I know xbox pc's get some hate around here. But hopefully this one wont I have a 1ghz/128 meg box but it still struggles with some arcade games I want to play. So this build is going to be for MAME and maybe a basic media center. The goal of this build is to keep the box looking completely OEM. I'm still in the prepping/brainstorming phase. The first hurdle was getting a dvd drive to work. I wanted to use an oem xbox drive just because it be eaiser then retro fitting a pc drive. So I picked up a rosewill ide to sata adapter. In the docs it states the drive must be in master mode. I know from default xbox drives are in slave but for 10 bucks it was worth a shot. Well this was a no go. The sounds the drive makes when connected to a pc really make it seem like its going to work. But it just didn't. So I started on the retrofit, which was pretty easy. I'm going to be using a thin itx motherboard, core i3 and 8 gigs of ram. I'm not going to hack up the back of the case like all other builds. I'm going to keep the factory holes. The ethernet and a/v jack will be the same. But I will be making a custom a/v connector that has hdmi. There will be a intermediate board that will bring in hdmi, ethernet, 2 usb from the motherboard to the factory holes. I will be making one small cut into the back for the dual usb. Pics of progress:
I like the idea of this build. Keeping it as stock as possible is nice. I don't have a problem with a PC build inside an original Xbox, but if it's a limited edition, like Halo or even some of the rare japanese consoles, that's just a waste of a perfectly good console and piece of gaming history.
I don't have a problem with xbox PC hacks, I'm sure most here will agree. YOU own the hardware. as for the optical drive, stock one is probably not worth using anyway, I'd throw a BD drive in instead the plastic support on the original drive should fit in a PC one or you could swap the metal housing on most PC drives with the xbox one. for the USB get a PCB mount eathernet USB combo (like used in the 360) they should come in dual usb 3 too. as for the av jack, you might have enough points for HDMI but I'd hide a small mini HDMI jack above it or use a hdmi to component converter and use stock cables for it a hdd maybe look at a 250gb Msata drive, most ITX mobos even have a msata port now as for a psu I'd use a pico or something and find either a small driver psu (12v out switching but requires direct earth ) or a laptop psu with floating ground so you can keep the IEC 8 connector however the three pin variant(used for most laptops) is not much bigger and won't look too out of place. Cpu cooler, if you can get it to fit maybe a corsair liquid cooler( it may fit where the stock fan was) keep one fan to keep it quiet.. one more, buy some thin stick on foam (rubber foam nice and dense) and stick to the top and sides of the ODD are you going to keep the stock controller ports and wire them to the USB header on the mobo?
Awesome little project, sounds like something I'd be interested in doing! For me I'd probably just ditch the DVD drive completely, optical media is dead but seriously the last two PC's I've used do not have an optical drive and I've just got an external USB DVDRW Drive for the few times I need to burn a CD, install something, or rip an Audio CD.
The board has msata, plan on running a 512gb. The board requires 19v so I will be running a laptop psu. But the psu will be inside the case. I will use the stock ac connector to connect up to the psu. Yep the controller ports will be wired to the board, already have one done! I know optical media is dead, but I want the box to look perfectly stock. I like the challenge of having a big 5"1/4 object in the way. I will be able to use all original screws to sandwich the case together except for one! Some updated pics:
Got the laptop psu mounted and wired up. Also have the other controller port wired to the board. Now I'm working on the intermediate board to connect to the hdmi/ethernet/usb to the back panel.
If you know how to, design a Pcb and have it printed, it looks a whole lot nicer that way and if you have spares I might buy one did that PSU originally have floating ground?
I semi have a pcb designed already. But I'm not sure if its worth the extra cost to the project. I've gone back and forth with it. I did purchase a mpice wan card so I will be using wifi.... Which makes me wonder if I need to spend the time to wire in an ethernet port. At this point I'm really considering put 2 usb ports in the ethernet hole in the back. Use just a simple hdmi bulkhead connector. (I already picked up a 6" HDMI cable). And I'd just screw the original xbox a/c connector back into place just to fill the hole. No the PSU was originally grounded...Which yeah isn't that smart for me to remove it :-/ I looked pretty hard to find a 19v psu with a floating ground. But came up empty. Asus H81T/CSM. Just look up "Thin ITX" They are pretty much all the same.
I'd replace the IE-C8 connector with a IE-C6 it will only be a few mm taller than the stock one. are you sure the mobo requires 19v? That may be the max, if you can run it on 12v you can use a 160w xbox 360 PSU as they use a floating ground.. for your rear io it's a good idea to use pannel mounts like you said, a simple peice of sheet metal bent in an L shape would do the trick. id keep Ethernet it's only a few $ more to keep it in, although I don't think you can get pannel mount Ethernet/usb combos
IE-C8? Are you talking about the power connector? If what would be purpose? The board doesn't need much about about 70-90watts. I doubt I could fit a 360 psu in there. I know the specs in the manual state 19v; I'm not sure if it would boot off 12v. The ethernet isn't the issue. Its more like do I get a circuit printed or not. Thats the price issue. I decided to ditch the ethernet, and put the usb in that spot. Now all thats left is custom usb cables and a hdmi bulkhead connector. Thanks. Heres some more pics: i3/msata/ram installed USB port stuff: I literally just soldered the pins of the two connectors together. Not the cleanest but will work perfectly fine. I also switched out the fan to a nicer/quieter unit that can really move some air if it needs to.
C8 is the original power socket C6 is simmilar but has earth, if a power supply has the earth removed (when it normally has one) and you touch any metal object that is connected to it and be grounded at the same time, you are going to get a shock.. Great progress btw
Some updates! I found a floating ground for the power supply! I also have all the connectors in place. The OS is installed etc. The only thing left to do is wire up the front panel. Pics of if all together:
