HOWDY! Ok, so here goes my first attempt at MODs. My goal here is to build a reasonably portable PC for gaming at Lan-Parties. It also wouldn't hurt to have something that makes people say "COOL" when they walk by! To keep cost down I am going to use whatever I have lying around first. That means that the case will be built of wood and it has to hold a full size MB, HD, and Keyboard. So lets begin.... Part 1: What am I getting myself into? Part 2: Or should I say Take 2?? . Part 2 Continued..... Part 3: And If I solder this to that..... Part 4: Sound, looks, and.... WHAT THE? Part 5: Now what . Part 5 Continued..... Part 6: Better late than never..... Part 7 - A more colorful tale...... Part 8: Look at all the pretty colors...... Part 9: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words...... Part 10: Here we go again.... Part 11: The Key here is...... Part 1: What am I getting myself into? I have already done quite a bit of work on the project, but haven't had any way to post pics till now (thanks 486hawk), so I am gonna do a recap of what have done so far. I must also warn that I am a picture freak. I spend as much time taking pics of my mods as I do working on the mods. If it looks like it is getting outta hand, please let me know. First I layed out my hardware: MSI KT3 Ultra MB, ASUS 300W PS, Regular PS2 KB, and Seagate 40GB HD. I mounted the HD using L brackets and I glued on some stand-offs. My screws were too long, so I used nuts as stand-offs. Next I decided to get a bit more creative. I decided that the keyboard should match the rest of the case as much as possible. I didn't mesure correctly and had to "fix" my mistake by shaving off part of the KB. Next I started working on the sides. I cut as much wood out of the sides as I could for air-flow. Now the placement test Its a close fit, but I was satisfied. Did some testing that night and the system kept crashing. After messing around with it a bit, found that changing the AGP card made the system stable again. Looks like I need to get another video card. I will post more pics later!
yeah... dare to make a difference I like it.. where'd you get the idea actually? And errr... will it have casehandles? ^_^
Re: Project: Deja - Wooden Lugable (part1) i wouldnt give up that quick... go through ur MB manual and see if there are any jumpers, settings, etc. that arent how they are supposed to be... and your project looks pretty good... keep up the work im interested in seeing how it finishes up
Mr. Red is another one of my friends I trapped into modding. I think you should get a AGP 8X motherboard rather then a new graphics card.
Not familiar with those, you got a pic? Most people tell me it looks like an Apple 2. I am a moblie guy by trade, so I kinda tried for that look. I was originally going to base the design off of the notebook that was used in Congo, but I didn't like the look after I found the pics of it. As far as the casehandles, I got a handle on it right now. I will post an update as soon as I get the pics ready. The video card in those pics is a Creative 4x AGP card that someone gave me. They were having problems with it. The thing was getting REALLY hot, so I tried replacing the heatsink with a better one. No luck aparently, so I am putting it aside for now. I think it is too big for what I want anyway.
I got a cheap KOGI 14" LCD screen from best buy to use as the display. It's definitely not the best on the market, but nothing came close to the price. They asked me if I wanted a warranty.. I declined…… I tested it after I took it all apart. Not the greatest pic, but it survived!!
I got it for $180 US. It was the display model. Here is a better pic of it running! Jazzle, I am using space from the same place as 486Hawk. (I think you had the same problem with his post) I will look into it, but I am not sure there is much I can do. Is anyone else having problems?
Part2: Or should I say Take 2?? So I got a new Video Card: Then I said what the hell, since I am spending money.... Got some speakers and took them apart. I also got a smaller power supply at 250w: This will alow me now to make the case smaller, so that means I get to rebuild!! Back to the cutting board... Checked placement again. Finished cutting the sides. Tacked on side peices using small nails from a power staple gun! Next I reinforced the sides with glue. This will also prevent light from escaping through cracks if I decide to light up the inside, which is in the plans right now. To keep the keyboard covered, I have to recut the holes in a new board since the other one is too short now. Cutting two more braces for the lid. Opps did I say to much?
This is very cool. Sort of like one of those ancient computers. But couldn't you have made it even smaller by having the hardware (mobo, gfx) mounted vertical behind the TFT? Anyway, very cool. What kind of finish are you going to have on it?
I like it a lot integrating the keyboard is very neat. You've shown some top woodworking skills there mate It really does look like a BBC Master comp though...they were real big over here in the UK schools. How sturdy is the construction ? Only thing I might have changed would have been to make the keyboard section fold down or slide out to make the unit smaller when not in use. Cheers, CC
looking good but i dont like the choice of wood, use something that doesnt look cheap (no offense) check out my case i'm making out of cherry: http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=38878
hmmm, maybe, but I think I am too far along now. Not sure what I am going to do to the outside yet. Both Zap and 486Hawk said I couldnt paint it, so I am thinking either stain it or get Zap to help me replace the wood with plexi! You know, since it is his fault I am doing this in the first place! ^_^
Hey CharlieCat, Thanks for the pic. See what you mean. That will change a bit. Proably looking more like the Apple2 when the screen is attached. Construction is pretty stable. I havent done any drop tests, but I have carried it around without anything breaking yet. I am a bit worried though. The wood is only 1/4 inches thick.
Part 2 Continued..... Another placement test. WOW perfect fit! And I didn't measure it either! Cutting holes for the speakers. Speaker one done! Now to cut the cover for the display. Used a dremel to start the cut and finished with a jig saw. I like the result... Next I tacked the monitor frame to the speakers. Just ignore the extra cut on the right speaker hole. Uh, don't know how that got there! Reinforced the back and glued everything down. What it is going to look like. Redoing the KB cut-out. This time I used the dremel/jig saw combo and it turned out a LOT smoother. Screwed the KB in place. Put everything in place and pretended what it would look like done. Finally I mounted a couple of cabinet hinges I got from the Home Depot. Dont know why, but I liked the big bulky look of them. OK, OK, so it's not as small as I would like it to be..... But I still think it is looking good! More later...
Looking very nice there, I like it How are you planning to finish the wood, are you going to use stain or something along those lines?
??? 180$ ?? I only payed 200€ , for a brand New , 17" Acer AL718 LCD ... Oh well, Looking very good though !! I love the wood-look around the keyboard ! I really like the warmth that wood give's... keep the wood-look.. don't paint it or something.... maybe some oil to protect it though. Nice Job !! , looks like one of them first laptops ! =L
