Worklog Geb's Xbox Slim Laptop

[ttsgeb]

I'm waiting on parts to arrive, but here's a list of features I'll have:
9 inch 480p widescreen LCD
Modchip
SD Card game loading
Xbox 360 Slim PSU

Features I hope I'll have: XboxDVI

The motherboard is going to be completely untrimmed, and the controller will be external.
Hopefully this, combined with some CAD work on my part, will make this an easily reproducible portable that can be built for around $200.

 

[ttsgeb]

I've taken the time waiting for parts to arrive to casually model the motherboard I'll be using. Once parts get here, a lot of those big caps are going to be replaced with slightly smaller caps on their sides, so I'll have to update the model for that.

https://a360.co/2x7LeSB

 

[Noah]

Goddamn that is detailed

 

[ttsgeb]

It's still missing a lot of the details I want in it, but it should suffice for letting me know what my clearances are for my case design.
I suppose there are more fancy overly detailed CAD models to come as I work through the list of components going into this.

 

[ttsgeb]

Getting a lot closer to being able to design a case. I'm gonna wait until I've gotten myself a hot air station to actually do the soldering.
https://a360.co/3b24AqS

 

[MRKane]

I really admire your approach here! It's going to be fantastic!

 

[ttsgeb]

I've been waiting on parts and tools to arrive, so I haven't been able to do much, however I've designed a rudimentary bottom half of a case and a mount for the heatsinks. I've also cleaned up the model a little bit to be a bit easier to work with.

 

[ttsgeb]

Well, I've ordered a couple of PicoPSUs, one to power this with and one to play with, as that's what everyone uses for the slim xboxen.
However, at the same time, I've taken up the project of designing my own PSU. It looks like it would be twice the size and 5 times the cost, so it's worse in every way... but it's a good project while I wait on parts, and it would be directly compatible with the xbox rather than having to be modified for purpose.

That said, I'm sure there's a dozen ways I could optimize this circuit and I can probably take out one of the regs all together. It's also just good practice, so it's not a lost cause by any means.

 

[rewind94]

Ttsgeb! Awesome to see your name again! I last followed you building an Xbox laptop on Ben Heck forums about 8 years ago, glad to see you working on this.

With regards to the current Xbox laptop :
1) Out of curiosity XboxDVI? Have you considered the Wii2HDMI route? I understand your XboxDVI solution will be digital-to-digital so will be higher quality. Have you considered talking to Ryzen119 - he is also working on a digital-to-digital HDMI output for the Xbox.

2) Great shout on the ide2SD adapter! I've seen it being used for PS2 and I haven't seen someone apply for the xbox yet. How do you plan to connect the IDE to the motherboard? A short right angle patch connector? It may be a pain in the ass, but perhaps it is worth forgoing the 2.5 to 3.5 adapter, desoldering the motherboard's male connector and just wiring in the ide2sd convertor. Would be a major pain in the ass but it would be so compact.

3) It would be awesome to throw in an internal ogx360 in the laptop too! That's up to you, but it would be kickass.


I'm super happy to see you working on this project again, the heatsink mount you've designed is super cool too. Looking forward to your progress updates.

 

[Bill Paxton]

ogx360 you say... I didn't know this was a thing, and I most definitely need one now. I appreciate you sharing!
This project is great by the way. I'm excited to see more of it! I still use my OGxbox all the time.

I wonder how difficult it would be to redesign this Ryzee119 dude's board so that it would connect directly to the connectors on the board internally...

 

[rewind94]

ogx360 you say... I didn't know this was a thing, and I most definitely need one now. I appreciate you sharing!
This project is great by the way. I'm excited to see more of it! I still use my OGxbox all the time.

I wonder how difficult it would be to redesign this Ryzee119 dude's board so that it would connect directly to the connectors on the board internally...

