Hey everyone, It's about time for me to get another PC and this time I want to build my own and fabricate the case from scratch. I'm new too modding so I've got a lot to learn which is why I'm turning to you guys here at bit-tech. What I have in mind is a desktop that can be both a laptop and a gaming machine. Specifically, I want is SFF PC (12-17 in (14 optimal) diagonally), with a monitor and keyboard mounted to the case in a laptop style design. Only difference between this and previous mods is that I want to use a tether to put the PCIe x16 2.0 on the side of the case. Then I want to build a separate housing for a GPU along with its own GPU PSU. Furthermore, I want to mount a battery to the PC to power the main components (listed below). It would have to power the motherboard, CPU, RAM, HDD, ODD (could be external if necessary for power or size constraints). Setting up the connection would be the main issue. The main components would be fed though the battery and charged using a laptop charger (power to be determined; hopefully 150w would be enough; more if necessary (I know the new Alienware M17x uses 240w). It would be connected to the motherboard using a pico PSU power converter (through battery). Obviously I'm going to have to trim power consumption substantially. For this reason I could have an external ODD and will be using a laptop hard drive. The CPU will be underclocked when not gaming, but when gaming it will return to stock clocks and the external GPU will be activated. Everything would be plugged in, in this case. Budget: ($1000 USD ideal for hardware components, but can go higher if necessary; I will mostly be using newegg.com in USA); mouse already owned for gaming, along with DJ headphones (Technics rp-dh1200), and gaming headset. I also have a copy of Windows 7 and will be booting Kubuntu for fun. Cost of tools and building materials separate. Components (tentative; open to recommended changes) Motherboard: ECS H55H-I LGA 1156 CPU: Core i3 530 (intel stock heatsink, unless someone can find something with lower profile that doesn't interfere with the PCIe slot; passive optimal since I'm going for low power). RAM: DDR3 1333 4 GB (2 x 2GB) HDD1: I will rig up an external SATA interface for an Intel X25-V SSDSA2MP040G2R5 (games) HDD2: Main drive (internal), notebook HDD: Seagate Momentus 7200.4 ST9500420AS ODD: Slot Loading DVD Burner Case: Custom, Aluminum, with slim keyboard and tracpad Air flow paramount; probably using aluminum for higher specific heat PSU: Laptop charger, battery at least 150w (more if necessary), Pico PSU power adapter Case 2: Aluminum w/ 2-3 80mm fans, card length dependant GPU: 5770 Vapor-x (tentative; dependent on CPU or other bottlenecks) GPU PSU: FSP Groupbooster x5 450w Monitor: I need help finding the monitor in particular, I'm looking for something small (12-17 in); touchscreen would be nice, but not necessary; image quality more important. I want a decent res (16:9 aspect ration), w/ a good contrast ratio and decent brightness. The thickness is critical. Since I'm looking at a SFF PC, using a thiner monitor would be best; heating is not an issue since it will be attached using a hinge. Must have compatible adapter to GPU and motherboard for IGP (on battery). If anyone knows how to rig a laptop monitor that solves that problem. So far with the listed components the price is at $800, but I still need a laptop battery, laptop charger, a monitor and the following cables: Here is an example of a Pico PSU Power adapter I could use ($39): http://www.logicsupply.com/products/picopsu_150 PCIe x16 tether (Price not listed; $50?): http://www.ameri-rack.com/ARC1-PELX16-Cxm.htm As far as the battery and charger (up to discussion): battery: depends on dimensions of case; required output; charger: depends on required input; Thanks guys. Feel free to leave advice, comments, or criticism. Tentative build date is mid-August. Assuming everything is feasible I will get some sketches and renders up (using Autodesk Inventor). 7H3 L457 H0P3
Lithium ion batters are pretty hard to work with, they don't react well to overcharging, they tend to catch on fire if not treated right. the 'charger' I believe you are thinking of is just a switch mode power supply. The actual charger circuits are built into the laptop's mainboard and interface tot he battery's sensors and management circuitry. I have no idea if there are any pre-engineered solutions out there for Li-Ion, but you might find something. Lead acid is much more forgiving, but you end up with something more lug-able rather than portable. Ni-MH batteries might be the best compromise in terms of difficulty, safety, and energy density.
