2 Things. First off, It looks good, but an idea for next time, instead of the open hole that you have there you can cut apart the side of the laptop shell with the port holes & the power button then fabricate a pannel using bondo or something similar that will fit into the existing hole. it'd save you the time from trying to figure out then cut out something from scratch. Second, for all the people bashing the video, i honestly don't know what you people were expecting. yes, you literally can just take your laptop and plug an hdmi into it straight to your tv, he made a case for the laptop to make it more aesthetically pleasing than a broken laptop sitting next to your tv. Now hear me out. if you wanted something super duper amazing either buy it or build it.
1. That's a good idea... but as I've got a 3D printer since then, I'd definitely designed and printed an IO bracket. 2. I'm really glad that someone gets it! :D
@@YetAnotherTechChannel this is not copying his works. By the way You both make great HTPC, i like it. I make this one before but i can't access bios with external display, so i can't install HTPC designed OS.
The thumbnail obviously shows the case he built, not any software. Clickbait is intentional, but YetAnotherTechChannel did not intent for people to be mislead. He assumed people would know he was talking about a stunning case, and he put the case in the thumbnail. Not clickbait.
Hi there. I do appreciate what you have done. I guess you spent much time with some of your manual-operated tools but you made it perfectly smooth and tidy. Hope to see the results! God bless you and your creative brain and hands.
Wait, you did all that, all that work and you didn't even try to power it up? WoW, I couldnt sleep or anything, that would make me go nuts just wanting to try it. In fact My OCD is flaring up I better go or I wont be able to get this out of my head! Man fire it up!
Thanks very much :) I do get a lot of complaints about this project so I'm really glad that there are people who find it inspiring, which is the sole purpose of those vids :)
It would be nice to see a diy pc case using home materials or reusing some old furniture, not as the ones you've made with those crazy designs, something minimalistic, but normal if you know what I mean.
You can get all these supplies from a home improvement store. They're all inexpensive. If you were to go to a cabinetry store & asked them for scrap pieces of veneer, I'm sure they'd give it to you for free.
I repurposed my old defective Onkyo AVR as an HTPC. I managed to shoehorn a full sized ATX motherboard and PSU into the darn thing. Had to solder some wires to the front pcb for the power button and status LED to work with the motherboard, but it turned out great. Now it looks like I have two AVR's under my TV. :P It is quite big, but it has too much sentimental value for me to change it to something smaller.
Thank you for the instructions, yes i think it will cost us around 20 dollars, but the thing is how much should we expect to have those equipments like you've got there
Thanks for your video, i have the same model but different casing (Quanta TW8) rebranded laptop and the hinge is broken so i will make a new computer for desktop usage
I'm surprised you didnt make a custom enclosure for around the ports. An open backend like that will allow dust that will most certainly bridge connections.
For the people who are complaining about how he just made a case and not an HTPC, here is a quick tip. Connect your laptop to tv with hdmi cable and you are done. If you don't like the look of your laptop in your living room then follow this video.
Thanks dude. Really inspirational. I would like to see making an mini atx pc case. I would love to see some great build by you. Looking Forward for that one!!
I love the DIY stuff I will need to find a laptop with a working CPU, ram and mobo but everything else could be broke and make something of my own like this.
Awesome project! I really love your idea for two of my old laptops dusting around. The problem I guess will be to find some of the materials. Maybe I'll try to build the box with a 3D printer? Thanks for video.
Sorry... I was rushing with this project to get it done because it was taking too long to complete and I couldn't stand the mess in my office (OCD). I did fire it up, just off camera. I'll make sure not to leave anything unfinished next time!
just so you know, epoxy does not work that well with plastics like that. you can go buy glue specifically made for acrylic at almost any store that sells acrylic plastics, its about the same price as cheap epoxy, it will last much longer because it takes considerably less adhesive to join the plastic, and it also dries completely clear and is designed for use with clear acrylic that needs to be joined without destroying the clarity of the plastic. if you ever do this again, or something else that involves using acrylic i would highly recommend using something like that instead. i don't know how many times i tried to epoxy acrylic or polycarbonate, and even after sanding it still eventually lost the bond.