No problem! It really seems like the Xbox modding scene is experiencing a second wind

As for the internal ogx360 It's not difficult at all! To install the ogx360 internally you can splice a micro usb cable from each of the arduino's on the ogx360 board directly to the controller wires inside the Xbox. Ryzee119 has actually made a small PCB that allows for keeping both the ogx360 and the original controller ports together. If you plug in the wired controller it takes priority over the ogx360 controller. I am not sure the gerbers for this bboard have been released so maybe you'll want to contact him. Please see images attached.

https://ibb.co/R4tnsvs
https://ibb.co/kKwHHkF
https://ibb.co/q00ThSJ
https://ibb.co/KNVQyBh

 

[ttsgeb]

I wasn't aware of the existing HDMI project, however it doesn't seem that much is being done there.The major reason I'm not going with HDMI directly is licensing fees. As far as Wii2HDMI, I could go that route, but my screen supports VGA (if it ever arrives), so my backup plan is to just use VGA.
For the xbox 360 controllers, I was aware of that project, but it takes up a shit ton of space and I'm trying to also make this the most compact xbox console to date. I may make an external module for it, much like I'm planning to do for a battery in the future.
For the SD card adapter, I definitely considered soldering directly to the board, but the hassle isn't really worth the space savings IMO. I'd also like to keep it serviceable if possible.

All great suggestions, and thanks for sharing the links!

 

[rewind94]

I wasn't aware of the existing HDMI project, however it doesn't seem that much is being done there.The major reason I'm not going with HDMI directly is licensing fees. As far as Wii2HDMI, I could go that route, but my screen supports VGA (if it ever arrives), so my backup plan is to just use VGA.
For the xbox 360 controllers, I was aware of that project, but it takes up a shit ton of space and I'm trying to also make this the most compact xbox console to date. I may make an external module for it, much like I'm planning to do for a battery in the future.
For the SD card adapter, I definitely considered soldering directly to the board, but the hassle isn't really worth the space savings IMO. I'd also like to keep it serviceable if possible.

All great suggestions, and thanks for sharing the links!

No problems!
With regards to the HDMI solution, the git repo is empty but Ryan (ryzee119) has certainly been working on it.
Here's a video of the output and a picture of the installation:

Also,a heads up on n64freak's HDMI solution if you haven't seen that one before:
https://www.ogxbox.com/forums/index.php?/topic/996-internal-hdmi-mod-diy-sets/

I didn't realise the HDMI licensing fee was a consideration - thanks for bringing that up.

Best of luck, ttsgeb, I'll be eagerly anticipating your updates!

 

[ttsgeb]

Did the cap replacement this evening. I'm pretty happy with it, however one of them had to be relocated differently than I had planned.

 

[ttsgeb]

Just a little CAD update: I've roughed out the front side of the screen enclosure and the top half of the hinge. Starting to get a bit better of an idea of how this thing is gonna look. Screen should be arriving Monday so that I can verify my measurements.

 

[ttsgeb]

Apparently the screen got as far as my post office with just "Timothy Martin" and "USA" on it, which is frankly a miracle. I just went to the post office to check on it because it was marked insufficient address when out for delivery, filled out some paperwork, and got a phone call right as I picked up my phone to dial the USPS hotline to try and intercept the return to sender.
The Sapient Salamander is surely looking out for me.

 

[rewind94]

For the xbox 360 controllers, I was aware of that project, but it takes up a shit ton of space and I'm trying to also make this the most compact xbox console to date. I may make an external module for it, much like I'm planning to do for a battery in the future.

Just a heads up. A mini version of the ogx360 board has been released. It supports two controllers and is significantly smaller. Check out the gerbers here. Could be possible to squeeze into the laptop? Who knows.

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

[ttsgeb]

Cable management isn't final by any means, but my 3d printer came in the other day, so I've been able to move forward with this project a bit more. It's looking like xboxDVI isn't going to be ready in time for the contest, so I'm going to go ahead and install the VGA bios on this board and try to get that set up. Outside of that, it's sorting out my power supply, waiting on the uAmp to show up, and a TON more CAD work to reach the goal of 100% mechanical retention/3d printed fasteners for this project.

 

[MRKane]

Attachment/Picture doesn't work

 

[ttsgeb]

It's fixed now. No clue how I managed that one.