phredgreen

okay... so i've given up on buying a laptop. fuck that.
for a good machine, i'm looking at paying between 1500 and 1900+ i can do better than that. i just hate the idea of paying some fucking company so much for portability. so why not make my own portable computer? here's the poop:

i'm gonna grab a dremel and go to work on one of these motherfuckers:


yeah baby... build a bracket on the inside to hold the guts in place, chop a coupla holes for fans, ports, and cd tray, and just grab it by the handle and go, whenever i wanna take my computing on the road. i can store an lcd monitor and the keyboard/mouse/cords in my backpack, so i don't see why not. here's the specs:


mobo:
ASUS RADEON 9100 IGP Motherboard for Intel Socket 478 CPU, Model "P4R800-VM" -RETAIL - $82.00
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...131-150&DEPA=1

chip:
Intel Pentium 4/ 2.8C GHz 800MHz FSB, 512K Cache, Hyper Threading Technology - Retail - $178.00
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...116-161&depa=1

memory:
Corsair Value Select 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 - OEM - $96.00
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...145-026&depa=1

hd:
SAMSUNG 80GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model SP0802N, OEM Drive only - $67.00
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...152-010&depa=1

power supply:
ENERMAX 250W Power supply for Intel P4 and AMD XP, Model "EG265S-VE FM" -RETAIL - $33.00
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...103-448&depa=1

cdrw/dvdrom:
Lite-On Black 48X24X48X16 Combo Drive, Model LTC48161H BK, OEM - $46.50
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...106-196&depa=1

modem:
Encore 56K V.92 Internal PCI Fax Modem, Model ENF656-ESW-INPR - Retail - $9.00
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...180-004&depa=1

monitor:
PROVIEW PRO576 15" LCD Monitor w/ Speakers -RETAIL - $291.00
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...184-024&depa=1

all of this gear comes to a total of 802.50 - so much less than a comparably equipped laptop.

so my question to you, the tfp public, is this: what could/should i do to improve this machine? what am i missing? what could you reccommend that's gonna give me better performance, or something that i could cut cuz i just don't need it and bring down my price? help me out, and when i finally have the finances to make this happen (it's gonna be a while, but it'll happen), i'll let you guys watch it come together.

remember, i need a machine that's gonna run all of the standard office applications, as well as a machine that can handle warcaft 3 and final fantasy eleven without any kind of degredation. those, along with keeping the price reasonable, are my needs.

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BoCo

Make sure you use motherboard standoffs, and some sound mat wouldn't hurt, either.

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Redjake

I would get a nicer motherboard. also, you need a graphics card a sapphire 9800 Pro should do the trick.

good idea with the ammo box, but it's been done many times before. good luck!

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phredgreen

i'm not looking for originality, i want functionality and portability. what nicer motherboard would you reccommend, considering price and size are my main concerns? the mobo i suggested has onboard video, ati radeon 9100. is that not going to cut it for what i need?

your opinion is good. real information is so much better.

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shakran

watch how you mount your hard drive - laptop HD's are built to take more vibration than standard ones.

Obviously weight is not a concern for you, so why not do what another guy did and build it into a Kaypro II case? You can have the entire computer in one unit, no seperate keyboard/mouse/LCD.

phredgreen

they kaypro would be much too big. the ammocan is a spectacular size.

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kel

Battery?

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goddfather40

Exactly what I was thinking. Are going to want to use this away from any outlets?

Also, watch how you ground the case and stuff. I am pretty sure laptops are "floating" compared to earth ground, so I don't know how you want to do that. If the ammo case is floating and you touch it while the computer is on you may get a shock

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Krycheck

A Shuttle XPC is the way to go imho.

http://us.shuttle.com/specs2.asp?pro_id=439

I have on of these on my desk at work and it only takes up less than 1 square foot of space. You can buy a carrying bag for it too.

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phredgreen

but... if i have the components screwed in to an aluminum inner frame or even the case itself, and the power supply screwed in as well, would that not transfer any charge through the power supply to the ground that's plugged in to the wall?

btw, a battery is a brilliant idea, but i just don't know how i could fit that in. ideas? i'm used to desktops, so i don't even know where to begin with batteries.

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JStrider

sounds like a way cool project!
definently post pictures of your progress!

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goddfather40

Yep, you're right. I was just in the laptop line of thinking. Most laptops I've seen have no ground connection when they are connected to AC.

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brandon11983

Yoshi on the Screen Savers did that mod last year. I did some searching around and couldn't find much that would help you with the build though.

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Lasereth

Shitcan the motherboard. That onboard video is a slap in the face. You'll need at least a Radeon 9600 Pro or GeForce FX 5700 Ultra to play FFXI, and it won't hurt your Warcraft 3 performance either.

