Introduction

Ninny in Australia took an angle grinder and a dremel to a salvaged briefcase and produced a fabulous work of art depicting the Seven Ages of Man. Actually, he didn't - he put his EPIA 800 inside there. We didn't have you fooled for a minute. You can contact Ninny here and us at feedback@mini-itx.com. Feel free to send us the Klez virus - everyone else does. Do you have a Mini-ITX based project we should be seeing here?

Ninny's BriefCase Computer

I got an idea to build a compact system. I ordered an IN-WIN Flex-ATX case from an online retailer and when I got it it was still too big for my liking. Then on a visit to WA Salvage I found a cheap briefcase and was hooked on the idea...

Shopping List

Briefcase - A medium size (29cm x 43cm x 12cm ) mine cost $20.
Chassis - An old case chassis, I got mine for $60 but ended up using more parts from an old HP Vectra.
Fan, grills, button, cables - I spent about $40 on these.. and ended up using only half of it.

Tools

Dremel - (I used a Black and Decker rotary tool.. Broke the first one.. But it had a warranty..)
Adhesives - Liquid Nails for everything!
Angle grinder, Soldering Iron, Cable Ties
Plastic was kindly free... thankxz Schmelly

I angle ground about 1/3 of the case so it gave a snug fit. The chassis was perfect because the board and the power supply fitted perfectly into the screw holes.

This is a close up view of the front panel without the CD burner. It was made from an old plastic bay cover. The Power On button was from an old AT case and the other parts I salvaged from my Flex-ATX case.

I wanted lights and I wanted them bright. I didn't want to spend $50au for a neon light so I found an alternative. I headed down to my local car accessories store and scored this one for $30. It runs on 12v from a car lighter. I just rewired it and slapped a switch to it and you've got yourself a blue neon light. I also drilled some blow holes. The first one didn't fit a fan because of the hard drive bracket.

This is just a poor attempt to show you how big (or small) my case is its next to my Nokia 3210. As you can see the neon lights are at full effect. The glass I got from a local plastic shop who were throwing away offcuts in the bin! So I just politely took a piece.