Hello all I have been building pcs and repairing them for more years now than I care to remember. I have built my own modded stacker case, with water cooling that I use as my main pc. What I want to do next is build a pc in a brief case, so its like a laptop. I know this has been done, but I am going to put mine in a smooth metal case, not a camera or tool type case, so it looks like something they thought was futurastic back in the 70s. I aim to get something like a laptop, that I have built myself, but that I can upgrade and have quad core chip etc and also look a bit different. I have seen some good cases that I want to use and will do a project log. I am going to use a ZOTAC mini mainboard etc, and depending on the room I have, will depend on if I use a graphics card or not. What I want to do is fit the monitor, in the lid, but have one cable to power it all like a laptop. I have seen a few case mods like this, and I was wondering about help and advice on what sort of power supply to use. I know you can get lcd monitors with their own power brick, but I was wondering on how to wire this into the pc power supply, what type to use, any help ideas etc! I dont want much do I??!! Anyhoo I am not scared of electronics, and soldering etc, I just want some advice and pointers in the right direction, then I can start geting the hardware together. I dont want to buy a psu and then find I cant use it as I am on a tight budget. Cheers gang, and its a pleasure looking at the performance modded pcs on here, I only wish I was half as talented as some of the people who put their work up for others to view! Regards from the Raven..
I am not sure what the internal voltage monitors use however if they are under 12v i don't see any reason why a pc power supply couldn't power it. Of course you would have to remove the monitors power transformer (the circuit board directly attached to the monitors power lead if it doesn't use a brick). Monitors consume anywhere between 100to 150watts for a 19", Maybe less, not really much more so make sure you have a beefy power supply. Best stick to a samsung LED monitor to be on the safe side.
psu Many thanks. By beefy do you mean 550 - 650w rated? Also why a Samsung screen??? Not a problem, just curious. Is it because people have used them before? Here is a pic of the type of case I want to use [/URL][/IMG]
Just split the 240v power in between the TFT & the PC. I'm guessing the Samsung screen was mentioned as it's LED so will draw a lot less power (if you were going to power it off the PC PSU, which I wouldn't advise)
Really? Dell rate nearly all their monitors at around 20-25W under usage, now i dont believe manufacturers claims but i think 100+W is way above the mark. If you were to use fairly basic components you might get away with a 150W picoPSU. But if you're looking for upgrades along quad core and graphics cards thats never going to work. Id say a decent 350-400W PSU and maybe THIS cable. It would give you 1 cable but 2 plugs for monitor and psu.
Just thinking to save space which ever monitor you get trace the circuitry as may be lucky in the power and controller board be separate and if so shove a volt/amp meter on it and could get away with a straight DC-DC converter save having another brick. Also have a look at http://www.lumenlab.com/d/index.php as there are alot of home made projectors and may be able to find a screen that you want which has a complete break down guide.
Ahh Ahhh Duh I am an idiot. I never thought of splitting the power.... I think what I will do is, have the power cable go into the side of the case, either through or socket or some king of wind up/cable pull release method, and then use a standard electricians junction box , to split the power to the pc power supply and also to the monitor. I am an idiot! I remember back in the day doing something like this in my old room at my parents house, as I only had one power socket in the room, and I wanted to power a tv and hi fi etc. So obvious it was staring me in the face and I never thought! When all is said and done, at the moment my quad core pc is plugged into a 4 way trailing socket, along with the monitor, and then the charger for the mouse and also the broadband modem. Its been fine for over 10 years so something similar for a small case pc is not going to bother the mains supply! Dong......and the light goes on!
