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Raspberry pi laptop-netbook project

Andrew48
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Hey there! 3 months ago i got this idea of building a raspberry pi laptop. So I googled around and found some people actually made laptops out of the raspberry pi but they weren't that portable and didnt really look like  laptop. So the idea got stuck on my head and I began research! my top priorities are 1. as thin and portable as possible 2. good battery life(~6-8 hours)  and 3. act as a basic stuff laptop.... So my journey began and I started shopping on ebay. I got my self a keyboard, a monitor, wifi dongle, some regulators and basic tools... I already had a raspberry pi model B and didnt want to spend more to get the new B+ model so I stayed with the B. 

I am going to be doing extreme modifications to everything to make it thin and power efficient. I havnt bough a battery yet but I have a feeling that in the end it will be a 6000mah lipo that i have been looking for the past 2 weeks.

 

I wasnt planing on posting it anywhere but then I though "why the hell not" and made this post :P If people are interested then I will continue to update here otherwise it will be just my secret project  :ph34r:

 

Please dont come to me saying its stupid and anything.. I have started the project and i am not willing to stop it. It might look stupid because the raspberry pi is not a powerful computer but it does the things i want this laptop to do and I am happy with it. Also I am not spending more than 90 euros on this.. thats my budget for this project at the moment. 

 

Some of the parts have arrived but I haven't taken any photos yet so just enjoy some raspberry pi close ups for now :P

 

post-18625-0-42823500-1417039556_thumb.jpost-18625-0-94236300-1417039500_thumb.j

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Followed. i would love to see how this turns out :D

If i can create what i have in my head....prepare for a 20mm thin  9" laptop! :D

AMD FX 8320@ Stock - Asus M5A99X Evo R2.0 - Kingston HyperX 8GB 1600Mhz - Corsair Carbide 200R - Powercolor Radeon HD 7950 PCS+OC@970Mhz core 1400Mhz memory - Corsair CS650W - Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 
LG 22EA53VQ 21.5" - CM Storm Xornet - CM Storm Quickfire TK - Creative Inspire T3130 2.1

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If i can create what i have in my head....prepare for a 20mm thin  9" laptop! :D

Sounds amazing. :D

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OK Actually I lied :P I have one photo of the screen working with the pi ! It all sitting on an old tablet stand thing. Running openelec xbmc on the pi. The multimeter measures the current of the screen running at 12v

post-18625-0-62290700-1417041157.jpg

AMD FX 8320@ Stock - Asus M5A99X Evo R2.0 - Kingston HyperX 8GB 1600Mhz - Corsair Carbide 200R - Powercolor Radeon HD 7950 PCS+OC@970Mhz core 1400Mhz memory - Corsair CS650W - Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 
LG 22EA53VQ 21.5" - CM Storm Xornet - CM Storm Quickfire TK - Creative Inspire T3130 2.1

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It would be so cool if you found a thin usb hub/striped it down and built it into the laptop

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It would be so cool if you found a thin usb hub/striped it down and built it into the laptop

You mean something like this ;)

post-18625-0-49873800-1417041567_thumb.j

AMD FX 8320@ Stock - Asus M5A99X Evo R2.0 - Kingston HyperX 8GB 1600Mhz - Corsair Carbide 200R - Powercolor Radeon HD 7950 PCS+OC@970Mhz core 1400Mhz memory - Corsair CS650W - Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 
LG 22EA53VQ 21.5" - CM Storm Xornet - CM Storm Quickfire TK - Creative Inspire T3130 2.1

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I would definitely like to see how this goes, it sounds fantastic. The Pi is an awesome little piece of kit and I would like to do more with mine.

Building your own case might be the hardest part. How are you powering the Pi right now, as I know it takes 5V not 12V? Have you tested this out with a battery yet?

Looking forward to seeing more in the future :)

"PSU brands are meaningless, look up the OEM."

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I would definitely like to see how this goes, it sounds fantastic. The Pi is an awesome little piece of kit and I would like to do more with mine.