Yeah, but the problem is that laptops don't have a regular 2-pin power button connectors like you find on desktop PCs. In this particular case the original power button is connected with a 5 pin ribbon cable and I don't have the skill to solder such small contact points :/
Be careful with the metal mesh because it could make contact with points on the computer and short it, maybe because it is a laptop it is safer. Just be aware people
Really good idea! But are you sure it is safe to mount a motherboard to a metal surface? Would that short out the PC? I know that most PC cases are made from aluminium or steel but still it seems risky. The build looks beautiful though and I would suggest getting a latching vandal switch from Amazon which has small screws. Then all you need to do is splice the power cables for the power on button from the laptop motherboard and connect the wires (positive and negative) under the screws and screw them down - no soldering required! I would love to see a sequel to this video where you upgrade the ram, cooler, and maybe add an SSD. Also you could consider adding an eGPU like from Bangood.com or ebay and hook up an external graphics card. You could also make a recycled monitor from a laptop screen for the ultra portable PC system that can fit in a backpack. I am tempted to try this out if I had the time and money. Maybe in the summer. Great build for an HTPC though. I might seriously try it out sometime!
The PCB is placed on spacers so it doesn't make contact with the steel base - it's pretty much the same thing as a regular desktop PC motherboard in your regular computer case :) The power button is tricky, because it's not your regular 2-pin connector but a ribbon cable and I didn't feel comfortable with slicing it or soldering :/ I actually upgraded both the CPU and RAM in this laptop... next thing would be the mechanical hard drive - but this build is a proof of concept - a prototype and I don't think I'll be actually using it on daily basis - I watch movies and TV shows either on XBOX One ;)
Fair enough! That makes sense. I thought you installed the motherboard directly but I am sure you know what you are doing. Really cool case by the way. You could 3D print a button and then somehow attach it directly in front of the other power buttons? That way it will click on the original buttons?
YetAnotherTechChannel the easiest way would be to solder some thin wires directly to the tact switch on the smaller PCB, but if you're not comfortable with electronics you may find it tricky. Nice english BTW, if not for the comments, I wouldn't have guessed you're polish.
I'm actually doing something very similar for my wife as your mentioning here. She wants a light duty gaming pc for games like the Sims and fallout so I'll be doing something very similar.
The big issue when turning a laptop into an htpc is the amount of noise from the small stock fan. Leaving it as it is is not a clever idea... better to implement some modification allowing for a larger diameter (with slower RPM) fan.
Something I'd love to try some time. Question. Is that a HP pavilion dv 6000 or 9000? My oldman had the 9000 model. It was a solid machine, lasted a good 10 years of heavy use.
@@YetAnotherTechChannel ah cool. Ty for the reply btw. I miss the dv09000 we had A great laptop for typical laptop/computer stuff or media player things
I have a old dell Inspiron and it has a broken screen bad cooling fan and no backup and it's falling apart I did actually teared it down multiple times but know I wanna make it into a proper pc and install new operating system
Does it still work off of just the laptop being plugged into the charger and still utilizing an internal battery? Or did you wire an AC adapter to just plug and play with it?
Maybe insert an SSD instead and replace the original fan with the Noctua fan. My media PC has just 60GB of NAND and shares the storage with my bedroom PC
there is no such thing as to much security... Plus it could be set where a scan is only required for view certain content (if there is kids) and it be set where a scan is required to change certain settings
actually it is. with both windows and linux. just set it where a password is required to change certain settings but use 3rd party software to allow to use a fingerprint scanner. same thing with certain media. set up a child lock and use fingerprint as a key.
