So I posted a while ago that I was going to build a Desk+Briefcase hybrid PC. The idea was to have a main SFF briefcase with a monitor built into the case and then some sort of a hotswap bay style slider that the case would connect to and connect to all my peripherals automatically. The main reason for this was that the PC could be hauled off for LANs and events without the hassle of disconnecting everything. But I had to push everything back because of life.
During my issues, I bought a Nintendo switch because I needed something I could use to game while I wasn't home. The thing is portable, connects to a dock that breaks out the I/O to a tv, wired pro controller, and a usb headset. I didn't realize it at the time, but it just hit me a few moments ago when I was looking over my drawings and models that this is literally what I want from my hybrid build.
So now I come to the community to help me throw around some ideas. I'm going to break it down into some sections below. All in all im looking at a 8.5-9.5 L case which I think is pretty good for my use case. I'm just looking for some general suggestions on what I have so far. Anything you see that might cause an issue, something you like, or even some knowledge on getting this to work. I'm not the greatest at CAD but im slowly figuring it out (using Fusion360) and will hopefully have an actual design mocked up in the next week or two when I get some free time.
The Dock - Switch Inspired
The Case - Inspired by LukeD
The Desk
During my issues, I bought a Nintendo switch because I needed something I could use to game while I wasn't home. The thing is portable, connects to a dock that breaks out the I/O to a tv, wired pro controller, and a usb headset. I didn't realize it at the time, but it just hit me a few moments ago when I was looking over my drawings and models that this is literally what I want from my hybrid build.
So now I come to the community to help me throw around some ideas. I'm going to break it down into some sections below. All in all im looking at a 8.5-9.5 L case which I think is pretty good for my use case. I'm just looking for some general suggestions on what I have so far. Anything you see that might cause an issue, something you like, or even some knowledge on getting this to work. I'm not the greatest at CAD but im slowly figuring it out (using Fusion360) and will hopefully have an actual design mocked up in the next week or two when I get some free time.
The Dock - Switch Inspired
Taking from the Switch, Im debating on a spring board design for the dock. I've mimicked what that would look like in the two images below. The idea is to use a few springs and pegs that would be built into the dock to make the I/O ports flush with the dock when not in use. When the PC is dropped on top, the I/O will be pushed down and allow for the connectors to go into their respective areas of the motherboard. There will be some balancing springs spread over the empty spaces of the I/O shield and 4 guiding rails on the outsides that will fall into groves on the bottom of the PC case to help with alignment. This idea would be mimicked for the GPU and PSU as well. Then all cables would be guided out the back of the dock and into the desk where it can be connected to peripherals and power. Essentially the dock is just a pass-through to keep cable management under control when moving the PC.
The motherboard I/O when the PC is undocked. The spring board (blue) is being held up to keep the ports protected.
The motherboard I/O when the PC is docked. The spring board is pushed down and all connectors should be connected to the motherboard at this point because of the guiding rails along the outside (Not in the image, but imagine a thin rail going around the I/O about 2mm thick and ~8mm high).
The motherboard I/O when the PC is undocked. The spring board (blue) is being held up to keep the ports protected.
The motherboard I/O when the PC is docked. The spring board is pushed down and all connectors should be connected to the motherboard at this point because of the guiding rails along the outside (Not in the image, but imagine a thin rail going around the I/O about 2mm thick and ~8mm high).
The Case - Inspired by LukeD
**Disclaimer. Im an idiot and didnt think to flip the image and can't fix it now. The Blue box (radiator) is the top of the case. Yellow box (SSD) is the front facing side.
Im going for a @LukeD inspired PCIe Bifurication build. Don't have an actual case mocked up but do have the layout (below) with more than generous tolerances between everything for wiring/risers/mounting hardware (Fans will be mounted on the top, they aren't in the mockup). The idea is to get all the I/O on the same side for the dock, use the "top" radiator as an intake and an 80mm or 2x40mm fans at the SSD (yellow square) side for the exhaust. Think im going with mainly aluminum for the casing.
