Advice please on hardware cooling

Hi,
I am currently in the planning stages of building an arcade cabinet. I
intend to build it out of MDF and insert one of my homemade computers
inside. I was thinking of screwing the plastic legs that hold the mobo
in place to the MDF directly and leaving the mobo, cards et-al open.

Cooling is an issue, I have been told that you have to leave your case
closed so the fan can adequately cool the components. Will this be a
serious problem if I leave the PC bare?

Is it safe, earth wise?

Can I mount the PSU to then side and have the external fan blowing out
the back?

Thanks for any assistance.
--
MCR - MAME, History In The Making
Want ftp access? get details at http://www.mcrs.no-ip.org
or email mcr at lazarus.org.uk - Full 0.73 set verified
and needed sooners, All testdrivers (except 3 missing)

"mcr" wrote in message
...

" I am currently in the planning stages of building an arcade cabinet. I
intend to build it out of MDF and insert one of my homemade computers
inside. I was thinking of screwing the plastic legs that hold the mobo in
place to the MDF directly and leaving the mobo, cards et-al open. Cooling is
an issue, I have been told that you have to leave your case closed so the
fan can adequately cool the components. Will this be a serious problem if I
leave the PC bare? Is it safe, earth wise? Can I mount the PSU to then side
and have the external fan blowing out the back? "

I'm considering doing the same thing in the near future. My thoughts are
with keeping the PC components in their original case, and mounting some
intake and exhaust tubing to feed the air through the case. I got the idea
from the exhaust tubing on my tumble-dryer that attaches to the wall. By
keeping the system in its' original case, it means I can have a PSU,
motherboard, CPU, hard drive, graphics card, sound card, network card,
CD-ROM and arcade joystick, and not have to worry about earthing problems.

I have no plans to build my own cabinet from MDF, so I think a few phone
calls to second-hand arcade retailers will be in order. There is usually
one in every good-sized town and city on the industrial estates in the UK.

The following resources should also be helpful to you:

Newsgroup: alt.games.mame

The MAME Cabinet Webring:
http://d.webring.com/hub?ring=themam...etwe&id=92&hub

The Arcade Cabinet Webring:
http://o.webring.com/hub?ring=arcadecab&id=16&hub

The MAME Cocktail Cabinet Webring:
http://k.webring.com/hub?ring=mamecocktail&id=5&hub

http://www.mameworld.net/