Portable Bartop that cab used at LAN Parties

[WhereEaglesDare]

I want to make a Bartop that is portable and could be used at LANs.  So I can carry it in, plug in , and if I wanted to play some Call of Duty I just hook up a mouse and keyboard and I am off.

The main reason I want this is for when I do LAN people can see the MAME machine in action and I can still play on it, taking a Bartop on it's own just to be a bartop would be kinda pointless.

I got a 775 socket Motherboard, a Geforce 8800, 2 GB RAM, 250 GB WD HDD, Joysticks, and Buttons already.  Need a new dual core processor but that is only 50 bucks off of NewEgg and a new Power Supply, again shouldn't be too expensive on newegg.

It is going to have a compartment that comes off and can store my headset, keyboard, and mouse, etc. but on it's own it can be a bartop and would look like a bartop.  The compartment would be great to protect the joystick and the screen too.

I may put in a marquee and light but it will sit right over the screen because I dont want the protruding marquee.
I dont know if I should put TMolding on the sides, maybe just round off the sides with a router, but if I put TMolding there I may not be able to get it to close tight.

Any Ideas or Suggestions?

[leapinlew]

I don't see much difference between doing this or building a bartop and carrying a gym bag with the accessories. Seems a big square box might be more difficult to handle than 2 smaller boxes (or a box and a bag).

[IG-88]

Nice 

[WhereEaglesDare]

I don't see much difference between doing this or building a bartop and carrying a gym bag with the accessories. Seems a big square box might be more difficult to handle than 2 smaller boxes (or a box and a bag).

Yea, I thought about that....  I really just want to make something unique and was fresh out of fresh ideas...  Plus I saw the Bomberman Bomb Arcade that someone made a while back, cant find the link, but it was a box that had 4 players and was in a self-contained box, with a lid and it was really well done.  I would make that except it would be awkward to LAN on.

[saurian333]

I think it's a reasonable idea; it actually wouldn't be too awkward if the PSU and such were all at the back of the cab portion, to counterweight your box on the front.  That way, you could put the handle width-wise on the top, and it wouldn't be too hard to carry.

For the PSU, look for mATX ones.  I'm getting one for a PC I'm gearing up to build that's 420W; I'm sure they go higher than that if you shop around.  You'd save a lot of space inside that way.  Also, you might want to consider fitting a slim DVD drive into it (not sure if you thought of including one or not); or a slim external could be toted around in the box of stuff (comes up often at LAN parties that you want to install something, or burn a disc for someone else, etc.).

[WhereEaglesDare]

By mATX do you mean Micro ATX?  Like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817338038   I dont see what the main difference is between an ATX and a mATX or what.

Good point about using the PSU as a counter weight.    Thank you, thats what I need!

To drive a Dual Core and a 8800 I need a power supply that is atleast 550 watts right or do you think  I can get by with less?

Whats the thoughts on TMolding?

[saurian333]

Yes, mATX = Micro ATX.  mATX boards and PSUs are smaller than standard ATX; they're one of the ways they build the really small, slim desktops you see, as well as the "shuttle" style PCs (which is what I'm building myself).  Others use even smaller components and require even less power (like the Atom based netbooks and such).

550W for an 8800 sounds about right.  Try this guy out:
http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp
There are lots of these out there, but this one is my personal favorite.

Even if you really need 550W, the one you linked to seems a little steep.  I'm getting my 420W from geeks.com, and it was only $15.  I think it's the only mATX one they have, though.  Shop around a little and you might find a good deal.  Try pricewatch.com.

[WhereEaglesDare]

Oh yea, no that is way too much, I would never ay that much for a PSU, again....  just looking for an example.  Havent heard of the mATX formfactor on a PSU.

Its says I need a 324 Watt PSU, which is great!  because it will hopefully run cooler.

[Malenko]

I agree with Lewjitsu, wouldnt just making a Bender style bartop and carrying a bag be better and smaller?

[WhereEaglesDare]

I agree with Lewjitsu, wouldnt just making a Bender style bartop and carrying a bag be better and smaller?

Are you suggesting that there is anything easy about building a Bender Style Bartop?   

I have thought about building a bender-rama long and hard and I dont think I have it in me.  Really the extra compartment is probably just going to be to protect the sticks and the screen, in case of rough transit, and I will likely need a bag anyways from my measurements I dont think my keyboard will fit in there,  Plus I was wanting to use a Extra Long XMEN Poster and wrap it around the machine so that when it is closed it is a panaramic poster from side to side.  Which I could do just as easily without the compartment.   Im not sure, This is why I brought it up for discussion.  Im going to draw up plans tonight or tomorrow and we shall see some measurements and see if it is even practical.

[WhereEaglesDare]

Okay, back to the drawing board....