Building your own case might be the hardest part. How are you powering the Pi right now, as I know it takes 5V not 12V? Have you tested this out with a battery yet?

Looking forward to seeing more in the future :)

Thanks! The pi is powered by usb at the moment but I am planing on getting a highly efficient  dc to dc booster to bring voltage from the 3.7v battery to 5v levels. the pi needs 5v only for the usb, the hdmi and a sense pin. If i dont connect any of these the pi can run perfectly normal under 3.3v. but i need both the hdmi and the usbs so I am staying with 5v. my only problem right now is the screen controller which doesnt seem to work at 5v but in the datasheet it says it does... I will have to investigate that :P

AMD FX 8320@ Stock - Asus M5A99X Evo R2.0 - Kingston HyperX 8GB 1600Mhz - Corsair Carbide 200R - Powercolor Radeon HD 7950 PCS+OC@970Mhz core 1400Mhz memory - Corsair CS650W - Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 
LG 22EA53VQ 21.5" - CM Storm Xornet - CM Storm Quickfire TK - Creative Inspire T3130 2.1

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This is going to be really cool. I want it finished by yesterday.

 

Get to work.

༼ つ ◕_◕༽つ GIB 960 ༼ つ ◕_◕༽つ

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This is going to be really cool. I want it finished by yesterday.

 

Get to work.

I am still waiting for stuff from eBay to arrive.... :P

AMD FX 8320@ Stock - Asus M5A99X Evo R2.0 - Kingston HyperX 8GB 1600Mhz - Corsair Carbide 200R - Powercolor Radeon HD 7950 PCS+OC@970Mhz core 1400Mhz memory - Corsair CS650W - Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 
LG 22EA53VQ 21.5" - CM Storm Xornet - CM Storm Quickfire TK - Creative Inspire T3130 2.1

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BTW guys here is a video I uploaded using xbmctorrent for the first time...its actually works surprisingly well... if only my internet was faster.....
I also connected the speakers-amp to it and the screen. The screen is going to be connected with a diy hdmi cable that i havent made yet so I used a diy composite cable :P

 

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LG 22EA53VQ 21.5" - CM Storm Xornet - CM Storm Quickfire TK - Creative Inspire T3130 2.1

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I suggest desoldering most if not all the ports if you are look for maximum thinness and soldering video cables, etc. etc. directly as that would make it significantly thinner.

 

 

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I suggest desoldering most if not all the ports if you are look for maximum thinness and soldering video cables, etc. etc. directly as that would make it significantly thinner.

Thats my plan...but i am still waiting for the desoldering pump to arrive 

AMD FX 8320@ Stock - Asus M5A99X Evo R2.0 - Kingston HyperX 8GB 1600Mhz - Corsair Carbide 200R - Powercolor Radeon HD 7950 PCS+OC@970Mhz core 1400Mhz memory - Corsair CS650W - Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 
LG 22EA53VQ 21.5" - CM Storm Xornet - CM Storm Quickfire TK - Creative Inspire T3130 2.1

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Thats my plan...but i am still waiting for the desoldering pump to arrive 

Whats yoru case plan aluminium, wood or what?

Check out my current projects: Selling site (Click Here)

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Whats yoru case plan aluminium, wood or what?

aluminum or plastic. I really want to make it from aluminum but i dont know how to, really... I am looking for local companies to see if i can send them a 3d model and then make it on a piece of aluminum with a cnc machine or something like that. my other choice is to send a 3d model to a 3d printing company and have them print it for me... I dont know. I really want something homemade but it doesnt seem that feasible at the moment. ANY ideas would be highly appreciated :)

AMD FX 8320@ Stock - Asus M5A99X Evo R2.0 - Kingston HyperX 8GB 1600Mhz - Corsair Carbide 200R - Powercolor Radeon HD 7950 PCS+OC@970Mhz core 1400Mhz memory - Corsair CS650W - Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 
LG 22EA53VQ 21.5" - CM Storm Xornet - CM Storm Quickfire TK - Creative Inspire T3130 2.1

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aluminum or plastic. I really want to make it from aluminum but i dont know how to, really... I am looking for local companies to see if i can send them a 3d model and then make it on a piece of aluminum with a cnc machine or something like that. my other choice is to send a 3d model to a 3d printing company and have them print it for me... I dont know. I really want something homemade but it doesnt seem that feasible at the moment. ANY ideas would be highly appreciated :)

you could do MDF or aluminium erm, not sure

Check out my current projects: Selling site (Click Here)

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you could do MDF or aluminium erm, not sure

aluminium erm? what is that? 