You're right... it's just this project was taking me too long and I wanted to finish it and move onto the next one. I promise to be more thorough in the future! :)
For future projects let's say you want to make a custom hole for ports. Just take that MB scan and print that port layout. Boom! You have precise 1:1 scale of your ports. Now you can draw your cutout shape
Turn your old laptop into a commodore 64 by removing the display.
for me turning old laptops and desktops into new good looking ones is so satisfying
2 Things.
First off, It looks good, but an idea for next time, instead of the open hole that you have there you can cut apart the side of the laptop shell with the port holes & the power button then fabricate a pannel using bondo or something similar that will fit into the existing hole. it'd save you the time from trying to figure out then cut out something from scratch.
Second, for all the people bashing the video, i honestly don't know what you people were expecting. yes, you literally can just take your laptop and plug an hdmi into it straight to your tv, he made a case for the laptop to make it more aesthetically pleasing than a broken laptop sitting next to your tv. Now hear me out. if you wanted something super duper amazing either buy it or build it.
1. That's a good idea... but as I've got a 3D printer since then, I'd definitely designed and printed an IO bracket.
2. I'm really glad that someone gets it! :D
I had similar idea but with the whole thing standing vertically. Thanks for the input, it looks great.
It was beautiful. I'd definitely pay you for making one of my old Dell laptop
Do it Yourself, nothing like take it in your Hands enjoying the process😚
@@iou87y6tfyvghfctdryu I will definitely try it someday ❤️ thanks 4 ur support
@@iou87y6tfyvghfctdryu Where do I learn how to do stuff like this. Do I have to study computer engineering in college?
@@raymondominguez3670 wht, they're not building a pc, just using a laptop as a mobo for a custom case. Anybody can do that.
the same idea I saw in diy pearks both are awsome keep doing that you make me happy
I know that DIY perks did something similar - but I honestly didn't watch his attempt as I didn't want anyone to accuse me of copying his project.
this video is far from copying his project you did sumthing special on your way and your touch
Don't worry, you both had very different ideas, I think :)
@@YetAnotherTechChannel this is not copying his works. By the way You both make great HTPC, i like it. I make this one before but i can't access bios with external display, so i can't install HTPC designed OS.
As a prototype, it is very stylish.
Clearly it needs more work but it is a very good start.
Man, I love your work. You make it look so easy. I cannot even drill a hole properly.
I really love these small builds, not very many people reuse parts and get a better looking computer out of it.
Thank you, you've just saved my old laptop
Dude I was showering and this is exactly what I had in mind 🙌 I'll make it for my parents
Why is this so satisfying?
because it transformed from ugly laptop to sexy desktop...
Nice Idea Mate ..Result Is Looking Pretty Good
Thanks much :)
So.you just made a box
I state at the very beginning of the video, that I'm making a case...
He made a box, but the box looks hella good
clickbait bs
So, you didn't really show "How to convert an old laptop into a stunning HTPC"... woot, clickbait!
The thumbnail obviously shows the case he built, not any software. Clickbait is intentional, but YetAnotherTechChannel did not intent for people to be mislead. He assumed people would know he was talking about a stunning case, and he put the case in the thumbnail. Not clickbait.
Hi there. I do appreciate what you have done. I guess you spent much time with some of your manual-operated tools but you made it perfectly smooth and tidy. Hope to see the results! God bless you and your creative brain and hands.
Thanks very much for watching and even more for taking your time to write that comment - that really means a lot to me :)
Wait, you did all that, all that work and you didn't even try to power it up? WoW, I couldnt sleep or anything, that would make me go nuts just wanting to try it. In fact My OCD is flaring up I better go or I wont be able to get this out of my head! Man fire it up!
You and your OCD can relax - I did turn it on to make sure it didn't break or anything along the way ;)
Yet another tech video
This is great! I've been thinking about doing this with an old thinkpad because I busted the case. Thank you!
You're welcome! :)
Great video - full of great ideas. I'll try to adapt to a 3D printed enclosure but that veneer idea is a winner!
Thanks very much :)
I do get a lot of complaints about this project so I'm really glad that there are people who find it inspiring, which is the sole purpose of those vids :)
Bro. That video was dope. Why you only got 60k subs???
