How to Make a Cardboard Computer (case)

by tanmanknex

17K28

Intro: How to Make a Cardboard Computer (case)

Today my family cleaned out our basement and found some old cardboard boxes. My family was going to throw them away, but I decided to use for something. I had an old computer with a lame processor and not much ram, so i decided to do something cool with it.

STEP 1: Materials

1. Computer
2. Cardboard box with slightly larger dimensions than your computer's mother board.
3. Duct tape
4. Scissors or knife
5. Lots of time
6. That's it...

STEP 2: First Box

Place your motherboard into a box and install all the ram, graphics cards, and hard drives. Cut out areas for the plugs and ports. I encased the hard drive, minus the top and plug sides, in cardboard to insulate the metal from the rest of the mother board. I didn't think of making an instructable until i had already done some of this stuff so sorry if you don't understand the beginning assembly. I suggest testing your setup as of now to make sure it's not messed up. I also suggest testing this thoroughly throughout this setup.

STEP 3: Revision

I just figured out that my hard drive was overheating, causing my computer to restart randomly. Make sure you keep your hard drive in an open place. I'm open to suggestions on better ways to incorporate the hard drive, so please comment.

STEP 4: Next...

Cut holes in the box to add a second box on top. I cut two holes for fans, one for the processor's and one for another.

STEP 5: Second Level

Add drives and PSU on top in a way that fits together, kind of like a puzzle.

STEP 6: Structure

I added a layer of duct tape on the front to help hold it together.

STEP 7: Finalize

Put a final layer of cardboard on top of the box to seal it off. I purposely made my final layer in a funky design

STEP 8: Test

Push the power button (which you should have incorporated into your design already) and see if your computer works. If so, good job, you just built a cardboard computer!!! If not, try and fix it. If all else fails... check and see if your monitor is plugged into your computer. Yes, I was stupid enough to leave the monitor unplugged and try and test it. MAKE SURE YOUR MONITOR IS PLUGGED INTO YOUR COMPUTER!!! AND THE WALL!!!

8 Comments

commodore12 12 years ago

TALKING FIRE!! NEED ASSISSNTENSEESS!!

cheezyguy5 9 years ago

HAHAHAHAHA.

There is more of a fire hazard that the sun will spontaneously cause the siding on your house to explode into flames!

Cardboard's flash burn point is OVER 220C, while ABS plastic and most other's flash burn point is 335C. All computers newer than 1992 have a heat switch that shuts off the computer at 98C because the processor will melt if it gets to 125C.

There is absolutely no risk of fire.

zcheek 10 years ago

Not only is this a bad idea, it has a high possibility of fire and/or damage to your system. You have no fans. Computers get HOT, with no fans hot enough to burn the cardboard. Secondly, cardboard dust is very fine. This means the dust can get into your hard drive, disk drives, basically any moving components. Which can damage or destroy them and presents another fire hazard.

cheezyguy5 9 years ago

HAHAHAHAHA.

There is more of a fire hazard that the sun will spontaneously cause the siding on your house to explode into flames!

There is absolutely no risk of fire.

iApple guy 12 years ago

No fan on the side?!?!?!?! It's going to get too Hot!!! You need a fan!!!

idiotbuilder 13 years ago

how do you fit the usb jacks in that little space i cant do it any comments please help

tanmanknex 13 years ago

What I did was I put the USB ports right next to where the connectors were on the motherboard. I bunched up the cord and put in the extra area around the video card and stuff.