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aluminium erm? what is that? 

what MDF?

Check out my current projects: Selling site (Click Here)

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what MDF?

oh haha i though erm meant something and thats why i asked...stupid me :P

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You mean something like this ;)

attachicon.gifIMG_20141127_243708989.jpg

It is actually best if you can use a powered USB hub, especially for higher current USB devices. This prevents the Pi having to deliver all that power though just its USB ports. USB 2.0 (By regulation) can only provide 500mA per port.

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It is actually best if you can use a powered USB hub, especially for higher current USB devices. This prevents the Pi having to deliver all that power though just its USB ports. USB 2.0 (By regulation) can only provide 500mA per port.

actually the pi cant even provide 500mah....i think its somewhere around 200mah for each port. Dont worry the hub will be connected directly to the 5v regulation from the battery so it will act as a powered hub because really thats what a powered hub does :P

AMD FX 8320@ Stock - Asus M5A99X Evo R2.0 - Kingston HyperX 8GB 1600Mhz - Corsair Carbide 200R - Powercolor Radeon HD 7950 PCS+OC@970Mhz core 1400Mhz memory - Corsair CS650W - Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 
LG 22EA53VQ 21.5" - CM Storm Xornet - CM Storm Quickfire TK - Creative Inspire T3130 2.1

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aluminum or plastic. I really want to make it from aluminum but i dont know how to, really... I am looking for local companies to see if i can send them a 3d model and then make it on a piece of aluminum with a cnc machine or something like that. my other choice is to send a 3d model to a 3d printing company and have them print it for me... I dont know. I really want something homemade but it doesnt seem that feasible at the moment. ANY ideas would be highly appreciated :)

 

You won't find anyone who will CNC aluminum that size for under several hundred dollars.

 

I'd suggest using ABS plastic sheets as its cheap and fairly sturdy. Then go with square aluminum bars to space the top and bottom sheets of ABS with enough room to fit your components in.

 

I'd also suggest you avoid LiPo batteries, they have a tendency to explode. Using high quality LiPo cells, with a high quality charging circuit, and a high quality charger that have been engineered to perfectly work together and you are fine... but mess one of those four up and you will have problems in the future, its just not worth the risk with such a large battery IMO. Big companies have the R&D to know exactly what to do to make it safe, but when it is a DIY project that is going to be close to your body a lot, or left unattended near flamable surfaces I would stay away from them.

 

Look at LiFePo4 batteries (or simply LiFe) they are much more stable and still cheap, the only downside is they are a bit larger than a comparable LiPo and run at 3.3V per cell rather than 3.7V so there are less charging circuits available.

 

 

 

What are your plans for the hinge?

 

Monoprice sells some 6" HDMI cables that have a very small connector that would work great for connecting your LVDS converter to the Pi.

 

Are you in the US? If so I have a keyboard I could send you if you wanted one built into the unit. They are about 8" x 3" pulled from a copy machine: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6-qC6HFgZyg/VHy_x6z_H2I/AAAAAAAANyA/8_s0Uq5AdPM/s512/IMG_20141201_132127907.jpg You then connect the ribbon cable to a teensy and can program it to be a USB keyboard.

 

For mass storage I wonder if you could use a 1.8" hard drive from an iPod classic... They sell micro sata to USB adapters: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Black-Micro-SATA-to-USB-2-0-for-1-8-HDD-SSD-Cable-Connector-Converter-Wire-Cord-/360860652863?pt=US_Drive_Cables_dapters&hash=item5404f8953f

 

And I know you said you didn't want people saying this, and I'm sorry but... I used my Pi with a Motorola Atrix dock for a while and it was so ungodly slow I couldn't stand using it. I'd hate for you to spend this much time building this and find out you aren't going to enjoy it. It looks like you may have already used it enough to know its limits, but I just wanted to throw that out there quick in case not.

