Xbox 360 Laptop (pics included) - Updated Nov. 19

[coukos34]

Hey everyone,

I have been visiting these boards the last few months and decided I really wanted to do a 360 laptop after reading Ben's tutorials on engadget. This is my first ever project and I noticed that people don't recommend doing a 360 portable as their first but......oh well, I got really inspired and felt that I had to see if I could do it. after about 2 months, its almost done. It just needs some more sanding/cleaning up and some paint. Still trying to figure out what I want to do design-wise with the paint job. It's using a jasper 360 (only way to go for a portable). I used a Hanns-G HW173 17" monitor that I got for a good price. This is what made the project a little harder though, as I needed to move the whole power/inverter board to the bottom half of the unit to keep the monitor portion thin. The whole unit measures in @ 17" x 12" x 2.85". Monitor portion measures in at 7/8".
I also decided to use plexiglass to build my case as more accessible to me and I thought it would be stronger than something like Komatex plastic. After hearing that it is quite durable, maybe I'll use it in my next project. It looks a bit ugly right now because of all the jb weld and such but the final finish will be well sanded. I used a bunch of pieces from the actual 360 case which I think is cool as well.
Let me know what you think so far, I will be uploading more pics of it as it stands now very soon.

[collinE]

well done! looks good so far. it'll look even better when it's finished. I wish I could help with ideas on the paint job, but I'm sure it'll look good whatever you do.

[mdh16]

GOOD job !!!!!!! I see youve puttyd it down real GOOD. dam that thing is going to look good when painted. Also like the gpu redo you did.. It looks like theres now 3 people on the job of creating a beast !!!! BY the end of the month ima try and buy a jasper from geeks.

[coukos34]

- Jasper Arcade unit
- 17" screen (1400 x 900)
- WIFI adapter
- 120GB Elite HDD

Here are some more recent pics from the state it is in now. Still looks ugly but will come together with paint for sure. Please excuse the tape, its just there to hold stuff during testing as I will be adding grills to the holes. It uses VGA for the monitor and has component and HDMI connections in the back. I didn't understand the point of using the HDMI/DVI for the monitor screen when VGA is fine for such a small picture. Plus it leaves that valuable HDMI connection for the big screen! I bought a male to female adapter so that I could mount the port in the back. All the slots that are seen will be backed with some type of wire mesh kinda like a grill of some sorts. Thinking of using metal screen door material or something like that.


You can see the knob on the left side for the volume control. I had to steal the audio amp from
some computer speakers I had. If I ever do another one I will DEFINITELY buy a monitor
that has a built in amp and speakers. Would make everything MUCH easier!!!



Here's the back of the unit. I originally started with an original xbox but when I found it near
impossible to keep cool, I went out and got a jasper Arcade unit. SO worth it! Anyways that made
the HDMI an afterthought and it was hard to find a position for it. It also has the ethernet port and
the optical port as well.




Here you can see the monitor buttons and the side mounted USB ports.




Top view. You can see the ring of light that I grafted onto the top. because of its curved shape, it
sticks above a little bit so JB weld was used to smooth it into the top. At eye level I guess it would
look somewhat like a plateau if you can imagine. I have a DVD drive door plate that I cant really put on until
its all painted. I also grafted on the HDD piece for added coolness




Ring of light still works!



Tested for the past week playing a lot of COD:MW2. Heatsinks get lukewarm at best. I think it has
better cooling than stock as it actually has 3 40mm fans blowing air in as well as the bigger fans
blowing out. Total of 9 fans in the unit (there are 2 30mm fans blowing in front of the CPU as well as 2 40mm in
back drawing air out from the HDD and such. Unit is VERY quite though as it they never spin faster than idle.
(if I could only do something about the damn DVD drive!!!)


I am doing some final prep and hoping to have it finished and painted by the end of next week. I can't wait I will post the final results when its all finished. Any questions on anything, I would be more than happy to answer. Thanks guys

[mdh16]

The more I see this the more i want to get a jasper unit .. ill just buy a arcade unit for $120. plus i love the way you did the ring of light and HDD. Oh yeah send me your gamertag i should have mines fired up with the monitor around thursday . I knew i shouldve went with vga since hd is still being streamed, because thats a whole lot of soldering to do with hdmi/dvi but ive already sacraficed one of of my hdmi cords is it the same clarity as hdmi? gOD NINE FANS AND THEIR QUITE good job man cant wait to see it painted

[coukos34]

The more I see this the more i want to get a jasper unit .. ill just buy a arcade unit for $120. plus i love the way you did the ring of light and HDD . Oh yeah send me your gamertag i should have mines fired up with the monitor around thursday . I knew i shouldve went with vga since hd is still being streamed because thats a whole lot of soldering to do with hdmi/dvi but ive already sacraficed one of of my hdmi cords is it the same clarity as hd?

Thanks for the comments! VGA def does HD. It's just an analog signal, not digital. You wont see a difference in the picture quality. Both provide same great picture. I just didn't see a point in hooking up the monitor with HDMI/DVI when you then cant use it for output to a big screen. Atleast VGA you can hook up and use a switch for component and also still hook up with HDMI.
If you can get an arcade for $120 thats a real good deal! I think its worth it for how much cooler the jasper runs. I'll send you my gamertag so we can hook up sometime. You think you'll be ready to go by Thursday? Cant wait to see how it comes out

[thetwoj1014]

Very cool, I like the plexiglass look and I'm sure it will only be better with paint. The external HDMI is an interesting addition, though it makes me wonder why you didn't use it for DVI on the screen! Other than that it looks great, excellent work!

[coukos34]

Thanks for the comments. I hope to have it painted by end of next week. I didn't use dvi for the screen because I then wouldn't be able to have HDMI out. You can't have both. VGA is more than fine for a 17" screen anyway. It has a great picture

[ModModMod]

need more pics of this
very very good work !!

[argelfraster]

That looks AMAZING!
How did you connect the 360 to the monitor?