 screws and remove them totally from the cab to take most of the weight out (My old CRT was the best part of 25kg on its own!) also all of the things powered off the PC that are not removeable are wired with plugs so they just plug in and out.
Pretty much everything else including the amp, Fans, Lighting etc are fixed to the cab but they add marginal weight so no big deal.
It also has castors on the bottom so i can wheel it around easily.

[opt2not]

Nice build, Whats the white dome thing next to the HDD?

That's a white push-button actually (hard to see), it's for the PC's power. I had a separate PC power button so that I can run my external console(s) without having to power-up the PC and having it sit idle. When I powered up the cabinet the lights, monitor and sound components would fire up, and I had to just reached into the coin door and hit the button to get the PC on if I was going to play mame. Same with the KVM switch.

[Titchgamer]

Ahhh that makes sence!

I mounted my power switch under the CP I didnt want to be fumbleing around trying to find it and when I first built it I didnt have a coin door so that wasnt a option 

I do have a powered USB hub mounted under the coin door now though for easy updateing etc So I dont need to drag it out and get the back off or fumble around the back of the PC for the right cable.

[monkeybomb]

You two should get a room.

[ark_ader]

I'll reserve comments until you have finished the cab, except of course, it is too low.