Yeah I've heard about batteries having low tolerances for any change in amperage or voltage. I could buy a laptop and tear it apart. It would solve alot of problems, but it would severely limit my ability to upgrade. I think my best bet is to see if there are batteries designed for stuff like this or if anyone has actually pulled it off before. Other than that I might have to reevaluate my project or put it off until such a time that is becomes feasible. I'll take a look around and see what I can dig up. Maybe I'll get lucky and find something useful, but the whole mod is heavily reliant on being portable. Not having a battery would defeat the point. Thanks for the help so far, Splynncryth. 7H3 L457 H0P3
I love the idea, and it's certainly ambitious. I fear though that the battery requirement is going to be tricky to achieve and keep within a sensible budget and size. It really adds another dimension as you'll be needing to power the two devices from it and get it charged, and do all this without it blowing up on your lap (not a good place to have a lithium fueled inferno) You could look at an off the shelf external battery solution, like the Hypermac or something cheaper (and easier to work with), but I fear your $1000 budget is a little on the low side. I'd say adding 50% to it will give you a better chance of success (But still a lot of work to do) http://www.hypershop.com/HyperMac-External-MacBook-Battery-and-Car-Charger-s/91.htm Have you read up on Ben Heck's 360 laptop mods? If not do read, it may give you an idea of the work involved (And these are no batter mods BTW). http://benheck.com/12-24-2008/pelican-case-xbox-360 http://benheck.com/xbox-360-laptop-3-elite http://benheck.com/04-25-2007/xbox-360-laptop-making-of
I was afraid you would say the budget was a little low, but I realized that early on. If it comes down to it I have more than enough tech lying around with little use to myself that I could sell. As far as the battery goes I think your on to something Guinevere. I've seen similar external batteries around on the net and the hypermac you suggested seems to be a decent size (if the picture is too scale); the only problem I foresee would be finding a way to connect it to the motherboard. I need someway to transfer power from the battery to 24 pin mobo connector and at least one SATA connector. Since I'm using desktop components this adds a whole new level of complexity since it's not going to be as simple as plugging it in, like in the case of a laptop. I like the 360 mod and actually saw it earlier on. Although my mod is more akin to this: http://www.mini-itx.com/projects/itx-laptop/ ; although hopefully slightly thinner with the main differences being the external GPU and the battery. Note: Just to clarify the GPU will be powered by a separate power supply and will only be used when plugged in. If I can find some way to rig the battery I don't imagine the monitor will be too bad, although it will take some doing. I also will be using this PC mostly on desks. I might carry it between tables (library, class, etc., but not far). Still I'd rather not have it explode in my lap, or elsewhere. The other option although not nearly as cool would be to find a laptop and tear it apart. It would severely limit my ability to change components, but would allow for a battery and be substantially cheaper. If I decided to go this route I would like a laptop motherboard that support MXM (II or IIIb). I'd want at least a gtx 260m if not a 5870. Although a 3870m or 4870m would be fine if you can find it or a compatible chipset. If there's way to port a MXM connection to a PCIe x16 even better so long as they are compatible and it's within system tolerance (bottlenecks etc.). Since the mod is custom heating solutions and size are irrelevant since I can arrange that myself the main issue would be is the card supported and does the PC have enough juice to power it (if internal; MXM) otherwise I'll use a GPU PSU. Back to the original plan though, assuming I can find a way to get this battery rigged, I'll probably go with a macbook pro or Alienware replacement monitor screen from ebay. My question is if I got that connected would it still be LED backlit or is the backlight separate from the screen in the monitor housing. Thanks again, everyone. Much appreciated. 7H3 L457 H0P3
I really like the idea of building a 'laptop' by taking advantage of all the low power and small form factor components out there. I would like to see this done without resorting to laptop parts. There use to be guys on these forums that had the EE backgrounds in the right areas that could pull off the power systems. I'm a software/firmware guy so I don't know much outside the basics. You might check hack a day and instructables as well as Guinevere's suggestion of asking at Ben Heck's site. I'll bet some EEs have tried to do circuits for some of their design projects so there may be info floating around on university websites too. I think most of the really hard stuff is handled by off the shelf ICs, and if that is the case then there may be hope Again, nickle metal hydride batteries may be worth a look too.
I would prefer to not resort to laptop components as well. As far as the EE goes. I'm a PE, so wrong engineering, but I do know quite a few Electrical Engineers around campus. I also know a few Computer Engineering and Computer Science majors. Maybe it will come in handy. Unfortunately it's summer so most of my engineering buds are back home, but that might work to my advantage if I can get them interested; considering most engineering students have no life during the school year. If all else fails I'll turn to the Internet and give Ben Heck's site a try. I also like the nickel metal hydride idea. I'm actually posting here from a Linux flashdrive. Call me a noob, but I still think that's cool. Too bad most of the computer's on campus lock their BIOS so I can't change the boot order Anyway, I'll ask around. Who knows maybe I'll get lucky and someone around here will take an interest. I'm at Texas A&M University if that means anything to anyone out there. Any Aggies on bit-tech? 7H3 L457 H0P3
Hi 7H3 L457 H0P3 - Ben Heck is going to be showing how he built an Atari Xbox 360 mod on his online show next week. You can see the trailer here. He does this type of thing quite regularly for his show and is pretty active online - so I'm sure you could probably fire a few questions at him if you're stuck.
Oops! Someone emailed me a link to the thread so I assumed it was a recent post and didn't check. You never know - he might not have started his build yet!
