OC & Modding An HTPC case for an ATX motherboard

ch@ts

Skilled
I've been doing some DIY and just finished making a computer table, a tea table, a shoe cabinet, a TV cabinet and a few racks from spare wood, and old furniture (that was about to be thrown away) we had lying around the house. I spent less than Rs. 2500 totally, as I had all the material except paint, nails, hinges etc lying around.
I want to continue the DIY (and miserly) spirit and make an HTPC case.

I recently changed the motherboard on my PC from an ASUS M2NE to a Gigabyte 970A DS3P.
I have an older Athlon X2 3600+ CPU, 2.5GB DDR2 RAM, a 160GB HDD and a 400w VIP SMPS left over after my previous upgrades. I need a graphic card, and a case and I'll have a computer that can act as an HTPC.

I need it to sit under my TV in the living room, so the case has to be nice looking, cool, and quiet.

I'll be using either the SPDIF out from my motherboard to connect it to my AVR, or the HDMI port from the graphics card.

I'd like to get something that looks like this:
http://www.htpc-reviews.com/athenatech-a3701bb-htpc-media-center-atx-desktop-system-cabinet

BUT!!
Since I'm pretty cheap, and I don't want to spend much money on it. (actually I don't want to spend any money!) I can make it myself, but need some help.

I've got some 12mm, and 4mm plywood sheets lying around at home, as well as a some left over roll of metal grill ( that'll be enough for 2 sides, and the front if I'm lucky).
I've also got an old ATX cabinet that I can use for parts ( the power buttons and LED lights and the motherboard tray, if I can extract it intact ).
I've also got some black, some white, and some purplish paint left over from my previous projects.

I've got a Jigsaw with which I can cut the ATX case frame, but I don't think it'll cut the panels.

I was wondering if it's safe to make a computer case out of plywood. And how it'll affect temps.

I don't need to add space for more than 1 HDD, and I don't need a DVD drive tray, as I'll be storing my files on external HDDs attached to my router.
It'll be housed on one side of the TV cabinet below, and on the other will be the AVR listed below.
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/AV-Receivers/Pioneer Receivers/VSX-523-K

Any thoughts, designs, ideas would be appreciated.


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