Building a pc inside of an xbox 360 case and need help finding stuff!

Jheckman1986

New Member
I just joined up and i first wanted to introduce myself, i am a big computer geek from Fort Wayne Indiana, i go to college at ivy tech in the computer information technology course. 26 years old.


I have the casing to an Xbox 360 I want to turn into a computer, can anyone help me?

Without helping me too much so you are doing it for me so to speak but i am stuck...

I have picked out the motherboard which is a Gigabyte GA-M68MT-S2 and can be bought at ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/150812705464?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

And i am looking at the power supply but which one would you recommend for a small confined space.

Keep in mind this is not a Gaming Rig aside from a game of diablo or solitaire. I am doing this to advance my skills and nothing more!

I have a laptop dvd drive on my shelf that is sata format so i am good there, i also plan on buying a used hdd from ebay that is also from a laptop!

I am also doing this to have another test computer for experiments and stuff....

I would be able to figure out all of this myself if it was a normal sized case and i didn't have to use micro atx format but i have never worked with this kind of hardware before. I have a full atx system so no experience on my end.

Please keep any comments to yourself that may suggest i am wasting my time or it's stupid, i don't care and you just make yourself look really stupid when you do that.
 
That would require heavy modding of the case, and to my knowledge, it has never even had a tutorial, Im not sure if its ever been done. So no, probably not going to happen.
 

jonnyp11

New Member
You need an ITX mobo and a psu like this if you wver want it in there

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151090

this truly is a pointless concept, you'l be spending hours trying to fit everything in, then drilling the holes to mount the mobo and psu and all.

You do understand that nothing on the planet is built to the same form factor as an xbox right? they are completely proprietary and built from the ground up to fit inside the xbox's case. there is not any air-flow, which is the reason for the red rings of death, because it overheats so easilly. You're going to spend the money and there's a good chance you'll end up with a pile of trash. I'm not saying it's a terrible idea or not a cool project, just a very impractical one that will be very labor intensive and very time consuming in order to get it right.
 

Jheckman1986

New Member
jonnyp11, thanks for the help with the power supply...

I understand most people would see this as a waste of time or difficult to do but i want to become an exceptional computer geek.
Also i didn't mention i can mod outside the case such as to add fans and stuff so it does not need to fit all inside the case so to speak. I just want most of the hardware inside so it looks cool!

"EDIT" Not to mention neater over all if i don't have to make room inside the case for fans and such plus i plan on reusing the xbox360 fan!!!
 
Airflow will be a huge problem. Also, most things wont fit in it, and I doubt even an itx mobo will fit, if you want some fun project to do, put a 360 in a pc case, you will still have to drill holes.
 

BurningSkyline

New Member
This has been multiple times. You'll need an ITX motherboard for sure, and if I were you I'd keep the external hard drive (it uses sata, you just need a couple Torx bits). The most difficult part is probably going to be getting a GPU in there. That IGP wouldn't be able to run games well.

What kind of system do you want? AMD like that motherboard? Or Intel?
 

Jheckman1986

New Member
Thanks!

This has been multiple times. You'll need an ITX motherboard for sure, and if I were you I'd keep the external hard drive (it uses sata, you just need a couple Torx bits). The most difficult part is probably going to be getting a GPU in there. That IGP wouldn't be able to run games well.

What kind of system do you want? AMD like that motherboard? Or Intel?

I basically want a system for running tests and as a centerpiece for my geek altar so to speak... Kidding...

I just want a basic system with a good amount of ram, i would nto want to play games on it but i have played the first diablo game quite well on an integrate dmobo setup. Can you direct me to a decent and low cost itx mobo
 

Fuzzoe

New Member
On a side note, I personally think using an original xbox (if you go through with this) would be wicked! As a custom, small size computer, i think it has a much more aesthetically appealing look. Also it might give for a little more room than the 360.
 

Jheckman1986

New Member
On a side note, I personally think using an original xbox (if you go through with this) would be wicked! As a custom, small size computer, i think it has a much more aesthetically appealing look. Also it might give for a little more room than the 360.

I would love to do that but i don't have one and i intend for this to be as cheap as possible. I already have an xbox360 case here since i took it apart and stripped it for components and stuff.

I managed to find an itx mobo i like and a processor i like which brings my total cost to 149.99 if i buy through new egg which i won't because i want to shop around...

:D
 

jonnyp11

New Member
I would love to do that but i don't have one and i intend for this to be as cheap as possible. I already have an xbox360 case here since i took it apart and stripped it for components and stuff.

I managed to find an itx mobo i like and a processor i like which brings my total cost to 149.99 if i buy through new egg which i won't because i want to shop around...

:D

I know you want to stay cheap, but if you wait a few months and save some, you could get an AMD Trinity APU, which is the next gen version of the Llano APU, which has a decent processor with an entry level graphics card all on the cpu die. It will be difficult to find any used for a while, but they are lower end parts and will be fairly cheap compared to most new parts(150 or so for the best cpu most likely, but decent dual cores should be like 70/80 + 80/90 for a decent mobo). Although they won't have ITX'x out for a while i'd guess so that is a draw back.
 

Jheckman1986

New Member
I know you want to stay cheap, but if you wait a few months and save some, you could get an AMD Trinity APU, which is the next gen version of the Llano APU, which has a decent processor with an entry level graphics card all on the cpu die. It will be difficult to find any used for a while, but they are lower end parts and will be fairly cheap compared to most new parts(150 or so for the best cpu most likely, but decent dual cores should be like 70/80 + 80/90 for a decent mobo). Although they won't have ITX'x out for a while i'd guess so that is a draw back.


Actually the price is now 275 - 300 and i have the ram cards.

The price includes the mobo, dvd drive from a laptop, hdd from a laptop, cpu, power supply and the xbox 360 case which i already have. I also have a monitor, keyboard and mouse so once i get the parts i am all set as far as i can tell!

The hdd http://www.ebay.com/itm/Seagate-20G...Internal_Hard_Disk_Drives&hash=item1c1f63ae62

THe dvd drive http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-TX2-AD-7...C_Drives_Storage_Internal&hash=item564a48b7f8


the mobo http://www.amazon.com/Foxconn-H61S-...UTF8&coliid=I1U3BZVM63COGO&colid=N3VOY2F1ZZZL


The Power Supply http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...na&AID=10521304&PID=4169961&SID=11m7oe4q2rkj1



The cpu http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Celeron...UTF8&coliid=I15977XMS3P7A9&colid=N3VOY2F1ZZZL


Plus the rest of the cost is for random odds and ends i need for other projects!!!
 

Jheckman1986

New Member
Dude, randomly came across this:
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=647724

Looks Sweeeeeeeeeeeet.

It does look good but a few things i dislike about it.

I hate the massive psu sticking out of the back, to me that is a spell of disaster waiting to be cast.

Secondly, The innards use serial cables which destroy any good airflow.

The design i am going for will take several hours of case modding but it will be worth it immensely!!!:D
 
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