Package from ELFA

Aw, yeah! The heat sinks and a load of other components just arrived from ELFA. So, naturally, my pizza went cold before I got started on it.

I immediately tried out the different placements of the heat sinks from Ten Thousand Thunders (see that post for new pictures), plus another placement that I came up with as I went (pictures to the right). I don't think it is as good as the placements from TTT, ventilation-wise, because I will need to have holes in the top and bottom of the cabinet. It might be good enough to make those holes, but I don't know that for sure.

A fan is, naturally, out of the question. And, of course, leaving the heat sinks like this means there will be less room inside the cabinet for other components. And we all know that the more components in a limited space, the more mess. I learnt that the hard way with 16 25-pin DSUBs and their wiring, and more components yet, in a 2U 19" cabinet at ASN; Tight.

But having the heat sinks inside the cabinet, or on the rear panel, means I can have the handles I want and be able to use them. And there'll be the minimalistic front panel that I think I, deep down, really want. Besides, if having the heat sinks inside the cabinet works, that, too, might look rather nifty. I got a few ideas from the beQuiet project (1, 2) about ventilation holes, and I think they can become pretty neat.