Keep up the good content!
Thanks man :)
It would be nice to see a diy pc case using home materials or reusing some old furniture, not as the ones you've made with those crazy designs, something minimalistic, but normal if you know what I mean.
You can get all these supplies from a home improvement store. They're all inexpensive. If you were to go to a cabinetry store & asked them for scrap pieces of veneer, I'm sure they'd give it to you for free.
Just integrate it with the desk(underneath it)
German speakers have such a creative way of pronouncing the word “determine”. 0:30
You have to adjust your German-o-meter because I'm not German ;)
4:34 glossy transparent would've looke pretty awesome,you couldve added some lighting, but i get the design you were going for and i love it still.
Lighting on HTPC's would be annoying.
Damn! I really love the design. The only missing now are a dedicated power button and a few usb port at the top
I repurposed my old defective Onkyo AVR as an HTPC. I managed to shoehorn a full sized ATX motherboard and PSU into the darn thing. Had to solder some wires to the front pcb for the power button and status LED to work with the motherboard, but it turned out great. Now it looks like I have two AVR's under my TV. :P
It is quite big, but it has too much sentimental value for me to change it to something smaller.
That's cool! I once repurposed an old VCR for a file server (mini ITX mobo) and media playback device (RasbperryPi) :)
3:28 tip, use masking tape or normal tape (with some dirt/deberi or dust, so it is not super sticky as in your case, the wall is really thin)
Thanks for the tip! :)
Thank you for the instructions, yes i think it will cost us around 20 dollars, but the thing is how much should we expect to have those equipments like you've got there
That's what makerspaces are for
Btw, best way to stick acrylic is using chloroform. It melts them like welding.
Thx for the tip!
I am waiting impatiently for the Polish language version. Great work
Thanks for your video, i have the same model but different casing (Quanta TW8) rebranded laptop and the hinge is broken so i will make a new computer for desktop usage
I'm surprised you didnt make a custom enclosure for around the ports. An open backend like that will allow dust that will most certainly bridge connections.
That would take hours to make back then, when I didn't have a 3D printer.
Beautiful diy project
Wait so how much does it all cost together
So how do you turn it on ?
The original power button is fully functional - I just didn't integrate it with the case...
with the external power button that he showed
You dont
very clever indeed... mpf
Why not
Bro u really knows how to mass things up in a different way...
I have the problem that i find an old laptop quite noisy. It looks like the heat is trapped inside there as well
For the people who are complaining about how he just made a case and not an HTPC, here is a quick tip. Connect your laptop to tv with hdmi cable and you are done. If you don't like the look of your laptop in your living room then follow this video.
I wish you would've done a step by step disassemble of the laptop. I have the exact same one laying in a box.
Thanks dude. Really inspirational.
I would like to see making an mini atx pc case.
I would love to see some great build by you. Looking Forward for that one!!
You're most welcome :)
A mini ATX case is on my list... just have to figure out how to work with larger materials in my very small space :/
You are quit better than other tech channel
I have the same laptop, the audio drivers are awesome yo recicle, and webcam too
Tensol 2 is better for acrylic, I used to use it for making museum specimen jars and cases.
Cool, thanks for the tip!
you made us stunned.
;D
IT looks fantastic 👍
Thanks :)
I love the DIY stuff I will need to find a laptop with a working CPU, ram and mobo but everything else could be broke and make something of my own like this.
"would easily get wifes approval" lol hahahaha
Awesome project! I really love your idea for two of my old laptops dusting around. The problem I guess will be to find some of the materials. Maybe I'll try to build the box with a 3D printer? Thanks for video.
You can get a sheet of acrylic in a hardware store and order veneer online - that's what I did :)
It would be nice to see it work
Sorry... I was rushing with this project to get it done because it was taking too long to complete and I couldn't stand the mess in my office (OCD). I did fire it up, just off camera. I'll make sure not to leave anything unfinished next time!
