My PC in aluminium suitcase project

[Gorxon]

Hi,

some of you might have seen the pic I posted of a weird PC in the N64 Adaptoid contest, and by demand , I'll tell you all a little bit about how I made it. I don't have any pictures while I was making it, and as I still don't have a digicam, pics taken with my mobile will do for now :blink: . The reason I made it was to use it as a sampler/module for synth while playing at concerts and stuff...

As for parts I used an ASUS miniatx mainboard with nForce chipset. I could probably just have fit a normal atx in it, but it would be very litle space left, so I went for a mini-ATX. To fasten the mainboard I drilled 4 holes in the case, and bought 4 insanely long bolts to put there (the reason for the length was tthat I planned on putting something on top, but I never cared to finish it...). To raise the mainboard from the soft stuff that the case is filled with inside,
I used a thin aluminum plate (dunno the exact english word..), which I put below the mainboard. To raise the mainboard from that plate(?) I used 2-3 hex nuts on top of eachother. The result looked like this:

Getting the power supply fastened was a bigger issue...I had to open the supply and make 6 holes, two in the front (where you plug in the cable), two on the right side and finally two on the left side for the livedrive. I made holes accordingly on the case.

The problem was to fit it, which was kinda hard since all the boltheads had to be inside the PSU or else I couldnt fasten it with hex nuts. Also you can see I have a LiveDrive in it (together with a Creative Live! card, using kx drivers for ASIO support ). So I had to get the bolts get into the case in front and right + making the bolts go into my livedrive. Though job, but it worked out well. The worst part was to get the holes to match eachother, and I did some mistakes now and then...but often you get the chance to correct it so you dont have to buy a new suitcase.

I had to make 4 holes in the LiveDrive, two on each side. On the right side (see pic below) I fastened it with two bolts to the PSU. On the left side I fastened it to the case. I also put two bolts below it (through the case from below) and made them so long that they barely pushed the LD up a bit. I did this for support.

LD to case

LD to PSU

I had problems finding space for the HD, but I decided to put it in the top. I had to find something that I could attach the HD to, so I found a part from an old case. This part I mounted on the top of the case, and it supports up to two HDs.

Thats about it, if you're wondering about anything just ask. I bet you don't understand half of what I've said as my english isn't too good (especially not when talking about tools, bolts and such ). Just take note that this certainly not replace a laptop, as it's quite heavy (and of course have no screen). But for my use it works very well, and I use remote desktop to connect to it and configure it.

 

[Remote]

I don't get it, it's a pc in a suitcase...

Looks nice btw but perhaps you should have a round hole for the cpu fan inhaust with a nice chrome grill or similar

 

[Raging Fuel]

Thanks Gorxon I'll get round to giving this ago once I finish high school (only a few weeks left )

 

[Stezo2k]

heh thats realy nice mate

what about ventilation mate? that could be a problem

 

[Gorxon]

heh thats realy nice mate

what about ventilation mate? that could be a problem

If you look at the second pic from bottom you see that i have cut a hole in the case (just above the CPU fan). I didn't find a matching grill though, nor would I have put it on as I usually have a network cable going out from there (and vga, keyboard, mouse too when I use that on it...shich rarely happens). The temperature is lower than on my desktop computer, so it performs pretty well...

Raging Fuel:

Thanks for you interest, but before you start you better consider to think about what you really need it for (what do you need it for btw? ). The cutting is much harder to do than it looks like (as usual), and since my cutting machine (dunno what it would be called in english) blew up while I was working on it I actually used handsaw on most of the holes (!). Just be sure to plan well, and dont make any holes larger than they need to be. Rather a little little bit smaller and then you can use a...what is it called again...you know what i mean

Also, outputs is quite a problem if you plan on using it as a normal computer. One solution is to do as I do normally, just put the cables down the venting hole, and then connect them. Making it so that the outputs stick thru the case would be near impossible I think...
Also, on the sides of the case you can see those little brighter shining "sticks", which was in the way quite a lot too...its all about those little things you didnt think about but which suddenly become a problem.