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I'm building an HTPC, out of an old machine that I built a few years back. I'd like to mod my own case for this (The closest thing I've ever done to modding was drilling a hole for a fan). Does anyone have any advice on how to place the components for best results and maximum air flow? I'm thinking of the components first, then I'm going to design the case around them.
You'll get best results from having all the air flowing in one direction - usually parallel to the motherboard. It will also work best if you can try to make sure all the hot components sit in a single clear channel that the air moves through - a bit like a wind tunnel, I guess ;)
A lot depends on the components you're planning to use though, tbh, and also what size you want the case. If you want something particularly small then airflow is always going to be a challenge...
I want to make it small enough to fit on top of my cable company's DVR but also large enough to be able to use the same motherboard I have in my old machine. I plan on at least having a DVDRom, 1 (maybe 2) hard drive(s) sound card, graphics card, network card, and not much else. Those are the basic necessities. I do have a sound card built into my motherboard, but I'd much rather use the Sound Blaster I have set up separately.