The last time I wrote about my suitcase computer (the one I started back in December), it wasn’t quite finished. As I had feared, the single slot-fan was not able to keep up with the heat. I thought about adding another slot-fan, however the first one was noisy and it would have been tough to fit a second one in. So I decided that my plans to leave the top of the case intact for the “clean” look were going to have to be scrapped in order to install 2 tried and true 80mm fans.
These axial fans turned out to be quieter than the radial slot fan, and push about 10x the air through the case. I had thought about just going with one 80mm fan, but decided that I didn’t want to spend another night after that installing yet another fan when the first wasn’t enough. With the addition of the second fan, I also added a second intake vent, and got 2 filter covers to take care of the dust.
At the same time, I decided to install the ¼” audio jacks that would enable the live guitar effects processing that I originally wanted this machine for. I also bought a distribution block so that I could change around the connections internally if needed. There are a total of four ¼” jacks, two mono, and two stereo. The mono are also switched, and tied to the ring on the stereo jack. This gives 2 jacks for input and 2 for output, for two audio signals each. If I have a stereo signal, I can plug it into the stereo jack. If I have a mono signal, I can plug it into the mono jack, and it switches off the ring of the stereo, essentially turning the stereo plug into a mono plug. This means I can either use 1 stereo, or 2 mono cables for both input and output.
On the inside, in order to wire the ¼” jacks to the sound card, I took a six foot 1/8″ stereo extender and cut it in half. I then wired it to the other side of the distribution block, making it essentially an internal hard-wired patch bay. The 1/8″ plug simply plugs into whatever sound card port I want to use. The only thing that I am still missing is a mic input for when I play games online. While writing this, I came up with a great way to remedy that. Next chance I get, I’ll simply wire another 1/8″ plug to the input (which is on line in at the moment) which will send the signal to both the line in and mic in on the sound card. This will enable me to select which one to use in software without having to manually open and swap plugs, or install another jack on the case for just a mic.
With the computer now 99.99% complete (I never know when I’ll want to add something to it) I am quite happy with how it turned out. It is a highly portable, power-packed, multi-purpose computer – exactly what I intended to make when I started. It serves up flawless 1080p HD video to my TV, plays the latest games, processes live music at high quality, and doesn’t sound like I have a hurricane in my living room. If I were to do this again, I would remove the video game requirement. I don’t play video games that often, and it really killed me on several issues. Without that requirement, I could have a super-low power, compact system that would give me all the HD and audio processing I need. Oh well, next time. For now, I’m calling this project a success. For real this time.
Enjoy the entire gallery of pictures from the project HERE.
