My new project...Finally!

[Alice]

I'm finally getting all of the parts together enough that I can officially announce my latest project: I'm going to build a laptop! And I mean really build it. For the motherboard, I'm going to use a PIII single board computer, that I'm soon to obtain. I have the backplane, which has one isa and one pci. It's about 1.5 inches tall, so this thing is going to be about 1.75 inches thick(!). The sbc is about 13 inches wide, so I'll have to get a bigger screen (or some speakers?) to compensate. Still working on getting a controller card for the lcd, but if all else fails, I'm about to tripple my income, so I can afford to hack up a new lcd. The sbc supports processors up to 1ghz, but I'm going to get an adapter so I can use my tualatin celeron 1.4ghz. I'm going to build the case out of some form of translucent green plastic to give it that badass techie look. I don't want to have to buy one of those expensive tiny keyboards, but I will if I have to; same goes for the mouse. I'm still working on getting the battery thing working, but I'm sure it wont be a problem. I know a lot of you guys think this is impossible, so I'll be sure to try extra hard to rub this in your faces (just kidding). If you guys have any advice, I'd like to hear it. I mainly need to know about cheap lcds, tiny keyboards, those mouse pad thingies, and the best pci video card. Feel free to tell me what you think of the project.

[LiGhTBoY]

Don't forget to post pics when you are done

[Alice]

I'm probably going to post some pics of what I have later today.

[Smirabi]

this sounds very cool, good luck. MAG makes some good looking 14" flat panel monitors, and they are encased in aluminum, so that may be helpful to know. translucent green plastic begs to be lit from within, so if you can make that happen please do, as it will make it so much better looking.

good luck and mod on (let's see those pictures!)

[arabarabian]

Yeah, pics are man's best friend here...

[Alice]

Alright, the pics are at the address below. Kind of a mock-up though. The only part in the pics that I'm going to use will be thr backplane (the thing that everything is plugged into). I may use that geforce4 mx 420 just until I get something better though. I already placed a bid on the new SBC, and am soon to order a tualatin adapter. Then I'll pull the 256mbx2 out of my tualatin system (along with the processor) and give this thing a test run. After that, I think I'll start constructing the case while looking for an appropriate lcd. Thanks for suggesting MAG Smirabi, I'll check them out later. I still need to know about the other things, so ask around. Thanks again!

PICS! (http://bigrock.com/~alice/projects/laptop/)

[FunkDaMonkMan]

I would use a dc to dc power supply, and then use a battery to power the power supply. A lot of the dc-dc powersupplies come with AC adaptors. You could use the adaptor to charge the battery while powering the laptop.

[Alice]

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. Speaking of electricity, I have to go do my homework for my electronics class. Maybe tomorrow I'll post the pics and specs of my new SBC (granted I win the auction). Keep the posts coming.

[Alice]

Well, I won the auction for the sbc. $30+$15 for shipping+tax. There are more available; Check out the link below.

SBC (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4614&item=3487129776&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW)

It should get here in a couple of days, but I still need to get the tualatin adapter. Unfortunately, I have absolutely no money at the moment (I can't even afford ciggarettes!). I'll do the testing with my PIII 700 (the one in the picture). In the meantime, I'd really like some more suggestions (any kind really, not just pertaining to info I've asked for).

[Mark620]

I looked at that board. Wish I knew enough to figure out how to use it.

[Hamspiced]

so far it looks pretty good...

lol everytime you mention SBC im thinking Small Block Chevy....

Too many car forums me thinks.....

[Alice]

Wow, forgot I made this thread. Yeah, I still need a few parts: power supply, keyboard+touchpad, battery, hdd, tualatin adapter, and a wireless card. The lcd I bought is working out great (I'm using it right now). I'm not going to strip the lcd down until I have all of the parts I need.

[SniperXX]

Do these SBCs go in like a specific case for like normal use? Can you explain a little to me as what these SBCs basically are? Also, I was wondering about using some of those for folding and getting adapters so I could use a better PIII (if possible). So what would I need for them? I dont mean to thread jack but I am curious about these SBCs, thanks.

Also, I hope you make this mod work. Sounds pretty cool. I think its totally possible but I dunno how you will get good long battery life w/o using a heavy battery.

[BatousaiRyu]

thats really nice looking. im not to familiar with laptops so ill be sure to follow this religously :P

[Alice]

SBCs are like motherboards without any pci slots. They generally need a backplane for power, but some don't. They wont fit in a normal case. You would normally need some sort of rackmount case. Also, I don't think you can have more than four per backplane, and those damn backplanes are expensive. Just do some googling on PICMG. That's the type of connector used on this type of SBC.

[violineb]

hmm this is definitely looking interesting :) So these sbc mobos have a litte slot on the bottom, they plug into a "backplane" ? Either way the price sure beats mini ITX. Keep this updated :p

[Alice]

I might not do any work on it for a while. I still owe some money for the lcd and it looks like I'm going to have to buy a new mobo for my main rig.

[Hamspiced]

I might not do any work on it for a while. I still owe some money for the lcd and it looks like I'm going to have to buy a new mobo for my main rig.


i hear ya on money probs... :-/

[SniperXX]

i hear ya on money probs... :-/

Ditto on that. :-/ :sn: