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Project: Briefcase

S

StaticlyCharged

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 27, 2006
Messages
300
Well, I've got this old briefcase it's all silver and sweet looking, so I decided why not throw a motherboard i've got laying around in it.. don't we all feel the same way from time to time? (Sure we do). Anyways, I've decided to completely mod it into a working briefcasePC. Not sure how i'm going to do everything yet, but i've got some general ideas.






That's pretty much what i'm going to have to put into the case. :) Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
What are the system specs going to be? thats an interesting mobo layout, lol. I mean like ramslots/ pci layout, not in the briefcase.
 
This might give you an idea for the layout.
ClearPC® "Secret Agent" BRIEFCASE

Although your briefcase seems to be thinner. Might wanna take a look at a pico psu if you need more space and can get away with only 120 watts. Good luck with the build.

EDIT: mebbe even add an LCD monitor on the side like those all-in-one VAIOs
 
Ditch the mini-atx power supply and look at something like the ones at www.mini-box.com

You can also look around for like a 1u power supply that would work well too.
 
UPDATE

Specs are pretty much going to be absolute crap - to start. If it turns out to be a viable cool working mod, i'll be purchasing better parts / briefcase to mod. (P3 733/284MB PC 133 RAM/ Whatever that CD-Rom drive is.


As far as the PCI / mobo layout goes, Currently i'm at a standstill as to what to do. I have this riser card, and it's two PCI slots. What I need to do - if I want to insert the riser card into the briefcase PC is cut it in half, removing the top PCI slot. It looks like it's a replica of the bottom portion, so I would imagine it'd be possible, but I don't know. So Any input as to if that's possible would be great! Thanks.


I'm not sure, but I think what I'm going to do is cut a portion of the top of the briefcase and make it "pop up" with the CD-ROM drive because the cable for it is only a few inches long. So I won't be able to bend and twist it to the back of the briefcase. I'll have to work on the design portion of that - but that's the idea as of now.

As for adding an LCD - I considered it but in the end the cost for such a PC would just be too great. If this goes well, and I go through with my next briefcase mod (Would be the "atomic football" mod as suggested by a co-worker of mine.) The Briefcase with the launch codes or whatever that the president walks around with - it Would have an LCD inside of it.

Thanks for the suggestion on the layout btw :)

And finally, I considered the issue of the PSU and I got a better / smaller one :). I've taken it out of its case for circulation / size purposes. Not sure what i'll need to do to keep it from burning the inside of the case (as it is wood) etc.

Current issues are this: Circulation / Fan Placement
CD-ROM drive placement.
 
StaticlyCharged said:
[And finally, I considered the issue of the PSU and I got a better / smaller one :). I've taken it out of its case for circulation / size purposes. Not sure what i'll need to do to keep it from burning the inside of the case (as it is wood) etc.
http://staticlycharged.googlepages.com/BriefcasePC007thumb.jpg
Current issues are this: Circulation / Fan Placement
CD-ROM drive placement.
Click to expand...
Don't worry about your PSU burning the wood--it should never get anywhere close to that temperature (and if it does, you've got bigger problems).

For air circulation, you might consider getting a couple or three PCI slot blowers. They're slim enough to fit in your briefcase, and would work great for directing the air through tight spaces.

EDIT: What are the dimensions you're working with? And where did you get that briefcase?
 
Don't cut the riser card in half. Just buy a different one.
 
At work atm, will update dimensions when I get back home.

Great Idea with the slot coolers, :) Very happy with that idea. Something I thought about was how I was going to affix everything to the bottom portion of the briefcase, and I think i'm going to make a insert for the bottom of the briefcase, which I can then screw the motherboard into, as opposed to screwing it directly through the case ;-).

And as far as where I got the briefcase, It was an "art-kit" from when I was.. 14? I don't know it was a good 6-8 years ago that's for sure.

Hopefully I can use something like this for the riser card, since you don't think I should cut it in half. Though I likely will anyways since it won't serve a purpose after this mod. (just to see if it works).
http://www.buildtoorderservers.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=86&idcategory=78

These seem to have the best deal for slot coolers / shipping
http://www.xpcgear.com/pcblowerblk.html
Thanks again for the awesome suggestion :)
 
17"W - 13"L
Just over 1" deep on the bottom, and just under 1" deep on the top portion.

the motherboard itself will have to be affixed at the back and the back will have to be cut out of both the bottom and top portions of the briefcase as it's just a bit higher than the depth of the bottom portion of the case.
 
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