Plywood Computer

This is not a computer made of plywood, but a computer made with plywood. Sorry for the low quailty pictures.

Step 1: Parts and tools

Parts:
A small piece of 1/4" plywood (roughly 2'x2.5')
Motherboard
RAM
CD/DVD drive
Harddrive
Power Supply
Video Card (if supported by motherboard)
Self-drilling/tapping screws
Floppy drive (optional)
Required IDE cables
Pwr and Reset Switches
Pwr and HDD LEDs
Internal speaker
Sound card (if not on motherboard)
USB card (optional)
Modem/Ethernet Card
Processor (if not on motherboard)
Fan (optional)

Tools:
Screwdriver
Glue

Comments

[admin]

Hey, this is a great instructable and is very informative. Just one thing is missing... pictures! It really helps a lot when trying to follow directions so you should consider taking some photographs. Once you do that and leave me a message when you have so that we can publish your work. Thanks! Thanks for the cool instructable and we hope to publish this soon!

[admin]

This is a great Instructable, but you need to add a main image of the final project to the intro step. Please do that and leave me a message when you have so that we can publish your work. Thanks!

[beehard44]

awesome! i did the same thing except i made a case for it out of plywood (it's just a box for the mobo and everything else on top) and i am planning to use it for PC controlled xmas lights

[maxvaillancourt]

Why don't you install Linux? Your computer would be faster. I tried Ubuntu and I love it. Give it a try !

[jotism]

*why dont you install Linux? Your computer would actually work a bit ;)


Grrr, am on mums netbook, with XP :( stupid M$uX being, well, M$uX (any OTHER words I  could think of, I beter not post).

Ubuntu RULES, KDE in Kubuntu is minted aswell. wish a had a WORKING computer to use them on tho :(

[dungeon runner]

I agree with the sentiment about linux. I am building a computer with limited ROM so I am installing Puppy*. I still can't understand how they can pack so much linux-ey goodness into such a small size!


* Also acceptable would be Damn Small Linux. Runs completely from RAM with as little as 128 megs!

[farna]

Something like this would be great in a frame behind an old LCD monitor for a picture frame. Use a remote power supply -- something like the old laptop supplies that had a cable going to a box half the size of a brick that sat on the floor and plugged in. A motherboard wants more power than even a big "wall-wart" can provide.

[crankyjew]

nice, i've had similar ideas myself. ... you were running vista on a 333 mhz processor and >half a gig of ram???

[livesteamfan]

Well, when I saw it starting to boot into Vista, I went and got my XP cd, but then I found out it was a Vista transformation pack that was downloaded onto it. I get these parts from old /used/thrown out computers for nothing so, I never know what I'll run into. Also, because a capacitor on the mobo popped, I have a different board with 512MB RAM and a Pentium 4 1.2Ghz processor. I also put a DVD drive on it.

[jotism]

*use a real OS, such as Ubuntu*

[crankyjew]

ah, i see.

[zack247]

my one friend tried doing this (after i showed him this instructable) with an older motherboard (1994) and when he powered it on, it tripped the breakers. i think the psu was shot, but im not sure. im gonna have to make a psu tester to see. it was funny to see, though. he was freaking out when everything turned off

[Shaun-c]

hi im only 12 and i love your instructable is it heavy?? from shaun

[livesteamfan]

Not really. It weighs less than a standard desktop computer.

[Shaun-c]

it is a realllllyyyy goood

[grampafish]

i want to make 1

[pblock]

man, I had pretty much the same idea a while back, it is nice to know that it worked for you before I spent all my time!

[downgrade]

You should really get some sort of stand-off or something to hold the motherboard a little bit off the plywood, it will give it some breathing room on the back which is a bit better for heat reasons (more pertinent on newer computers).

[livesteamfan]

I just finished the "upgrade" on this computer from Vista to Xp. I personally think Vista is a downgrade.