LOW budget PC build.

[crazyfool]

if they were gonna go for an itx board with an atom wouldn't something like the acer revo be a better choice... if it cooks itself in the cupboard it will be under warranty lol

[malfunction]

The OP wishes to keep the machine running in the cupboard though.

Yup - when they aren't using it the laptop can be sat in a drawer / cupboard / wherever out of reach of the kids but they're less likely to leave it running while it has no air flow. Depends on the cupboard and the PC of course - I'd at least want to leave the back of the cupboard open so that the hot air has somewhere to go and I'd probably want to prop the door open to let some cool air in too.

A question for the OP: are the kids really that bad?

[geezerone]

He could try and get hold of a laptop with faulty screen and just use it as a base unit with an external screen/keyboard/mouse on ebay? A 17" laptop will be expensive.

Why not put the dog in the cupboard

Electronics generally don't like getting too hot