AIO XBOX ONE & PC & Streaming setup w/built in battery backup

[Justin_]

Ok guys, I just went to a LAN event this weekend and got an idea for a crazy LAN box that I am going to build. The idea is to put a good gaming PC with capture hardware, a XBOX ONE, a network switch, and a full battery backup in one roughley 14"X14"X20" box. At this point I have the basic idea down and I tore apart my XBOX ONE, I won't be using the disk drive to save space and make it so I don't need to mount it, so I will need to have all of my games on the HDD, I also tore apart a Tripp Lite SMART1500LCD 1500VA battery backup and it appears to be using 2 12V ~3A batteries inside, so technically I could add multiples of 2 more in parallel with the existing ones to expand it capacity, but for what I am doing I am going to just stick with the 2 as this is going to be heavy already, but I might replace them with higher capacity Duracell batteries. I also tore apart an old gigabit Cisco WiFi router that I will have configured to just act as a switch to make it so I only need 1 LAN cable to connect my PC and XBOX.
 

Spoiler

The idea is to have one box to haul in plug in 1 power cable and 1 LAN cable, then just hook up the displays and peripherals and be ready to go with a full capture/broadcast setup.

 

This box will have 4 separate levels, the bottom one will hold the battery backup, the second one will hold the XBOX ONE, the third will have the router, XBOX PSU brick, and the PC PSU, the 4th and final spot will hold the PC components which will include an ASUS GTX 1070 STRIX OC edition, AVerMedia live gamer HD capture card that will be permanently connected to the XBOX one, a 7 port USB 3.0 expansion card, an Intel 6600K or 6700K, AIO CPU cooler that will exhaust all of the CPU heat directly out of the system, 16GB or 32GB RAM that will likely be Corsair Vengeance LPX, and at this point I am undecided on the motherboard (will be full-ATX), PSU, and storage media.

 

The final system will be built inside of a custom built box made out of either Plywood or OSB and will be covered with a vinyl wrap to give it the feel of a stage gear box, complete with handles and likely wheels as it will be heavy, I might even put metal corner and edge protectors on it.

So what do you guys think? I know that heat will likely be a huge issue that I will need to deal with, but I think that I can get it done!

 

 

Parts List, everything as I buy

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Computer;

Not bought yet

 

Other electronics;

XBOX ONE S Battlefield 1 bundle in white

Tripp Lite SMART1500LCD

HDMI Switch

Linksys E4200

IR Signal Duplicator

4 way SATA power splitter

 

Wood/Hardware;

3X 1"X8' Angle Bar (Aluminum)

1X 1"X3' Angle Bar (Aluminum)

1X 23/32" (~3/4") 4'X8' plywood

1X #16X1-1/2" nails

2X #15X1-1/2" nails (brads) woops bought 2 different types!

2X #6X5/8" wood screws (50 pack) for the braces below

2X 1-1/2" corner brace (20 pack)

1X 8oz elmers wood glue

2X Wood Filler

1X Spray paint handle

1X 100PK 4" zip ties

1X 100PK 8" zip ties

7X 36 grit sand paper

6X 120 grit sandpaper

2X White spray paint can

 

 

I will update this list as I buy more stuff, I will try to add links to all of them of where to buy.

 

Receipt photos

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[The_Denks]

Get an XBOX One S.

 

They are smaller, which makes it more portable

It also has a built in PSU, meaning you dont have to lug around that massive brick, also saving on space and weight

[Froody129]

Really cool idea! 

[Justin_]

1 minute ago, UberGamerKing said:

Get an XBOX One S.

 

They are smaller, which makes it more portable

It also has a built in PSU, meaning you dont have to lug around that massive brick, also saving on space and weight

That would be a good idea, but I already had an original XBOX ONE laying around, so I thought I would just use it instead of going out and buying a new XBOX ONE for $400

[The_Denks]

Just now, Justin_ said:

That would be a good idea, but I already had an original XBOX ONE laying around, so I thought I would just use it instead of going out and buying a new XBOX ONE for $400

Fair enough

[pwn_intended]

Seems like an awesome build man, I look forward to seeing the results.

Keep in mind that you will have to digitally own games to play them without an optical drive. Even if they are installed on the HDD. If you own the disc version of the game, you will be unable to play it. I also wouldn't be surprised if the xbox failed to work without the ODD, but I could be wrong on that.

[Justin_]

3 minutes ago, pwn_intended said:

Seems like an awesome build man, I look forward to seeing the results.

Keep in mind that you will have to digitally own games to play them without an optical drive. Even if they are installed on the HDD. If you own the disc version of the game, you will be unable to play it. I also wouldn't be surprised if the xbox failed to work without the ODD, but I could be wrong on that.

Yes I do understand that, and really I like it that way because there is no game disc to scratch or loose, as for whether the XBOX works without the drive I have already tested running it without the drive connected, it runs just fine, but it won't update without the drive for some odd reason, so I will keep it around to connect when I need to update the firmware, or maybe I can just leave the circuit board connected without the whole drive assembly.

[pwn_intended]

1 minute ago, Justin_ said:

it runs just fine, but it won't update without the drive for some odd reason

Given how frequently the firmware is getting updates now, that may be an issue. I have been on the Xbox insider program and it feels like there is an update to the dashboard 3-4 times a week. Probably a lot less frequent for regular users but still at least 1-2 times a month.

[Justin_]

I haven't noticed them that much, maybe I will just connect it but not put in the effort to align it to be able to put discs in, it is a broken disk drive, I have tried replacing it before, but when I put in a different drive it wouldn't play games, just movies. I do have my XBOX configured to never fully shut down, just go into the low power mode, so it could be that it is updating itself when I am not using it.

[wONKEyeYEs]

Do not call him Justin_,

call him Dr. Frankenstein!

