Had an idea for a lan rig last night

[Knoxville]

As I'm hopefully gonna build a new all singing all dancing 64bit extravaganza this summer I was thinking about turning my current set-up (NF7, xp2700, 9700pro etc.) into a more portable system for lans.

Was thinking something along the lines of this -



For a case, building a motherboard tray into the bottom and a 17" tft into the lid with water cooling and minimal ventilation.

Has anyone attempted this before?, wanna try and get an idea of problems I might encounter before I start planning it more seriously.

[Knoxville]

No-one eh? looks like im off into uncharted territory then

[Agent]

Have you seen the Xbox / PS2 padded metal cases in GAME ?
Ive been tempted to mod one into a PC, very tempted.

[Knoxville]

Yeah, very similar to what I'm aiming for, except I wanna got a bit further and replace the standard side panels with aluminium diamond plate tbh, I'm sorely tempted to have a go at building an old P3 rig into one next week when I get paid just to see If it can be done.

[r1zeek]

Depending on the spec, you'll need a bit of ventilation on that thing,

All you really need is like a slot for the rad and then another grill opposite (to allow air to flow through)

TFT in the lid would be good, you gotta make sure it's protected though, some clip on aluminium diamond plate (to keep with the look of the case)?

[Knoxville]

That was the plan yeah, what im gonna do I think is get one of those flight cases from game, a cheap-ass case from ebuyer and some stick on plastic checker plate from halfords just to get an idea of the space before I go banging tft's into things tbh.

[cm_uk]

sounds well good.hope it goes well and we all get a little guide of your progress

[Zak33]

really the mobo wil need a bit of air, under and around it. Can you drill the case, with fine holes, and then use something black, like accoustic speaker cloth, to cover them. I also think a case fan is a good idea....

Dont think water cooling is a good plan.... its got potential, but as a first build I'd suggest the XP running SLOW...maybe underclock it to an XP1700 to start. Then find a cheapo heatsink from ebuyer, thats low.....thin...shallow....

dead exciting idea though Knox...a flight case kinda thing.

Would theTFT be built into the lid inside or outside? Would it need opening to see it? OR would the TFT simply fit inside on supports and then you take it out to LAN?

PSU.....NEEDS to be crner/edge mounted and maybe the fan in that would be sufficient for the systems normal needs.

It all needs to be mounted securely, BUT must be cool.... tricky but way possible.

and cool.

[seasick]

Have to agreed with Zak33 - especially regarding the power supply.

One other thing to consider regarding its placement is that the hinges on some flight cases will be attached quite low down, so you might not have enough clearance between the base and the bottom of the hinge to mount the PSU near the corner.

Anyhoo - have fun and post some pics.

[weebroonieuk]

do a google search as i cant find where i saw it but a guy had modded a briefcase with a full pc and watercooling before

it had one of those reservoirs that were like a big tube and he had green uv dye through the loop looked cool

[Stompy]

There was something like this on Bit-Tech, he was watercooling everything including the HDDs in a briefcase... Can't for the life of me find it though...

[Knoxville]

Zak,the tft was gonna go inside with an opening that could be covered securely for transport clipping it inside and taking it out is an interesting and possibly easier idea though, am planning a couple of 60mm fans on each side of the case the keep a decent airflow going rather than having huge grills though im tempted to just drill some small holes in the actual case to mimick a normal fan grill.

[Zak33]

if it will only be run with the case open, the air situ might not be so bad

What you need is an old laptop....take it apart and see how its built
then ignore it and do ya own thing

[bouncin]

ive got case here doing nothing which could be usefull for parts eg mobo tray

its an old coolermaster 201 with no sides ur welcome to it if u come and pick it up.

would be a nice touch to see a removable mobo tray on it