My Attempt At An Xbox Mini, inspired by ghostavel's mini Options

[sumdude]

About the RAM. I've found notice with some graphics cards and some do use same ram. Then again i saw that an old ATI rage 3D IIC that had same pinout and same size as the xbox ram.. but the speed was slower.. the xbox i believe uses 200mhz while the card i found uses half, odd eh? but could probably could rip them out with a soldering torch out of a busted xbox. Oh and another idea of the project, maybe get one of those CF or SD card to IDE adapter for even more compact. put the movies somewhere else.. oooor if you're gonna use it for games as well then stay the course.

[MasterGouken]

About the RAM. I've found notice with some graphics cards and some do use same ram. Then again i saw that an old ATI rage 3D IIC that had same pinout and same size as the xbox ram.. but the speed was slower.. the xbox i believe uses 200mhz while the card i found uses half, odd eh? but could probably could rip them out with a soldering torch out of a busted xbox. Oh and another idea of the project, maybe get one of those CF or SD card to IDE adapter for even more compact. put the movies somewhere else.. oooor if you're gonna use it for games as well then stay the course.

There's no problem aquiring the ram as i have a dead xbox motherboard here. The problem is my soldering/desoldering isnt up to that level yet. Im pretty sure i wouldnt be able to successfully install the ram without causing some damage to the motherboard, or at least bridging the legs. If theres anyone who installs extra ram here in the UK please pm me with details.

As for the CF/SD to IDE idea, i will have a few games on there (thats why there is one controller port, otherwise i would omit it for a cleaner look) and a few emulators too, so i dont think that would work. Thanks for the idea though.

[sumdude]

There's no problem aquiring the ram as i have a dead xbox motherboard here. The problem is my soldering/desoldering isnt up to that level yet. Im pretty sure i wouldnt be able to successfully install the ram without causing some damage to the motherboard, or at least bridging the legs. If theres anyone who installs extra ram here in the UK please pm me with details.

As for the CF/SD to IDE idea, i will have a few games on there (thats why there is one controller port, otherwise i would omit it for a cleaner look) and a few emulators too, so i dont think that would work. Thanks for the idea though.

Hmm.. could just add a wireless built in if you're going for cleaner look. Maybe some usb ports hooked up to relays that way when you plug in something to the usb port it'll automatically switch to it. OH! Also seen some ide adapters for CF cards to add two cards to one ide.. kinda like raid. If you had that and two 32gig cards..

This post has been edited by sumdude: Mar 27 2009, 04:48 PM

[MasterGouken]

Hmm.. could just add a wireless built in if you're going for cleaner look. Maybe some usb ports hooked up to relays that way when you plug in something to the usb port it'll automatically switch to it. OH! Also seen some ide adapters for CF cards to add two cards to one ide.. kinda like raid. If you had that and two 32gig cards..

Well i am already adding internal wifi (with an internal ariel) and possibly 1 usb port at the rear. For now i'll stick to the laptop hdd as theres enough room for it anyway. Thanks though.

[petemcfc]

How do you intend to form the case using heat?
Im asking this as Im a mech fitter/fabricator.A method to obtain sharp bends would be:
Obtain a fluorescent light fitting to the width of your intended case,bosh the glass to reveal the filiment,that is now your heat source.
Clamp the light fitting to a work mate/bench and use a piece of steel to cover half of the fitting,looking from the top the steel and filiment should be in line,for a bigger radius move the steel to expose more filiment.
Warning this gets hot + live.
Do not scribe the material as it will split and do not allow the steel to warm up.
Have a practice with a few offcuts.

[MasterGouken]

Ive put together a wooden frame that has the exact dimensions of the side pieces. I used 2cm quadrant for the corners as i wanted a curve rather than a sharp angle at each corner. I will be using a heat gun to bend the plexiglass around the frame corners.

[MasterGouken]

Ive been wiring up the pico psu and have started testing/troubleshooting (it seems i have a bad connection as the PS_ON led shuts off after a second):


You can see the hdd activity led wires to the left (orange and white wires) and the power/eject led to the right (blue/green wires). Also that is the reed switch at the front (yellow wires).


This shows the laptop style AC adapter. Right, time to get the multimeter out...

[MasterGouken]

Quick update:







I'm getting there...slowly

[MasterGouken]

Last pics for today...now i need to figure out how im going to do the vents, cut the holes in the front for led's, controller port and ir eye.

Back plate (still needs a fan grill cutting out):

[Galvatron898]

Sup,
THAT LOOKS BAD ASS!

[sumdude]

Keep it up man, like how ya did the "window" but might wanna clean that wiring up just a tad though.

[MasterGouken]

Keep it up man, like how ya did the "window" but might wanna clean that wiring up just a tad though.

The wiring will be tidied up but not yet as im constantly taking it all apart whilst test fitting, measuring, cutting etc. The electrical tape is temporary, dont worry .
Also the "window" will be hidden by a 3mm thick plexi faceplate with a grill/vent cut into it right above the hole (there will be a face plate both sides). Im getting some clear plexi for the face plates as i have an idea to use the xbmc logo on each side (i'm not engraving it though...you'll see) as this xbox's primary purpose will be for movies/music.

[MasterGouken]

Todays small update:

Controller port done (needs a bit of filler around it due to me drilling to quickly and a tiny piece of plexi chipping off):



This pic shows the led holes and the hole for the ir eye which i will be making a small circle of smoked plexi to cover:

[munchou]

Hey,

I love what you're doing...
How did you make the angles of the box ? It's an already-made plexi ?

I can't imagine how cool will be the result, at least YOU are going to finish your project, not like many... Mmmm ? ^^

[MasterGouken]

Hey,

I love what you're doing...
How did you make the angles of the box ? It's an already-made plexi ?

I can't imagine how cool will be the result, at least YOU are going to finish your project, not like many... Mmmm ? ^^

To make the angles i used a wooden mold and a paint stripping gun (heatgun) to warm and bend the plexiglass around the mold. Of course i will finish it, no point doing it otherwise, right?