laptop made stationary....anybody?

[burntheland]

I was just wondering if anyone else has seen a mod like this done recently? I'm going to take an old Dell Insparon and make that bad boy a stationary fixture. I only use it for internet and CAD anyway. Might as well get it all apart, see if I can upgrade the RAM, and add a few fans to keep it from overheating (as it is infamous for.)

It's probably the closest thing to junk that I own, but I just don't have the heart to throw it out. I've had it sense I was 17....I'm now almost 25. It had some major hardware issues last year, but I was lucky enough to find someone who had the same unit with a busted LCD and they didn't want it. So I got that repaired and it pretty much just sits out in my shop so I can open some drawings.

I have a vague idea of what I want to do with it, and it's not going to be pretty, but I believe it will wind up lasting longer and running better. Which is all I'm really after. Any links will be greatly appreciated....if not, it'll be alright.

Eagles wing it anyway. :p :banana::banana::banana:

[x88x]

Assuming I'm thinking the same thing you are, it's been done before. Doesn't mean it's not a good idea though (quite the contrary, I guess..since it has been done before ;) ).

I feel like cooling would really be the only reason to do it though, but then I would always be thinking "wait, what if I want to move it...". :P IDK. Anyways, it'll be interesting to see what you come up with.

[mDust]

Laptops, especially "stylishly thin" laptops, are notorious for having little to no ventilation. Someone really needs to slap these designers while repeating "Form follows function!" If it doesn't need to be pretty, you can cut much of the bottom plastic out and replace it with mesh and fans. That will solve the heat issue. Also, make sure you keep it in the cleanest part of the shop. After seeing the thread with pics of filthy computers, I've been a bit more conscious of where my netbook gets set down. Laptops are pretty crammed together and dust/debris will have a much greater impact much quicker in tiny spaces.

Were you planning on bolting it down to a table or something? What do you mean by stationary exactly? You can always get a laptop dock (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=604&name=Docking%20Stations). That should get it up off the lap/desk/workbench a bit and allow more air to get inside...which makes meshing the bottom unnecessary but no less fun. It also adds connectors and other fun things depending on the model. Although, you could always build your own dock and make a worklog to post here! Brilliant!

[burntheland]

lol....no, not bolting it down. As much as the thought of taking a tap and drill to it appeals to me! lol Just leaving it in one place.

I just mean gutting it, throwing away all the skin and plastics and just putting it in a well ventilated plexi box and leaving it in one place. I might make it so there is an easy-remove trey for cleaning. You know, disconnect three cables and slide the mobo out the bottom and dust that bad boy off....I think that would be handy :D

[NightrainSrt4]

I've done a laptop to desktop conversion. (http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16972) I had fun with it and it was pretty sweet compared to the old beater laptop it had been. I'm currently getting set to redo it, as I've got the screen which is almost perfect just sitting, so I am going to take on what I originally wanted to do -> All in One.

Go for it, you can make it look pretty decent with a little bit of work. Shoot, that was just a piece of oak and a couple pieces of plexi.

[burntheland]

Thanks for the link. Do you have any finished pics of that mod?

[NightrainSrt4]

I don't have any that I know of. The edges of the plexi were sanded down more, along with the faces to get rid of scratches. I fed the cables through the back plate and connected them up and sealed it all up. It was essentially finished, it was just small things that were cleaned up.

My mods tend to be an eternal progression, and as such I've never really considered any finished. Eventually I do move on from them though, I just never declare them as such in case I ever come back to tinker.

[burntheland]

lol...yeah that's kind of how I feel. Every time I get done tinkering with something I think of 8000 other ways I would have done it. until finally I sell it or give it away so I don't have to look at it anymore.

[Jake2k]

haha wow, I just logged on to ask pretty much the same thing. I got a friends lappy and the screen went out so I'm thinking of buying it from him and transplanting it into an xbox 360 case.

[burntheland]

OOOOOOOH not a bad idea at all!!! I think I'm gonna put it in a plexi box with a few extra fan cutouts. ....they just don't put enough airflow in laptop's. There's like a few tiny fans in the back and one crappy one on the bottom :s

[Jake2k]

Anyone know if there is a way to hook up a 3.5" sata drive to a laptop motherboard? Maybe an adapter or something? Also I'll have to find a way to hook up a cd drive.

[Luke122]

There are adaptors for the optical drives. As for the Sata hdd, the laptop likely uses a slide on piece on the drive, that then clips into place on the motherboard. That slide on piece will fit on a 3.5" hdd, so you only need to figure out the mounting of it. :)

Alternately, you could make your own adaptor from a scrap hdd and sata cables..

[Jake2k]

Damn that sounds like a pain haha, I might just throw a 2.5" drive in there and call it a day.

[burntheland]

lol...lord knows I would.

[Luke122]

I might have to try that on my Zero build when I finally get back on it. :)

[burntheland]

That zero build is going to be sick!

[Luke122]

That zero build is going to be sick!

If I can ever get back to it! I've been super busy with refurbishing hardware to pay my mortgage, and band stuff, and daddy stuff, and, excuses excuses.

[burntheland]

If I can ever get back to it! I've been super busy with refurbishing hardware to pay my mortgage, and band stuff, and daddy stuff, and, excuses excuses.

I feel you there! Daddy duty, boyfriend duty, work a.k.a. waste of my time, keeping up with the house, and playing guitar....seems like a guy cant ever get a chance to get out to his shop and drink a Busch and grind on some projects....ah women. lol

can't live with em' and the judicial system prohibits murder 1. :facepalm:

JOKING LADIES....***whispers***if there are any on this forum? :bunny:

[BuzzKillington]

Anyone know if there is a way to hook up a 3.5" sata drive to a laptop motherboard? Maybe an adapter or something? Also I'll have to find a way to hook up a cd drive.

There are PCMCIA/ expresscard 34/54 sata adaptors for 15-30 dollars.