fans? definitely.
cut holes in the slots on the case? of course.

Due to the limited space I was thinking about a thermoelectric unit but I'm concerned about power consumption.
Parts:
Hard Drive
MotherBoard
BluRay
CPU
Power Supply
Fans (2)
RAM (2)

I calculated 115 W for all of this. The PSU is 150W.
There's two questions here.
1) Is 115W accurate?
2) will I be able to add a peltier chip and not drain power from the other components?

Hrm, I'm not sure myself. I do not really know all the draw in wattage from components in a computer, as they vary, but I do know that a minimum of 500 watts is required for desktop PC running one PCIExpress video card, and 600 watt minimum for 2x.

Sorry, lost on what a peltier chip is? CPU?
Edited: Nevermind, I looked it up some. Wouldn' have a clue on its draw either.

for the ram, buy 1066 ddr2 dual channel 2x2gb = 4gb, but you save, or 800 ddr2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820227248 ddr2 800

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231226 ddr2 1066

Infos about the peltier cooler when used in a computer.
It looks like peltier coolers are an extreme solution for computer cooling, similar to liquid nitrogen. It makes the cool side cooler than you could probably get with normal air or water cooling, but you still have a hot side you have to cool. You would be best off just using fans.

The CPU has a passive heatsink. The fan is for the chipset. I have one of those boards (for my NES PC), and it runs extremely cool. I would suggest that you try it without fans before buying any.

Because of the memory speed supported by the mobo, it would be a waste of money to buy performance memory. Just get the cheapest stuff, in the size you want.

I concur with this. your components are fine albeit quite a bit pricey. what video solution are you planning to use? stock onboard chip? I guess its decent if you're not gonna be doing anything beyond intensive flash videos/games. 150 watts seems to be just right. you won't run into any problems. it should give you further safe expandability of one or even two more drives as well...

I don't plan on using this as an emulator. I plan on using this as a blu-ray player and nothing more. I would prefer high performance memory. Plus I could always switch the memory into a gaming box if need be.


i figured as much. trying to save space in there but it's probably best i don't use one of those.
that's the exact same site I found. the silverprops site doesn't give a lot of info about their chips.


I planned on using it for predominantly playing Blu-Ray movies with the occasional video game, should the mood strike me. I think the Intel GMA X4500HD will be sufficient. as I don't really have the room for a super powered video card but I am open to suggestions.

I'm not sure the onboard graphics would be able to handle HD video. Did you look into Nvidia ION boards?

It looks like it should, a fast CPU should make up for the GPU. This page shows it playing bluray, not sure what CPU they're using, though.

yanno I've been looking for a comparison with explicit data points like that. Thank you. This board will be sufficient. I plan on using Core 2 Duo or Quad 3.33GHz. I think that would be good with 4GB dual channel ddr2.

I didn't notice the board. I was thinking Intel atom (really low heat and power consumption). With the Duo, you probably will need fans, unless you are able to underclock.

I'm using the Acer Revo with the Intel Atom N330 dual core paired with an Nvidia Geforce gpu and a Blu-Ray Usb player in my car and it works perfect. Also the board is just slightly larger than a dvd case.

I think an Nvidia ION board would be sweet for an NES PC. I'm getting one for mine as soon as I can afford the $100.

that looks awesome. i'd be able to play games on my 46" plasma without having to move my computer. that would be wonderful.