This isn't a generic "Intel sux" comment, but if you went with AMD, you'd save $100 off the bat. Take that and buy a better videocard. Sapphire's Radeon 9800 Pro at NewEgg is $200...an incredible deal. If you don't want to spend that much, I'd try to find one of the aformentioned cards for around $130. Don't pay more than $140 for either one of them.

-Lasereth

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phredgreen

the big question... are these fancy-ass videocards gonna fit in an enclosed space like this? if this motherboard isn't gonna cut the mustard, make a suggestion that will. what amd chipset/artitechture should i be looking at?

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platypus

Cool idea. Would definitely be more portable than a desktop.

But don't try taking it on an airplane.

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Cynthetiq

so you are going to lug this box from place to place and not get the functionality of a laptop?

seems kind of silly to me.

I'm still voting for you getting a laptop.

I just saw some cat on the subway with an ibook on his lap....

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Redjake

look for an nforce 2 chipset motherboard. use a Barton 2500+ like everyone else for the processor (it really is the best damn value on the planet).

I suggest the Abit NF7-S V.2. your only problem is that it's pretty fucking big. maybe you could find a motherboard that's not quite as big but offers most of the same features?

and if you are seriously worried about the videocard not fitting, buy a shuttle case

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Lasereth

Well, the ammocrate idea is neat, but I doubt the motherboards I'd suggest will fit in it. I'm talking about the Abit NF7-S 2.0 and the Asus A7N8X. Both are great motherboards, and neither will fit in that ammocrate (my guess, anyway). You'll have to get a smaller motherboard. I'd try to find one with an nForce 2 chipset, PC3200 RAM support, and 400 MHz FSB Athlon XP support. 8X AGP is a standard these days, so that shouldn't be a problem.

If I were you, I'd buy a Shuttle and fuck the ammocrate idea. I've seen it done multiple times on Bit-Tech. It'll just put weird variables in the equation, like sizing and spacing, etc. If you fuck up one hole with a Dremel, it'll look like shit. I'm not sure if Shuttle has mobo combos for Athlon XP systems, so you're probably gonna go with Intel if you buy a Shuttle.

*EDIT* NewEgg has AMD Shuttles now. Kick ass! Go with AMD if ya get a Shuttle.

-Lasereth

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kutulu

You should double the amount of RAM and HD space.

Nafter

something like this? in a bit of a rush but i think zapwizard.com has some details on how he made it problems etc, check it out i love these type of cases btw, thinkin about doing one myself someday,

Redjake

that's the one I was talking about earlier

it was pretty cool though because I got to watch him making it through the days. he posted the updates on the bit-tech.net forums and one day he was like "it's gonna be on techtv." and it was

took him FOREVER to make it though. turned out truly awesome.

those connectors in the front actually work and everything. USB, parallel, serial, etc. he just changed the connectors around.

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Krycheck

You mean this one? http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/m...426073,00.html

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brandon11983

The very same. Good find.

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Kurant

I just bought a Gateway M675 off of Ebay for 899.00 brand new about 3 weeks ago. I've seen a few from the same guy for 899.00 to 1099.00 depending on what chip you get. (2.8C - 3.0C - or 3.2C)

17inch widescreen, 2.8C P4, 512megs RAM (2 sticks of 256, dual-channel DDR), 60gig HD, 9600 Mobility Video Card, Flash and Smartmedia reader, x4 DVD+R/DVD+RW, full keyboard, including number pad. (Lots of notebooks didn't have this)

He said these machines were overshipped from Gateway and he bought 60 of them, and he was only making about 100 bucks a piece at 899.00. If you search around, you can find one for less then 1500 bucks. Not to mention, like someone already mentioned, shuttle cases are the way to go. Also, if you can wait 3-4 months for PCI Express to hit, EVERYTHING is going to hit rock bottom in prices.


EDIT: I just saw one last week for sale on ebay, you can check it out, I'm at work and Ebay is blocked, or I'd look.

turbodriven

Here is an old school ammo crate install

http://www.spodesabode.com/content/article/ammo

turbodriven

Found another one.

http://www.casemodgod.com/forums/vie...5873e24d3f5e9d

merkdr

i saw the same thing done to an ammo box on .....tech tv , also theres instruction on how to make one with an old snes

HGClown

How are the new AMD 64 bit processors? I had a Athlon XP 2100 and it was a bitch to cool. Oh and yeah check out the Shuttle boxes like Krycheck said. I carried mine between work and home for a year (with the shuttle case) and didnt run into and shock or vibration problems. I'm running one now with a P4 2.4, 1 gig pc 2700, and a ati radeon 9800 pro and its as stable as can be (surprised me that the power supply could handle it). The only issues you might have is that it only has 2 slots, 1 agp and 1 pci, but hey its small.