[Leroy0Jenkins]

Hey everyone! I just wanted to show off my plans for a portable desktop with a monitor built in. First off I'm basically taking the idea for this from Ben Heck, here it is.
I just wanted to post here to get some feedback and suggestions from the more experienced. (First real mod build)
Now right now I'm in the planing process of figuring out spacing and what not. I've drawn a design in rhino 5, as you can see they're pretty rough drawings. Basically just trying to find out where to put everything.





I've settled on having the gpu laying on it's side (It's going to be a 680

) and I'm going to have the intake and exhaust separated from the main case using vents of some sort. As for the monitor mount I'm open to suggestions but having it move up is a must as ventilation will already be terrible. I'm leaning towards doing what Ben Heck did and just putting rollers on his monitor mount and adding tracks on the case. The mount, which is blue in the renders is in that odd shape to cut down and thickness but mainly to provide better airflow to the cpu. I think that will be made out of aluminum.

Now on to the case, Heat dissipation, ease of manufacturing, and structural integrity are all factors that I need to consider. I'm a senior in high school and I have access to the school wood shop. We the general wood cutting set up as well as a wood cnc, laser cutter, and a 3d printer (8"x8"x8"). So making the case out of wood would be fairly easy to do, however I'm curious if it would be better to make it out of aluminum or acrylic. Ease of manufacturing would be a factor here as I can't do aluminum at the wood shop.

The last problem I have is that the psu I have right now is a Corsair 850HX so to cut down on size I think I'm going to open it up and do a what Photograph did about a year ago and have the power come from one cable He does this on pages 1 and 3 LINK
I'm not just doing this for the single power cord though as with the original case it would be too big to fit in the case. I could use our 3d printer to make a smaller case for the psu or I could just use some sheet aluminum.

Anyways that's all I have now, don't be afraid to tell me I'm doing something completely wrong with any luck I'll have a build log going with in a couple of weeks! -ps First post

 

[TLHarrell]

Overall cool concept. As something you're going to be using as a semi-portable, I'd think you would prefer rigidity. If you're using wood or plastics for the exterior, at least make an internal frame of aluminum or steel to support everything.

For the monitor, I'd certainly prefer to have the screen face inward when it's being transported. Think of a mount that either tilts outward to allow the screen to swivel around 180 degrees, or slides up far enough for it to do so.

The only other concern I see is that it's got a fairly narrow footprint, so it's not going to be really stable. I'd recommend some sort of feet to stabilize it.

 

[Leroy0Jenkins]

I hadn't thought about making a frame, that's a good idea. It wouldn't mess too much with spacing, the only thing would be that I would have make it so the monitor could come up still. As for the monitor I think I'm just going to do some sort of door to cover it up. It wouldn't add that much thickness and it could act as a support for the whole case. I think it's going to be front heavy with the monitor so That should fix it. Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it!

 

[TLHarrell]

Always glad to help. Looking forward to you continuing this project. I don't get much modding done myself since I don't have much available cash, so definitely happy to lend a hand where I can. Reminds me of the desktop all-in-one design I was thinking about making...