Damn that's hell of a good idea man
Thanks :)
outstanding design
:)
Great video on how to create a plastic box.
just so you know, epoxy does not work that well with plastics like that. you can go buy glue specifically made for acrylic at almost any store that sells acrylic plastics, its about the same price as cheap epoxy, it will last much longer because it takes considerably less adhesive to join the plastic, and it also dries completely clear and is designed for use with clear acrylic that needs to be joined without destroying the clarity of the plastic. if you ever do this again, or something else that involves using acrylic i would highly recommend using something like that instead. i don't know how many times i tried to epoxy acrylic or polycarbonate, and even after sanding it still eventually lost the bond.
Awesome and powerfull video. How is it called the red tool you use to make holes? Thanks in advanced
This Pc should look nice with white arcade power button :)
Yeah, but the problem is that laptops don't have a regular 2-pin power button connectors like you find on desktop PCs. In this particular case the original power button is connected with a 5 pin ribbon cable and I don't have the skill to solder such small contact points :/
What size motherboard standoff screws did you use?
I watched this whole video thinking I will see the HTPC in action. Seems it was only transplanted from one body to another.
This looks cool!
how to make a veneer replica of a mac mini.. but old laptop guts. Sick
What's the name of the small orange hand saw you're using?
I have absolutely no idea :/
You should made custom panel for vga , usb and other outputs...
daaaaamn you're like a diy god!!!
not yet, but I'm working on it ;)
I think DIYPerks came up first with this idea.
Be careful with the metal mesh because it could make contact with points on the computer and short it, maybe because it is a laptop it is safer.
Just be aware people
Just one word, WOW!
Great, really like this.
love this, and all your vids, such a good base to start from. thanks for all ur vids
Really good idea! But are you sure it is safe to mount a motherboard to a metal surface? Would that short out the PC? I know that most PC cases are made from aluminium or steel but still it seems risky. The build looks beautiful though and I would suggest getting a latching vandal switch from Amazon which has small screws. Then all you need to do is splice the power cables for the power on button from the laptop motherboard and connect the wires (positive and negative) under the screws and screw them down - no soldering required! I would love to see a sequel to this video where you upgrade the ram, cooler, and maybe add an SSD. Also you could consider adding an eGPU like from Bangood.com or ebay and hook up an external graphics card. You could also make a recycled monitor from a laptop screen for the ultra portable PC system that can fit in a backpack. I am tempted to try this out if I had the time and money. Maybe in the summer. Great build for an HTPC though. I might seriously try it out sometime!
The PCB is placed on spacers so it doesn't make contact with the steel base - it's pretty much the same thing as a regular desktop PC motherboard in your regular computer case :)
The power button is tricky, because it's not your regular 2-pin connector but a ribbon cable and I didn't feel comfortable with slicing it or soldering :/
I actually upgraded both the CPU and RAM in this laptop... next thing would be the mechanical hard drive - but this build is a proof of concept - a prototype and I don't think I'll be actually using it on daily basis - I watch movies and TV shows either on XBOX One ;)
Fair enough! That makes sense. I thought you installed the motherboard directly but I am sure you know what you are doing. Really cool case by the way. You could 3D print a button and then somehow attach it directly in front of the other power buttons? That way it will click on the original buttons?
That's exactly what I would do :) Maybe except for 3D printing since I don't have a printer, but I'd figure something out ;)
YetAnotherTechChannel the easiest way would be to solder some thin wires directly to the tact switch on the smaller PCB, but if you're not comfortable with electronics you may find it tricky.
Nice english BTW, if not for the comments, I wouldn't have guessed you're polish.
I'm actually doing something very similar for my wife as your mentioning here. She wants a light duty gaming pc for games like the Sims and fallout so I'll be doing something very similar.
The big issue when turning a laptop into an htpc is the amount of noise from the small stock fan. Leaving it as it is is not a clever idea... better to implement some modification allowing for a larger diameter (with slower RPM) fan.
