Portable Desktop: 'Deskbook'

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Reaper P7
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Portable Desktop: 'Deskbook'

Post by Reaper P7 » Tue May 03, 2011 4:39 am

First of all, I'd like to say hello to the Ben Heck forums.
I've been scrounging the forums for awhile now, and was actually inspired to start my project because of this site.
I'd like everyone to keep in mind that this is my first project, and all constructive suggestions are greatly appreciated. I'll be checking back fairly often to answer questions and acknowledge comments.

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Re: Portable Desktop: 'Deskbook'

Post by ThePortablizer » Tue May 03, 2011 6:26 am

I have an idea, get a laptop
edited

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Re: Portable Desktop: 'Deskbook'

Post by Reaper P7 » Tue May 03, 2011 12:34 pm

ThePortablizer wrote:I have an idea, get a laptop
Laptops are boring. Where is the fun in paying 3 times the price for something that operates with less operating power? In addition to having less options for upgrade.
humakabula1 wrote: :)
This is only my first attempt. Further research is needed to increase the life expectancy of the battery or what works best. I offer this as comparison, an Alienware gaming laptop that costs near $2k usually lasts for 1-2 hours with their 9 cells.

This is all experimenting with what I want to use as far as components go for other projects, and I'm going to continue tinkering and seeing how much farther I can push. :wink:

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Re: Portable Desktop: 'Deskbook'

Post by lifeisbetterwithketchup » Tue May 03, 2011 2:51 pm

Ignore these guys are acting all negative. That's pretty awesome. "Because you can" is a good enough reason to do anything. :mrgreen: Things don't need to be practical to be fun.
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Re: Portable Desktop: 'Deskbook'

Post by DK » Tue May 03, 2011 3:31 pm

I like it. Never leave the house with my laptop so it wouldn't bother me having to keep it plugged in.
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Re: Portable Desktop: 'Deskbook'

Post by Bush » Wed May 04, 2011 7:11 pm

Huma, most you post a picture in every thread you read? That has nothing to do with the thread other than the fact that you think it is stupid.

Edit: Also, I approve of the Deskbook :D

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Re: Portable Desktop: 'Deskbook'

Post by Reaper P7 » Thu May 05, 2011 9:39 pm

Thanks for the positive feedback everyone.
Y'all seem like one big happy family! :lol:
I'm already drawing up a 7" portable Gamecube and my own version of the portable 360. (another 30 mins of battery life? I'm going to try for more with (HOPEFULLY) a laptop screen. All of the conversion kits online run around $50-60 for a single, most places want you to buy 100+. So if anyone has a better source, please shoot it my way.
Ill make some new posts in the appropriate places once I get the time to actually design.

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Re: Portable Desktop: 'Deskbook'

Post by eagle5953 » Thu May 05, 2011 10:00 pm

Topic cleaned up. Please keep it that way.

As previously stated, this mod is advantageous in terms of cost, power, and upgradability. I hope you pursue it to completion.

Also, you may find this useful for ideas or motivation.

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Re: Portable Desktop: 'Deskbook'

Post by Bush » Thu May 05, 2011 10:06 pm

What sort of batteries are you using on this?

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Re: Portable Desktop: 'Deskbook'

Post by Reaper P7 » Thu May 05, 2011 10:44 pm

eagle5953 wrote:Topic cleaned up. Please keep it that way.

As previously stated, this mod is advantageous in terms of cost, power, and upgradability. I hope you pursue it to completion.

Also, you may find this useful for ideas or motivation.
Thanks for the link and comment, I got 2 ideas just from skimming over that. :)
As the thread originator, am I supposed to keep this clean? Or was that a general request?
Bush wrote:What sort of batteries are you using on this?
I severely hacked a UPS I found on sale at Wal-Mart for half off. The battery was a little larger than I originally wanted, but the benefits are larger for Lead based batteries compared to Lithium Ion from what I have researched. It does last around the neighborhood of 30 minutes, and the video card and LCD actually turning on are my sources of power loss. Right now I am noticing that the transformer is causing some minor disturbances on a few components in the case, or I am simply overlooking something else. I am trying to isolate it a little better, as well as shielding. If someone has an idea/plan for something like a small Faraday cage shoot it my way please. :) (For those unfamiliar: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)
This is the exact model of UPS I'm using, with a stock battery:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/APC-450VA-Bac ... ./12321684" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Just a couple more updates:
*I am upgrading the speakers to something a little smaller that doesn't have 2 honking magnets inside right over my hard drive and transformer.
*Trimming up the monitor and making the wood a little more "presentable".

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Re: Portable Desktop: 'Deskbook'

Post by humakabula1 » Fri May 06, 2011 1:43 am

eagle5953 wrote:Topic cleaned up. Please keep it that way.

As previously stated, this mod is advantageous in terms of cost, power, and upgradability. I hope you pursue it to completion.

Also, you may find this useful for ideas or motivation.
next time just say 'deleted huma's posts'. it would entertain me more.

oh look, i haven't posted in here.
nice mod man, what did you use for the inside cover?
and can we get some specs?
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Re: Portable Desktop: 'Deskbook'

Post by Reaper P7 » Fri May 06, 2011 11:52 am

humakabula1 wrote: nice mod man, what did you use for the inside cover?
1/8in thick balsa wood. Light, and easy to work with. Next projects will likely include plastic, I just used Balsa because it's cheap and I'm used to working with it.
humakabula1 wrote: and can we get some specs?
The final specs are as follows:

AMD Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition Callisto 3.2GHz (slight OC)
Corsair 4 GB SODIMM - 1333 MHz
SilverStone 450W SFX PSU
Asus M488T-i Deluxe Motherboard
Acer p191w Monitor... Heavily hacked xD
PNY Nvidia Ge-Force 9800GT - 1GB

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Re: Portable Desktop: 'Deskbook'

Post by jdmlight » Fri May 06, 2011 1:03 pm

Looks great! I'm quite fond of the secret-agent style briefcase. 8)

Is there a battery indicator of some kind? I know you said you used a heavily-modified UPS for power, so there might be one already. If you don't have one, it would be a good addition in my opinion. Here is one example.
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Re: Portable Desktop: 'Deskbook'

Post by Reaper P7 » Fri May 06, 2011 3:16 pm

jdmlight wrote:Looks great! I'm quite fond of the secret-agent style briefcase. 8)

Is there a battery indicator of some kind? I know you said you used a heavily-modified UPS for power, so there might be one already. If you don't have one, it would be a good addition in my opinion. Here is one example.
It does not have an indicator light, but I was thinking of making one as an after thought looking at the PS2p by BH.

Parts ordered on digikey as well as some other things ive been needing for some other projects.

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