[Justin_]

4 minutes ago, wONKEyeYEs said:

Do not call him Justin_,

call him Dr. Frankenstein!

Eah this is some pretty basic stuff compared to things I have done before, I have turned backpacks into TVs, and have worked on but have yet to finish a fully portable Nintendo 64 with built in screen, controller, batteries, and speaker, just to name a few projects

[Justin_]

Or maybe that is a better reason to call me Dr. Frankenstein 

[Justin_]

Ok update #1, I managed to break the XBOX ONE PSU while disassembling it, so I did some research and apparently you can connect the whole XBOX lineup to computer PSU's, THAT WOULD ROCK I could get a higher rated PSU and just have everything connected to it! So I tried it our, yellow to yellow, red to red, black and gray to black, then short out green and black to turn on the PSU and BAM it worked! I have my XBOX running off an ATX PSU! Awesome!

Spoiler

 

 

[Justin_]

Ok it has been a few weeks since the last update because I am waiting on the funds, but they should be here in the next few days so there should be several updates soon! Anyway, my xbox started having issues with the PC PSU I was using but it wasn't a top tier PSU and it could only just barely supply the XBOX with enough power, so I figured I killed it, so I went ahead and rigged up another more powerful PUS and well, I blew up one of the power transistors. Hopefully I can replace it and everything will be good to go, but if not I will need to get a new XBOX, and I will get an "S" model for the reduced size.

 

Be ready for more regular updates about the case!

 

[Justin_]

I did one more video update at the same time, I showed off my HDMI switch, that I added wires to the button and leds so that I can mount them on a front panel, I also showed off the IR remote signal duplicator that I will be using to duplicate IR signals inside the computer case. I also showed off the battery backup that I am useing, one that I have that I have not torn apart.

 

 

[Justin_]

Ok just realised that the previous videos had no audio, I just refilmed it and I am uploading it to youtube now, I don't know how many of you are part of the floatplane club but I am thinking about possibly modifying my displays like in the latest video (will be less vague whence it is on YouTube). I should have the replacement video up soon.

[Justin_]

Ok guys here is the video, like I said it is the same thing as above, but it has audio now.

I would also like to mention I just got singed up at my local tool library so I have access to basically whatever I need!

 

[Justin_]

Just a quick update, I was able to remove the dead component from the XBOX One's motherboard and able to find a replacement on DigiKey, I got it ordered and it should be here in a few days and I will be able to see if that fixes it, that's about it for now.

 

[Justin_]

Another quick update, the transistor should be here Saturday, so expect the replacement update either Saturday or Sunday this week. I am about to go out and buy the supplies for the computer case and just putting some pre thought into how I will be doing the rear IO (PCI-E slots and Backplate cutout) and I am thinking about possibly cutting the back of an existing case that I have and then just bolt it onto the back of the box that I am makeig to put everything inside of.

 

 

 

[nofxz]

Watch out the charging circuit of ups may not be able to take a bunch of extra battery capacity. 

[Justin_]

@nofxz that could be true, but most battery charge circuits just charge until the battery voltage is at the "full" amount and they don't care how long it takes to do it.

 

 

 

Anyway todays update! I finally made my first trip to Home Depot and picked up a 23/32" sheet of 4'X8' plywood, some corner supports, some l brackets, some nails, some screws, and some wood glue, that cost me $101.41US OUCH! Anyway I have the supplies to make the case now and I will be hopefully working on that this weekend! Also I am going to be making a sketch of what I want the final project to look like, it might still change but it would be good to have a physical way to show the idea of the final project to all of you!

 

 

[Justin_]

Another quick update, I went down to my tool library and took out a router, drill, biscuit hole cutter, circular saw, clamps, and some bits so I have all of the tools to start building the case!

 

[Justin_]

Ok so I took a few minutes and made a 3d representative of the case in google sketchup, I included the .skp (in onedrive link) file in this reply post and some screen caps and of course the obligatory video with the post

 

I also took the Sketchup file and used it to make a cut list so I know how big/small I need to cut the peices to make everything fit. The list is as follows;

3X 13”x11”

2X 13”X13”

2X 13”X24”

2X 14 7/16”X24”

2X 3”X24”

2X 3”X13”

Photos hidden to reduce scrolling

Spoiler

 

Asymmetric View

Front View (main body)

left side view (main Body)

 

 

[Justin_]

Ok so saturday update, I did take a sheet of wood out on my deck, and there definitely is a reason that I am a computer technician and not a woodworker, I did cut 2 pieces though. So I might hold off on more cutting until I can make somebody else that is better do it and at that point the mail should of been in so I cleaned up. *Went to check mail* hummmm....... my package was not in my mailbox, and even when I left my house at 6:30 PM it was not there  anyway so that is all for the day.

 

Also, I forgot to get saw horses to cut off of, so I used a 36" spool and a crappy porch table with some 3.5" HDD's used to match the height.

 

Photos in spoiler to save your scroll wheel from certain death through my post

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[Justin_]

Ok Sunday update, I started work on the battery backup section of the system as I did cut out the piece that I am mounting it onto. To mount the transformer I used the plastic that it was mounted to originally by cutting it out, then just screwed that into the wood, that way I don't need to try to screw in 3-1/2" long 1/4" bolts into the wooden base. The main PCB is held down with 1 screw in each corner located in the pre existing holes, I might pull it out and add some washers to work as spacers so that it is not in direct contact with the wood. For the batteries I put in some of the 1-1/2 "L" brackets to make a holder for them to prevent them from shifting around, I also used the "L" brackets to hold the power and fuse reset piece in place on the back of the system. I did a quick test and the battery backup seems to be fully functional and ready to go!!

 

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Video and Photos in spoiler to prevent unnecessary scrolling

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