Noise is a concern indeed. But even taking it out of a very confined laptop enclosure does make a difference.
what you call that metal with hole that you use for the board to mount ?
I believe this is perforated steel.
YetAnotherTechChannel what about the one that he calls inserts i search for it it doesnt showing up
Great video. Would love to see a guide on the software you use to make your HTPC Wife-friendly!
But can you boot up the pc without the original screen?
Something I'd love to try some time.
Question. Is that a HP pavilion dv 6000 or 9000? My oldman had the 9000 model. It was a solid machine, lasted a good 10 years of heavy use.
DV6000, and it actually belonged to my wife ;)
@@YetAnotherTechChannel ah cool. Ty for the reply btw.
I miss the dv09000 we had A great laptop for typical laptop/computer stuff or media player things
I have a old dell Inspiron and it has a broken screen bad cooling fan and no backup and it's falling apart I did actually teared it down multiple times but know I wanna make it into a proper pc and install new operating system
he sounds like he is explaining something unfortunate that happened to him and has that dip in tone at the end of every sentance
You're most welcome to learn Polish and listen to me speaking my native language.
Pretty nice!
Thanks! :)
Geku nadprzeciętny twój angielski z intonacją głosu jest zajebistą konfiguracją ^^ oby więcej filmów w tym języku ;-)
Good idea, greetings from Hungary!🙏
Could You say more about connection with devices and software which You use for HTPC?
This laptop has a regular, full-size HDMI connector. Software side at my place is served by PLEX.
Cool proyect. What software goes along with it?
I use native Plex client for x86 architecture
Hi! Does it stream Netflix and HBO Go at least Full HD?
Does it still work off of just the laptop being plugged into the charger and still utilizing an internal battery? Or did you wire an AC adapter to just plug and play with it?
Um is there a Part 2? Like showing what this is used for?
You and DIY Perks gotta collaborate
Maybe insert an SSD instead and replace the original fan with the Noctua fan. My media PC has just 60GB of NAND and shares the storage with my bedroom PC
Great! It will be my inspiration to make some beautiful version of Dr Zaber Sentry Case, because it is not available. Thanks!
I do like it, but personally, I would include the optical drive, and the fingerprint sensor on the front
So, to start up your HTCP, you want to get up, walk to your TV, and scan your finger?
there is no such thing as to much security... Plus it could be set where a scan is only required for view certain content (if there is kids) and it be set where a scan is required to change certain settings
Pretty sure those things are not possible in any operating system.
actually it is. with both windows and linux. just set it where a password is required to change certain settings but use 3rd party software to allow to use a fingerprint scanner. same thing with certain media. set up a child lock and use fingerprint as a key.
obviously the software can be a bitch to find sometimes but it is possible
I've got the exact same laptop laying around...
Nice job!
Great handiwork 👍
Now you got a huge and way better looking Intel NUC
I made a similar observation ;)
I'm about to make this to my lenovo y510p but with an addition of larger pc grade cooler instead of laptop's one
Where did you get the plastic spacers from?
I think these are spare spacers that came with a TV wall hanger.
I just got a old laptop for free I might try this
Nicely done
I'd also Change the heatsink. Or at least use this opportunity to re paste it!
You're right... it's just this project was taking me too long and I wanted to finish it and move onto the next one. I promise to be more thorough in the future! :)
It looks really cool but I don’t have the patience to build a case like that.
Yeah, it was a lot of work...
You should’ve added led lights for the top
That is a interesting look. It would be more interesting with some contrasting wood. ;)
No power buton ? No accessible USB ports ? No hole for cpu cooling ?
I know, there's plenty room for improvement...
Wow!! It looks fantastic!
For future projects let's say you want to make a custom hole for ports. Just take that MB scan and print that port layout. Boom! You have precise 1:1 scale of your ports. Now you can draw your cutout shape
Tracing ports was never an issue - manually cutting out each and every opening - that's a huge problem as it would take hours...