Don't worry, I'm not that easily discouraged. If I didn't want constructive feedback I'd have waited till it was done to post. I'm definitely dry fitting things first when possible so I can check the cooling and sound.
I've made pretty good progress on the bottom box. Sides are attached, and started on the partial top that is there to sell the idea that it's actually two separate boxes. For the motherboard mounting I usedbrass standoffs, but rather than attach them directly to the bottom of the case I made some 1/2"x1/2"x1/8" blocks, screwed the standoffs into those, attached them to the mb and then glued the blocks to the case. Why measure for 6 holes when you can just slap it on like that? It also buys me a little extra clearance incase I need to line the case later.
Speaking of which, that pipe wrap you're talking about is the stuff that comes in rolls, right? That could work, and it's pretty cheap. I also have some 3/4-1 inch foam I can use in strategic places for noise.
I'm fairly sensitive to noise as well, though as long as it's a steady noise I don't really mind. It can't be any louder than the full tower it's replacing, which I used to think was fairly quiet until I got a shuttle and did some work to quiet that down. And one of the benefits of this is I'll be able to pull one of the 2 hdds that's in the shuttle atm and put it in this box, so the main box will be even quieter.
If all I wanted was an mp3 box, I'd forget the 1.2 gig tbird and run the 486 that's been gathering dust
