Wazzup, Tek Syndicate!? I thought y'all would enjoy my project this summer: The Playstation 3 Portable.
7-21-14
I found a nice hard briefcase at a yardsale that is a little too big, but will work. I have already finished installing the laptop LCD and converter in the top part of the case so that it is real thin and crispy. Pictures: http://imgur.com/a/RwqqM
The next step is to take the PS3 apart and mount it to the bottom, figure out how to get power to both the LCD and PS3 (decided to use plug right now: batteries are too expensive), make a compartment for a controller, and more!
I am pretty stoked on how the project is coming together so far. What do you guys think? Cool ideas? Questions? Emotions?
Update #1:
I took the PS3 apart and took a good look at everything. Just ended up taking the top plastic cover off for better airflow. Drilled holes and bolted the thing to the briefcase. I also cut the slot on the right side for the Blu-Ray drive, but didn't take any pictures of it. Pictures: http://imgur.com/a/orF36
Now I'm just waiting for the 60mm fan to come in, and am working on the power plug on the back (you'll see).
More updates on the way!
Update #2:
Sorry it's been a while. So I added a plug in the back of the briefcase so any extension cord just plugs in the back for power that goes to the PS3 and monitor. I put in the controller and wire compartment.
I'm getting pretty close to a finished product; all I have to do is put in the covering ply sheet, power/eject, and the usb.
Yeah it is already really heavy and at 6in thick it isn't a laptop, but my usage will probably be in hotels when on vacation or for LAN parties, which it should work good at.
Pretty cool. But you could make a black cover and custom-made holders for the controllers. Because right now t looks like it'll rattle around inside the case, and it looks like a PS3 inside a briefcase, rather than a briefcase PS3.
The wooden cover needs a color treatment (like matte black spray paint), to match the inside of the case, you need a cover over the PS3 side of the case that's of the same wood color (you could add a mesh cover from a speaker to allow airflow, but not disrupt the aesthetics too much.
But overall, very cool. Just some minor tweaks to aesthetics and it should be pretty epic. Wonder if you could get it to work with a PS4 or a mini-ITX PC? =)
If you take apart the PS3 and put it's guts in there I bet it would cool off better and possibly get more room in the case itself. I second the mini-ITX idea. Portable gaming rig.
I'm going to have a foam compartment for a controller to fit in snugly and maybe a blu-ray holder too.
The bottom part is going to have the same wood cover, so it should match nicely. I just haven't decided what sort of aesthetic/color I want yet, but as nothing has been glued yet I will paint it last.
A mini-itx system would be awesome in this case, but I don't have enough funds for that sort of hardware (yet). Maybe next year I'll ditch the PS3 and add something like that.
No problem. You might want to consider a slim cooler, maybe an AMD Kaveri APU using Mini-ITX, along with an SFX power supply, and a higher AWG power cable. (Like this: http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=102&cp_id=10228&cs_id=1022809&p_id=7677&seq=1&format=2 - 18AWG, three-prong, right-angle, 10ft.)
Possibly add something like a GTX 750 Ti 2GB in there with a riser cable to make it thinner, and you've for yourself a fairly cheap rig. (I know, it would be around 500$ to 700$ depending on bells and whistles. But still a worthwhile thought.)
I'd also consider a dark red varnish cover for your wood, or a dark brown varnish. That way you can go with cedar, oak, or... mahogany. (Reference: http://youtu.be/14D5wKSVlXg?t=2s )
Although you could just have it with a nice ebony wood finish by covering it with a very dark varnish, perhaps a matte finish on the varnish so it isn't smooth and glossy (and thus a fingerprint magnet).
The holder for BluRay drives is very nice. Although if you made a system like this, you could replace the BluRays with HDDs in an external cage with anti-vibration rubber grommets, along with SATA cables underneath the top wooden cover, perhaps with a few 120mm fans and fan filters for intakes, covered by a fan grill in the form of a speaker cover like this: http://www.panapacific.com/catalog/graphics/00000001/PPC00185.JPG (It could allow better aesthetics, while also keeping in line with a nice-looking, slim briefcase design.)
I'm saving my money right now for a car, so I probably wont even think about a mini-itx system for a while. And by then there might be new AMD Fm2+ integrated graphics that would kick butt so I wont have to use a graphics card. Idk.
I like the mahogony idea, but I don't know if I want a solid color or a wood finish.
I was planning on using this: http://www.coolerguys.com/840556101529.html as the intake and outtake. I should be fine, as the PS3 isn't that hot in the first place. I just cant find nice filtered 60mm fan grills to make it look nice. I guess I could always figure out how to make my own.
I meant that you could place the fans and fan filters beneath a speaker grill to make it more aesthetically pleasing. You could still add the fans, they just wouldn't be visible underneath the speaker grill.
I haven't thought about adding speakers yet. All I was going to do was have a 3.5 mm jack for headphones. It would be nice to have them though. Do you know of any decent, small stereo speakers?
I didn't mean actually installing speakers. I meant instead of using a fan grill to keep fingers from touching the spinning fan blades, of using ugly fan filters that might ruin the aesthetic of your design, I meant you could use a car speaker *grill* to cover the fans and fan filters from sight without blocking the airflow (much).