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#1656141 - 02/09/06 11:00 AM DIY - Computer Enclosure
bassbuddy Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 02/09/06
Posts: 153
Loc: Boca Raton, Florida
Hi y'all,

First post here, and I would like to start by thanking Ethan + friends for supplying excellent advice. My home studio environment is a totally different spot now...!!! Once again, thanks, and no more lurking here.

I would like to know the best way to build an enclosure for my Mac G-4. I don't have the luxury of putting the "pute in another room. I have some left over 703, and I was thinking of building a little "sound cage"this weekend. Does anyone have any advice on this? Is 703 -(2"), going to do the job? How much breathing room does the G-4 need?

Thanks in advance.....just need to cut down the "pute noise.

Best,

Kenny

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#1656142 - 02/09/06 12:48 PM Re: DIY - Computer Enclosure
Ethan Winer Moderator Offline
MP Hall of Fame Member

Registered: 06/12/00
Posts: 6086
Loc: New Milford, CT, USA
Kenny,

> I would like to know the best way to build an enclosure for my Mac G-4. <

Beats me. I gues you could just build a box. But it has to be vented to allow air flow to keep the computer from getting too hot. I have my Dell set up so the fan in the rear fires into 1-inch thick 703 rigid fiberglass. This computer is very quiet anyway, so that's all I needed. Maybe that's all you need too?

--Ethan
_________________________
The acoustic treatment experts
Buy my DVD

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#1656143 - 02/18/06 05:50 AM Re: DIY - Computer Enclosure
ScreamingPirhana Offline
Member

Registered: 02/18/06
Posts: 2
Loc: Savannah, Ga
Kenny-
I've had good luck with the following. I went to Home Depot and bought a bathroom sink cabinet, the typical sized small one, seems like it cost around $60. Then I cut off the top and bottom so that it is about 26 inches tall, give or take 1/2 inch... depends on your desk.(If you're putting it under your desk) I put bedding type of foam inside that I got from Walmart, sadly I could only find pink, and it has the pointy egg-carton type of surface. I spray painted it slightly gray so I wouldn't be quite so ashamed of the pink, but it was only moderately sucessful.
The cabinet has a door, I reverse mounted it since I wanted my computers under my desk on the right hand side. On the rear, I cut some of the wood for a horizontal door that swings downward, mounted with a piano hinge. I put some sort of eye-hooks to latch the top shut when desired. I also cut a hole for a fan, which I've never bothered to mount, and there are 2 large holes in the bottom back of the cabinet for cable pass-throughs... to make them more sound proof, I cut circles out of a heavy foam rubber door mat.. or it might have been a place mat, doesn't matter, it's about 1/4 inch thick. Then I cut slits in a * shape so that when the cables go through, it springs closed around them. The rear door, I only latch shut for maximum silence, as when I'm recording a solo acoustic guitar or something, where I also close the front door.
Heat hasn't been too much of a problem, though you don't want to forget and leave the thing closed up for real long periods, but I'd say I've left it shut for at least an hour or so with no real heat buildup. For some reason, a couple of times, the heat did build up, so keep an eye on it if you try a design like this.
I sort of based this on some of the pro designs I've seen from Raxxes... (sp?) but their prices are insane, and this works quite well. I stained the front door a medium light cherry, which matches the stain on the desktop I built from Red Oak plywood, also stained cherry. I built the desk in a pretty nice way..including raised platforms for my Tannoy monitors, etc. The sides are 1/2 inch plywood painted with a black paint from Home Depot... with sort of gray specks. (Note: don't use 1/2", go with 3/4.. I used it because I already had it around, but it's pretty minimal, not as rigid as I'd like) But the whole thinglooks pretty sharp and is real sturdy. The pics on the site I'm sending you don't do it justice. On the opposite side from the computer iso box, I installed a pro rack metal "cage" which I enclosed the same way, so these 2 boxes act as sidecars, and the desktop lays on top, but slides into slots... I'll post some pics here so you can get the idea. http://pigstilts.deviantart.com/scraps/
In some of these pics, you'll see that the monitor "bridge" is too high, I miscalculated, but fixed it. Also, in the final pics, my JBL 4313B speakers are on the Monitor bridge, but I plan to move them to the rear on stands. They're not in use right now, and I think they're distorting my bass response. I also put the video monitors a bit too high for comfort, I have a neck injury, so contrary to the "eye level" principle, I now plan to move the video monitors a bit closer, lower them down a lot lower, and slant them backward, which should make my life more bearable. You'll notice I also put some rack space below the monitors on one side, the side with the computer cabinet was too wide for racks, but I can easily fix that should the need arise.
I hope this helps. I'm still learning as I go, so my next step is better bass traps, etc. If you have any questions, you can email me at dcoyer@comcast.net. I could send you a couple of digital pics of the rear of that cabinet if you need. (I know I gave a lot more info than you asked, but that's me for you. Good luck, Don

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#1656144 - 02/18/06 05:53 AM Re: DIY - Computer Enclosure
ScreamingPirhana Offline
Member

Registered: 02/18/06
Posts: 2
Loc: Savannah, Ga
PS, by the way, I screwed a couple of pieces of 2x2 wood to the bottom for the computers to rest on, it gets the up away from the bottom of the cabinet, and I put a bit of the place mat material on the wood to stop the computers from vibrating.

As to your question of... how much room do you need? I have 2 mid sized PC towers in there with no problem. Obviously, more room equals more ventilation. DC

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#1656145 - 02/20/06 08:26 AM Re: DIY - Computer Enclosure
Rob Rimmington Offline
Member

Registered: 09/27/05
Posts: 16
Loc: Boca Raton Florida
A more elegant (and expensive solution) is a Silence Case. I have one and it works extremely well. It looks very nice, takes up little space, and keeps the noise down very well. In fact, you can record vocals right next to it and you will not be able to hear puter noise in your recordings. Oh, it also keeps the computer at an acceptable operating temp. I've got an Athalon that gets quite hot and have never had a overheating problem even after hours of operation.

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#1656146 - 02/20/06 10:31 AM Re: DIY - Computer Enclosure
bassbuddy Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 02/09/06
Posts: 153
Loc: Boca Raton, Florida
Hi ScreamingP...

thanks for that informative post... very interesting. I don't know if I exactly have the time at this point to construct that, but I am always intrigued to see creative minds figure out solutions.

To Bob,

My wife and I are considering a move to Boca Raton.I lived in South Florida for half of my life, and we are presently looking at houses.

Can you please post a link for this enclosure please? Thanks Bob.

best,

Kenny

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#1656147 - 02/20/06 01:45 PM Re: DIY - Computer Enclosure
Ethan Winer Moderator Offline
MP Hall of Fame Member

Registered: 06/12/00
Posts: 6086
Loc: New Milford, CT, USA
Hi Rob,

Nice to see you here!

> A more elegant (and expensive solution) is a Silence Case. <

Agreed, at least when the cost is not a problem.

--Ethan
_________________________
The acoustic treatment experts
Buy my DVD

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#1656148 - 02/20/06 02:23 PM Re: DIY - Computer Enclosure
bassbuddy Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 02/09/06
Posts: 153
Loc: Boca Raton, Florida
Hi Rob,

I found the link for "silent cases" .. + thanks for the heads up.

Best,

Kenny

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Moderator:  Ethan Winer