Iron Man 2 XBox 360 Suitcase?

[FatylPCs]

So a few months back I wanted to an XBox 360 laptop, being jelous of all of the other ones I've seen. So the idea came to stuff it into a case that looks like the suitcase in Iron Man 2 (the one that turns into his armor). So far what I have done is started making a buck for vacuforming the the top and bottom of the external housing, started work on a custom DVD tray cover which should blend seamlessly with the rest of the case due to the lines and divots that will go around the outside edge.



I've also cut a vent for the top of the metal casing that sits inside the unit, cut away the side next to the DVD drive and added an extra SPST switch to the board to controll DVD Drive ejection. The new fan I've put in is an 80mm fan hardwired to the underside of the board to the fan connectors. I wanted to tap a 12v rail but I was afraid of shorting the fan out or worse. I've also had to replace the XClamps and reflow the board to remove an RROD (bought this 360 Console off of ebay for $25.00 because of that issue). I'd love to have it watercooled like some of the other systems I've seen but its not a financial possibility right now. I'll be posting updates as I get time to work on this.









When finished this 360 will:

* Be 18" wide x 3 - 5" high x 9" deep.
* Include LG Laptop display driven by this LVDS board => http://www.ebay.com/itm/5251-Audio-LCD- ... 574wt_1140" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
* Include a Handle for that extra suitcase/brief case feel.

What I'm planning to do still yet is:

* Move the Connector for the Hard Drive next to or behind the DVD Drive
* Move the Power Switch/ROL over to the center of the casing, using the origial switch cover

Now seeing as I've ranted long enough my only question is: The LVDS controller I have coming in runs on a 12v 4amp power supply. Can I tap a 12v rail without blowing it out?

[RDC]

I doubt the LVDS pulls that full 4A, be a real bad design if it did, and you're good to pull a few Amps from the 12v rail, so it'll be fine.

I personally wouldn't power the fan there from the stock fan header though. That thing has a tendency to pop the Transistors when anything but the stock fans are used, and sometimes even then. If you're wanting to keep it so the 360 can control the fan speed you can try it there, worst that can happen is Q3A2 or Q3M1 dies is all, and replacing it will get it working again.

[FatylPCs]

Where would you recommend putting the larger fan then? I'm trying to avoid burning it or anything else out.

[RDC]

If you're wanting it to still be controlled by the temperature of the 360 like the stock fans are there isn't. You'd have to add in your own temp sensor and controller circuit to do that, but there are plenty of other fixed voltage sources, or combinations thereof if 12v is too loud, that can be used to power fans. 12v for the + and a 3.3v source for Ground of the fan will give you an 8.7v source for the fan.

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=613160" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[FatylPCs]

Thanks for the info I'll move the fan over to one of the 12v rails. Which of the 3 rails would be suitable for the LVD controller?

Another thing I want to do is add in a second video connector but I'm not sure exactly where to find one.

[RDC]

Welcome.

All of the 12v 'rails' are the same rail, so it really doesn't matter which 12v spot you use. The PSU has 3 wires for the 12v, but that's just to handle more current, versus using 1 larger wire is all. The best place would be to solder right under the PSU connector for it.

[FatylPCs]

Thanks a bunch! I settled on tapping the Aux Header (J7G1) I did have to bridge two contacts to activate it and I'm using a small sized circuit board connected to the fans original molex connector to to connect to the motherboard as a means of making it modular of sorts. I'm hoping I can draw the same current off of that mini-board to power the LVDS controller. I'll post pics and a video soon as I find my camera .

[RDC]

The only thing you want to power from the J7G1 header is some fans, not a 3A+ load like that LVDS will be. You need to solder up a couple of wires to the 12v and GND spots on the bottom side of the PSU connector for powering the LVDS.

[FatylPCs]

I tried tapping right under the PSU but there was some feed back and the wires burnt them selves off. :-S I'll be looking into a few other sources for the LVDS controller if that's the case. whats the max amperage output on the Aux Header?

EDIT: As promised here are some pics!






Video coming soon!

[RDC]

If it was soldered up right nothing would have been torched. You can pull around 1A or so from the header there, any more and the traces could fry.

[FatylPCs]

Im guessing the wiring i was using was faulty some where then or something fell off when i closed it back up - I made sure the solder points were good and clean so as to not have to buy a new motherboard..

EDIT:

Heres the video!

[FatylPCs]

Alright - I have a Kinect on order and should be in soon. It will be a repair job when I get it, simply because I got a steal on it for having some sort of error. I'm not sure as to what the error is, but I'll test it out on my main console before I go splicing the lines and connecting the the sensor to the actual board. Any one have a pinout of the Kinect board?

As far as case construction goes, I really haven't done much with it yet other than cut out the appropriate ports on the back and front. I'm going to have some pictures up when I get further along with the case and all of the other parts come in (i.e. LVDS controller and aforementioned sensor.) I am not planning on adding in a keyboard but will leave the USB ports accessible for it.