Hey guys, first time poster building his first out of the ordinary computer.

First off, this is what I'll be working with:
http://www.casesbysource.com/merchan...Category_Code=
-The inner dimensions that I'll be working with are 18" x 13" x 6"
-The lower lid is 4" wide and the upper lid is 2" wide

Now my plan for this project is to get a micro-ATX motherboard, e2180 cpu, 2 gigs of ram, an undecided hard drive, and an 8800gt in here. I have also decided to work in a laptop-style dvd drive. For the 8800 I plan on getting a riser card (http://www.i-tech.com.au/products/78...iser_card.aspx) to make it fit in with my plan.

Question 1: Can anyone confirm that this is really what I want and will work with your average video card and motherboard?

Next we come to the part that makes this build difficult; I want to build a monitor into the case as well. I plan on using the deeper half of the case to hold all the internal components (technically I guess all my components will be internal this time ) and using the upper lid for my monitor.

But I don't want the monitor situated in a laptop style, I plan on cutting a large window on the side and pressing the monitor up against it. Ideally I will be able to set this case down somewhere, leave it closed, and just fire it up. I think I'm going to use a 17" widescreen for this, and I'm trying to find the right one. It has to be under 18" wide, 13" tall, and I'm trying to find one that's not more than 2.5" deep to allow a little airflow between it and the motherboard it will be parallel to.

Right now I'm considering:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824254018
The dimensions seem a lot easier to work with than most of the monitors I've been looking at, even though the depth listed is including the stand, so I don't know how thick it really is. If anyone knows and could tell me that would be great.

Question 2: Have any better recommendations for the monitor?

Next I need 2 sheets of material, one to put over the window and protect my monitor, one to screw all the components into. My strongest contender right now is Lexan. It seems to offer great strength for its size and you can drill into it as needed. I'm thinking about using 1/8" to cover the screen and 1/4" to anchor things into (If I could get away with 1/8" here, please let me know, any saved space is great).

Question 3: Is Lexan a solid choice, or should I be looking into something else?

Lastly (for the moment), is the cooling issue. There are a ton of different ways to go here, and I'm sure there are plenty of good ones that I haven't considered, so feel free to voice any opinions on this subject. I'm thinking about drilling grids of smallholes into the ends of the case and, depending on the final layout of the case, putting either 2 or 3 60mm fans on each side. I would have one side pulling in and the other pushing out, hopefully creating a nice drift through the case.

Question 4: Could this idea be sufficient? Or with all the pieces (including a monitor) crammed in that small space do I need to start looking at something more potent?

So these are the issues I'm dealing with right now, thanks in advance for any ideas, criticisms, etc. As you can tell from the section I'm posting in, I have plenty to learn from anyone who's willing to advise. If there's another not-so-obvious aspect that I should start considering right now, please let me know; don't feel constrained to only answering the numbered questions