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You won't find anyone who will CNC aluminum that size for under several hundred dollars.

 

I'd suggest using ABS plastic sheets as its cheap and fairly sturdy. Then go with square aluminum bars to space the top and bottom sheets of ABS with enough room to fit your components in.

 

I'd also suggest you avoid LiPo batteries, they have a tendency to explode. Using high quality LiPo cells, with a high quality charging circuit, and a high quality charger that have been engineered to perfectly work together and you are fine... but mess one of those four up and you will have problems in the future, its just not worth the risk with such a large battery IMO. Big companies have the R&D to know exactly what to do to make it safe, but when it is a DIY project that is going to be close to your body a lot, or left unattended near flamable surfaces I would stay away from them.

 

Look at LiFePo4 batteries (or simply LiFe) they are much more stable and still cheap, the only downside is they are a bit larger than a comparable LiPo and run at 3.3V per cell rather than 3.7V so there are less charging circuits available.

 

 

 

What are your plans for the hinge?

 

Monoprice sells some 6" HDMI cables that have a very small connector that would work great for connecting your LVDS converter to the Pi.

 

Are you in the US? If so I have a keyboard I could send you if you wanted one built into the unit. They are about 8" x 3" pulled from a copy machine: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6-qC6HFgZyg/VHy_x6z_H2I/AAAAAAAANyA/8_s0Uq5AdPM/s512/IMG_20141201_132127907.jpg You then connect the ribbon cable to a teensy and can program it to be a USB keyboard.

 

For mass storage I wonder if you could use a 1.8" hard drive from an iPod classic... They sell micro sata to USB adapters: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Black-Micro-SATA-to-USB-2-0-for-1-8-HDD-SSD-Cable-Connector-Converter-Wire-Cord-/360860652863?pt=US_Drive_Cables_dapters&hash=item5404f8953f

 

And I know you said you didn't want people saying this, and I'm sorry but... I used my Pi with a Motorola Atrix dock for a while and it was so ungodly slow I couldn't stand using it. I'd hate for you to spend this much time building this and find out you aren't going to enjoy it. It looks like you may have already used it enough to know its limits, but I just wanted to throw that out there quick in case not.

Thanks for the case advice.. I will look into it.

about the battery...I made the choice to use a lipo because of their size and cost and i have read a lot about them and yes they are dangerous. Thats why i havent bought any yet. because i am not trusting them enough.. 

Maybe i could use an rc battery with a specified charger or get a life battery as you said. I will am still looking into it but will take your suggestion into serious consideration too.

 

I already found a solution for the hdmi link and i will be actually building my own. wish me luck! I have done tiny connections and this is a challenge for me. of course i will not be removing the connector. 

About the keyboard..I have a small usb keybord already. Its one of those who are intended to be used with tablets and it does the job. 

 

I dont think i will have enough space left for a hdd but maybe if i find a cheap one.

 

Yes i used the pi as a desktop for quiet some time now and yes its slow. I can browse the web quiet good actually with the newest browser plus it can run emulators and word and basic apps quiet good. I can even play youtube directly from the browser now and it works quiet fast. I was thinking of using a banana pi which is much more powerful but i want that community backup that i have with the raspberry pi. A friend of mine is waiting for his banana pi and if it is any good, I might get one and use that instead.  

AMD FX 8320@ Stock - Asus M5A99X Evo R2.0 - Kingston HyperX 8GB 1600Mhz - Corsair Carbide 200R - Powercolor Radeon HD 7950 PCS+OC@970Mhz core 1400Mhz memory - Corsair CS650W - Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 
LG 22EA53VQ 21.5" - CM Storm Xornet - CM Storm Quickfire TK - Creative Inspire T3130 2.1

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