Project: 12" TFT in a Plexi Case

Some of you might have seen some of these pictures on a modding thread but this is my first worklog so bear with me. Also my camera is a bit low spec but I am looking to borrow a better one and throw some better pics of my rig up.

I wanted a PC that was original and that would look good, I thought about building from scratch but found a cheat. A kit that had all the parts to make whatever I wanted with a mobo tray included for less than it would cost to have the entire thing made from sheet metal.

So I started by buying this kit, called a lubic kit.

http://www.aerocool.us/aerocool-file...ubic-combo.htm

This kit is a bit of a pain in the ass to start with, you have to work out where to put sliders in order to mount further pieces and I found myself virtually ripping the entire structure apart just to put in one slider.

Finally I finished my case, Version 1.

As my imagination is slightly limited it was just a basic ATX case on wheels, I didn’t take any pictures as I didn’t like the design. So I dismantled it and started all over again.

This time I had more of an idea what I wanted to do, I started with the top and worked down, mounted the motherboard tray at the top and made it so it slid out, allowing easy access. Then further down still I placed the PSU, now I ended up with an inverted ATX design. The only problems I had were the drive mounts, I wanted to be original so I devised a way to mount the CD’s vertically and place the HD’s vertically below them.

This caused a problem with airflow so I moved the HD’s to the side of the case but still vertical, allowing space for a 140mm fan in the centre.

Now for the screen, the exciting bit.

I tried to get a 12” Touchscreen but found they were too pricey so I settled for a 12” TFT from Ebay.

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...2/P1010055.jpg

Got it and took the casing off, drilled a few holes in the mounting plate and fixed it into my case but portrait not landscape. On the front where normally CD drives would be.

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...2/P1010056.jpg

I rigged a VGA lead internally to give me output and made a connection from a molex to the Power pin I needed, (Not ideal but it will last for a while).

I mounted the rest of my components and then fired it up, the screen worked although still set to landscape.

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...2/P1010064.jpg

After a while of playing around with the Nvidia Desktop I got my screen to run at 600x800 at a 90degree angle at a refresh of 80hz, threw on a RocketDock to allow easy application loading and then it was done.

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...2/P1010061.jpg

From then on I spent about 1 week measuring all the externals so that I could have some Plexi cut. I went on to Ebay again and found some black gloss plexi at 3mm.

It arrived and I talked to friend of mine who has a CNC machine, gave him some drawings with all the measurements I needed, including holes for CD trays, fans etc and send him the plexi.

A few days later my plexi returned all cut and ready to mount, but I needed holes drilling to mount it onto my case. (Pics to follow later)

cool. I think thats the biggest LCD I have ever seen on the front of a case. Very nice job.

Glad you like. should look cool when its done, i will keep you posted

that is sweet

For any who are interested here is the plexi. Needs some filing down in parts but it will soon be ready for fitting.

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...2/P1010067.jpg

Hopefully it will be finished soon.

Any comments are welcome as always.

Here are some more pics for you to look at.

People have been asking for pictures of the screen so here they are.

There will be more pics when it has some more sides on.

Enjoy!!

sorry about the size i will edit later on.

how hard was it to rig the VGA lead?
and what kind of work did that entail?

awesome to see such a big screen for a mod. 12"... dang. haha

and speaking of that, do you think it would be hard to use a screen like this? (i hear its harder to use a laptop screen)...
http://cgi.ebay.com/LG-Philips-15-in...QQcmdZViewItem

.. sorry to ask so many questions. just a n00b to modding, and curious. :)

The VGA lead is a bit of an issue with me at the moment as it currently come out the back of the gfx card and then back in through a hole in the plexi at the back (there will be pics up soon) then it routes round the inside of the case and into the screen. I think its a bit of an eye sore so I am trying to find a better way of doing it. My screen has a VGA port so no modding involved really.

It looks even better in the flesh, my camera is a little dodgy as the colours look washed out on the pics.

Laptop screens are always harder as you have to try and figure out the connections. Laptops normally have an internal conection that you would have to rewire into a DSUB or SVideo. I would try and get some wiring diagrams for the laptop it came from (google) or maybe contact the manufacturer and ask them what wire does what.

Everyone is a n00b once, so dont worry about it.

Is that freelancer on the screen??

As far as I know, that's not freelancer.