The components im using are the ASRock X370 mITX w/ R7 1700 and 16GB of DDR4, 2x R9 Nanos with EK waterblocks, a Fractal Design Celsius S24 (expandable AIO CLC thats NOT aluminum so no galvanic corrosion) for the nanos, an old Silverstone 600w SFX PSU I've had sitting on a shelf from the Acorn build, and a 256GB SSD for my storage (NAS will hold everything else). Along with this im going to be attempting PCIe Bifurication with the risers that LukeD has been using in hope that I can get it working. I might squeeze in an additional 120mm rad in the bottom depending on size so I can also cool the CPU with it as well. The Nanos are way too noisy with the stock coolers so they have first priority when watercooling.
On top of this, Im going to be mounting an IPad Retina screen (or another Laptop screen if that one seems too small) to the case directly across from the motherboard. This will be used as the main monitor when the PC is disconnected from the dock. Going to have to do this bit manually unless someone has any bright ideas on how to do the swap automatically from one monitor to 3 different monitors. Might just keep it always on and set it up to be a media viewer or something when its sitting on the desk... maybe do some camera voodoo and make it a "window" into the PC with a small Camera module. Who knows lol.
Im going for a @LukeD inspired PCIe Bifurication build. Don't have an actual case mocked up but do have the layout (below) with more than generous tolerances between everything for wiring/risers/mounting hardware (Fans will be mounted on the top, they aren't in the mockup). The idea is to get all the I/O on the same side for the dock, use the "top" radiator as an intake and an 80mm or 2x40mm fans at the SSD (yellow square) side for the exhaust. Think im going with mainly aluminum for the casing.
The components im using are the ASRock X370 mITX w/ R7 1700 and 16GB of DDR4, 2x R9 Nanos with EK waterblocks, a Fractal Design Celsius S24 (expandable AIO CLC thats NOT aluminum so no galvanic corrosion) for the nanos, an old Silverstone 600w SFX PSU I've had sitting on a shelf from the Acorn build, and a 256GB SSD for my storage (NAS will hold everything else). Along with this im going to be attempting PCIe Bifurication with the risers that LukeD has been using in hope that I can get it working. I might squeeze in an additional 120mm rad in the bottom depending on size so I can also cool the CPU with it as well. The Nanos are way too noisy with the stock coolers so they have first priority when watercooling.
On top of this, Im going to be mounting an IPad Retina screen (or another Laptop screen if that one seems too small) to the case directly across from the motherboard. This will be used as the main monitor when the PC is disconnected from the dock. Going to have to do this bit manually unless someone has any bright ideas on how to do the swap automatically from one monitor to 3 different monitors. Might just keep it always on and set it up to be a media viewer or something when its sitting on the desk... maybe do some camera voodoo and make it a "window" into the PC with a small Camera module. Who knows lol.
The Desk
Its a desk... wood...
Going to mount a monitor into the desk at a tilt with some tinted acrylic for that "Arcade" look as well as 2 Monitors on the desk for normal use. The arcade-style monitor is going to be showing my VM statuses and various webserver tools. Stuff I'd like to see occasionally but don't need on my main monitors 24/7. The other 2 monitors are for everything else. Not quite sure about where everything else is going to go, but I'll figure it out when I get the Case and Dock fully fleshed out. I want to run cable management tracks around the desk with some acrylic cut to fit the traces. So not an entire acrylic panel as the desk top, but sections of the wooden top will be cut out with acrylic placed under it to show the inter workings and the monitor. Should make for a cool effect.
Going to mount a monitor into the desk at a tilt with some tinted acrylic for that "Arcade" look as well as 2 Monitors on the desk for normal use. The arcade-style monitor is going to be showing my VM statuses and various webserver tools. Stuff I'd like to see occasionally but don't need on my main monitors 24/7. The other 2 monitors are for everything else. Not quite sure about where everything else is going to go, but I'll figure it out when I get the Case and Dock fully fleshed out. I want to run cable management tracks around the desk with some acrylic cut to fit the traces. So not an entire acrylic panel as the desk top, but sections of the wooden top will be cut out with acrylic placed under it to show the inter workings and the monitor. Should make for a cool effect.
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