briefcase computer mod!

[brandoj]

Well about a week or so ago, I got the crazy idea of putting my pc components into a briefcase. Through talking to my computer nerd friends and they seemed to think it was a good idea. Well then I decided to go briefcase hunting. I went to Sams Club, Walmart, and Staples, but everthing was much too compact and extensive. With a sliver of hope left, I went to office max, and found the perfect briefcase. With some cardboard cutouts of my pc components, I began assembling them together inside the display model briefcase. I decided this would work rather well, so I decided to buy it. After asking a sales guy there, he said all they had left was the display model, so he would give me 20% off. So I ended up getting this 'computer case' for $40, which is rather cheap.

When the weekend came around I asked one of my mod-savvy friends to come help me. We spent about 6 hours one day and went to town on this briefcase. We ripped, tore, cut, hotglued, drilled, dremeled, and soldered the crap out of the case until all my components were in there nice and snug. Now was the time for the ultimate test... We hooked up my monitor, keyboard, mouse, and fired it up. It worked! It worked sweet! The best part is that it's super light! I compared the weight of the finished briefcase to that of my now empty steel case, and they weighed about the same. The only thing that isn't finished is I need to put fans in the holes that you see. Here are some pictures:

Here's the power button. I took that right off my old steel case.

 

[mbriant]

Nice job !

Now try taking it through an airport.

Could you jam an LCD monitor in the lid?

 

[brandoj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbriant Could you jam an LCD monitor in the lid?

I've thought about this, but I decided I'd rather spend my extra money on headphones.

 

[Snake]

Pretty cool job. Shove that LCD in and you'd just about end up with my ZD7000.

 

[zachary80]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbriant Could you jam an LCD monitor in the lid?

I am pretty sure I have seen it done before

 

[radicaltothemax]

HAhah...I'm a big fan of the gheto cooled Power Supply.

How hot does that thing run.
If I was mine Id be over engineering the cooling system right now.

 

[Stephonovich]

Sexy indeed. Now you need to get some nice chunky rechargeables and stick 'em in there. Along with the LCD in the lid, of course.

 

[Aman]

A few buddies and me did this last year, and it turned out really well. And we actually were able to bring it to the airport, as they thought it was a tablet PC. I don't know why, they're idiots

Cooling isn't impossible, we put vents with 40mms on the top of the briefcase and we got ducts and heatpipes. A cost of about 30 bucks for the entire thing.

 

[Cyrillic]

Would you mind showing a pic of where you access the PCI cards? That'd be really great, I've been thinking of doing this and now I really want to. Oh, and if it were me I'd definately go for the LCD monitor to make it truly portable. Not to mention a slide out keyboard or something!

 

[viator122]

Not to be rude or anything, but why did you do this? It seems like without an LCD in the case, it's just a normal desktop with a handle, and with an LCD it's a clunky laptop.

 

[The_Mac]

I've got all the bits and pieces to put together an all-in-one in a briefcase (mini-atx board, LCD, compact KB, the works) but I've been putting it off for about a year, thanks for reminding me to get back on it, I'll have mine up and running after reading week.

Looks nice though.

 

[warubozu]

Cool mod and cleanly excuted. Do keep us updated on future upgrades on your briefcase rig.

 

[brandoj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by viator122 Not to be rude or anything, but why did you do this? It seems like without an LCD in the case, it's just a normal desktop with a handle, and with an LCD it's a clunky laptop.

Well here's the thing. I go to quite a few LAN parties, and to lug around my computer in its old steel case was a pain in the neck. Now I have a case that weighs less than half as much, and with a handle. The advantage is had over a laptop is easy upgrade-ability. For instance, with a laptop you cannot replace the motherboard when you need a new one, or the processor for that matter. But the number one reason I did this is because I can. It was fun, and cheap, and now it looks sweet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyrillic Would you mind showing a pic of where you access the PCI cards? That'd be really great, I've been thinking of doing this and now I really want to. Oh, and if it were me I'd definately go for the LCD monitor to make it truly portable. Not to mention a slide out keyboard or something!

That was a problem when we first started building it. If you look at the pictures of the insides, the motherboard is mounted so that the access ports are in the middle. This saved us quite a bit of space due to a problem with the graphics card being so tall. (most of you probably don't understand what im saying) With this mod, I had to get extensions for the motherboard plugs and put them myself into the side. I'll post up pictures of the ports soon.

 

[tsplash75]

that thing is gonna run HOT the way it stands.

you're gonna need to duct the heat from the PSU directly out of the case as well as port the fan on the heatsink out the top to ensure stability and protect those components from overheating your briefcase pc.

good build though. kudos.