Can an Xbox one case be used to build a PC?

[Prof. Lucifer]

Hello, I've never done case modding and I'd like to ask if it might be possible to build a system in an xbox one.

[minibois]

Anything is possible, with the right components, tools and creativity, but it will be somewhat difficult.

You basically have to imagine the Xbox One being an empty box and place PC components properly in that. That means making brackets, mounting, I/O, etc. yourself.

 

See this video for some inspiration:

It's probably better to first attempt some simpler mods, or actually start design this in a 3D program to see how fast you can come.

Measure twice three times, cut once will be important. You can't 'uncut' a piece of the Xbox One shell.

You probably need to get some small components like SFX PSU's and ITX mobos.

[mr mans]

Sure, don't see why not. A case is just a case. Using non-standard things like an Xbox one will require some ingenuity on your part to get everything to fit and stay 

[Belac F]

it is very doable. I watched the LTT video, and from there built one in an OG xbox as well. I didnt have the same resources, but I just borrowed a dremel and a 3d printer from my school. (I was in grade 10 and had limited resources / budget). If you are looking for a powerful GPU, I recomend gigabytes mini itx minup. they have up to a 2070 with a single fan design, only 170 mm long if I remember correctly. I would also recomend HD Plex 400w PSU solution (https://hdplex.com/hdplex-400w-hi-fi-dc-atx-power-supply-16v-24v-wide-range-voltage-input.html). It is about the size of an ice cream sandwich, and lets you plug in an external laptop power supply. The 400 watt one is used in Linus' video. Also, if 3d design or access to software is a challenge, my entire build was completable using tinkercad, which runs on your browser, is free, and is easy to use. also noctua has some great low profile coolers. I used the L9i. for wiring up the power buttons and LEDs, just find a diagram of the board that controls them and use IO cable extensions to connect them. At least for the original xbox, no soldering is necessary. 

 

Also there are many youtube videos of people pulling it off quite well.

 

IDK if any of this helps but hopefully it is at least somewhat useful.

 

EDIT: this was my first case mod

[Scatology]

Are you THAT fan of the xbox one case? 

[Prof. Lucifer]

On 1/8/2020 at 2:34 AM, PeterFile said:

it is very doable. I watched the LTT video, and from there built one in an OG xbox as well. I didnt have the same resources, but I just borrowed a dremel and a 3d printer from my school. (I was in grade 10 and had limited resources / budget). If you are looking for a powerful GPU, I recomend gigabytes mini itx minup. they have up to a 2070 with a single fan design, only 170 mm long if I remember correctly. I would also recomend HD Plex 400w PSU solution (https://hdplex.com/hdplex-400w-hi-fi-dc-atx-power-supply-16v-24v-wide-range-voltage-input.html). It is about the size of an ice cream sandwich, and lets you plug in an external laptop power supply. The 400 watt one is used in Linus' video. Also, if 3d design or access to software is a challenge, my entire build was completable using tinkercad, which runs on your browser, is free, and is easy to use. also noctua has some great low profile coolers. I used the L9i. for wiring up the power buttons and LEDs, just find a diagram of the board that controls them and use IO cable extensions to connect them. At least for the original xbox, no soldering is necessary. 

 

Also there are many youtube videos of people pulling it off quite well.

 

IDK if any of this helps but hopefully it is at least somewhat useful.

 

EDIT: this was my first case mod

Would you recommend getting a gpu? Because my budget is $1400 but I'm afraid if messing something up and going Apu should be easier.

[Belac F]

6 hours ago, Prof. Lucifer said:

Would you recommend getting a gpu? Because my budget is $1400 but I'm afraid if messing something up and going Apu should be easier.

it depends. I spent about 1700 canadian dollars on mine, and I had room for a 2060. However, the simplest way to do it is model it out in a cad software ahead of time, and if you have room, then great, otherwise, go with the apu. The biggest concern is that nothing conductive is touching the PCB. However, I built it in a much larger xbox, and I already had barely any room for cables. If you do include a gpu, a nvme drive might help with space. 

 

If you were planning on going with an apu, you should be able to come out much under budget, and if vega graphics is all you need, that might be perfect. 

 

Another concern would be cooling. I cut a hole in the bottom of mine and made a stand. I cant remeber if the standard xbox one has ventilation in the top, that might be the one S im thinking of. 

 

Also, io would be much simpler without a gpu, and the back would look much cleaner.

 

Its not written very well, as it was my first post on the forum, but I posted the build here:

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/1120570-rtxbox/?tab=comments#comment-13021684

 

Also, this exact piece wont fit the xbox one, but if you want to see how I held everything in place, here's the file:

 

<iframe width="725" height="453" src="https://www.tinkercad.com/embed/eIVWOCc80OJ?editbtn=1" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>

 

<iframe width="725" height="453" src="https://www.tinkercad.com/embed/jY15GruJI7o?editbtn=1" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>

 

the first holds the graphics card.

 

 

[Prof. Lucifer]

8 hours ago, PeterFile said:

it depends. I spent about 1700 canadian dollars on mine, and I had room for a 2060. However, the simplest way to do it is model it out in a cad software ahead of time, and if you have room, then great, otherwise, go with the apu. The biggest concern is that nothing conductive is touching the PCB. However, I built it in a much larger xbox, and I already had barely any room for cables. If you do include a gpu, a nvme drive might help with space. 

 

If you were planning on going with an apu, you should be able to come out much under budget, and if vega graphics is all you need, that might be perfect. 

 

Another concern would be cooling. I cut a hole in the bottom of mine and made a stand. I cant remeber if the standard xbox one has ventilation in the top, that might be the one S im thinking of. 

 

Also, io would be much simpler without a gpu, and the back would look much cleaner.

 

Its not written very well, as it was my first post on the forum, but I posted the build here:

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/1120570-rtxbox/?tab=comments#comment-13021684

 

Also, this exact piece wont fit the xbox one, but if you want to see how I held everything in place, here's the file:

 

<iframe width="725" height="453" src="https://www.tinkercad.com/embed/eIVWOCc80OJ?editbtn=1" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>

 

<iframe width="725" height="453" src="https://www.tinkercad.com/embed/jY15GruJI7o?editbtn=1" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>

 

the first holds the graphics card.

 

 

I'm pretty sure I have an Xbox one but it uses the same chassis as the Xbox one s so I have around 4.2 litres of space to work with, in comparison, the original Xbox is 7.2 litres big. Though I think if I plan it well I can still fit a mini gpu.

[Belac F]

5 hours ago, Prof. Lucifer said:

I'm pretty sure I have an Xbox one but it uses the same chassis as the Xbox one s so I have around 4.2 litres of space to work with, in comparison, the original Xbox is 7.2 litres big. Though I think if I plan it well I can still fit a mini gpu.

yeah man it's up to you. All in all, a gpu isn't harder, it just takes longer to plan.

[Prof. Lucifer]

6 hours ago, PeterFile said:

yeah man it's up to you. All in all, a gpu isn't harder, it just takes longer to plan.

What's the best way to make sure your measurements are accurate? Because measuring tapes seem a bit hard to get accurate measurements with.

[Prof. Lucifer]

On 1/8/2020 at 2:34 AM, PeterFile said:

 I just borrowed a dremel and a 3d printer  

What's the Dremel and 3d printer used for?

[KnowledgeByTech]

Not only with consoles but also home stereo receivers. I have seen a few audiophiles around with gutted out retro home theater receivers with full PCs built inside... a console's case will work too though...

[Belac F]

4 hours ago, Prof. Lucifer said:

What's the best way to make sure your measurements are accurate? Because measuring tapes seem a bit hard to get accurate measurements with.

Quote

What's the Dremel and 3d printer used for?

I found the measurements for the graphics card online, I think from gigabytes website. All mini ITX mobos are 170 by 170 mm, the noctua cooler I used had dimensions on it's website. The xbox will be the hard part. Most of the chassis is hollow once you remove everything, but in the end I made my final measurements with a measuring tape. 

 

 

The Dremel was used to cut out a space for I/O and the 3d printer was used to make mounting points for everything and hold it all in place. I made the mistake of drilling my holes for screws after, instead of just having them cut out of the design before I printed it. I'm in high school, so I just used my schools 3d printer and dremel, as well as a drill press to make the holes (but you dont need it if you put the holes in before printing it out)

[Prof. Lucifer]

21 hours ago, PeterFile said:

I found the measurements for the graphics card online, I think from gigabytes website. All mini ITX mobos are 170 by 170 mm, the noctua cooler I used had dimensions on it's website. The xbox will be the hard part. Most of the chassis is hollow once you remove everything, but in the end I made my final measurements with a measuring tape. 

 

 

The Dremel was used to cut out a space for I/O and the 3d printer was used to make mounting points for everything and hold it all in place. I made the mistake of drilling my holes for screws after, instead of just having them cut out of the design before I printed it. I'm in high school, so I just used my schools 3d printer and dremel, as well as a drill press to make the holes (but you dont need it if you put the holes in before printing it out)

Do you think tape will damage the system? Because I'm thinking of just taping or glueing the motherboard onto the backplate.

[Belac F]

13 hours ago, Prof. Lucifer said:

Do you think tape will damage the system? Because I'm thinking of just taping or glueing the motherboard onto the backplate.

as far as I know, as long as it is non conductive it should be fine, but look into that yourself. What I would be most concerned about is the motherboard touching the metal backplate and shorting out. I'd recomend puting something between it, perhaps acrylic. What I did for mine was held it in place with 3d printed plastic (I can't remember what kind) mounting the two together would probably work better in this smaller space.

[Prof. Lucifer]

On 1/13/2020 at 11:46 AM, PeterFile said:

as far as I know, as long as it is non conductive it should be fine, but look into that yourself. What I would be most concerned about is the motherboard touching the metal backplate and shorting out. I'd recomend puting something between it, perhaps acrylic. What I did for mine was held it in place with 3d printed plastic (I can't remember what kind) mounting the two together would probably work better in this smaller space.

Is it possible transfer the Xbox one s to a PC case? Because my Xbox one s still works, I just hardly use it but my mom wants to keep it working because ye.

[Belac F]

4 hours ago, Prof. Lucifer said:

Is it possible transfer the Xbox one s to a PC case? Because my Xbox one s still works, I just hardly use it but my mom wants to keep it working because ye.

I don't know much about that. It might be more difficult as you would need to drill into the case to create standoffs and cut a spot for IO into the case, which may be difficult with metal. However, There are youtubers who have done it, it is definitly possible. For me, I used a broken Xbox, so that wasn't a concern, so I don't know much about how that would turn out. 

[kaotticc]

I actually just got done doing this with an xbox one s! https://imgur.com/gallery/SSeux8T here is a link to the full imgur album, i used an i7 4790s and a gtx 1650 super with an HDPLEX 200W DC-ATX converter.