A modular pc design involving a small motherboard and parts

[TheMode]

Hey, I am a programmer and got a pretty nice idea today which I would like to have done if this is possible.

 

I thought of having a really small component containing cpu/ram/ssd soldered like in a laptop, that you will be able to plug in the "peripheral" part which contains the screen/mouse/buttons/others.

Basically this is a mini pc that you can plug everywhere, so you could have a device small as a phone, a tablet or a tv and still get the same storage.

 

Like I said I am a programmer so I should be able to manage the software part even if I had to make my own OS, but I know close to nothing hardware side. I first thought of using a raspberry but I would like to have a more powerful cpu/gpu, same for storage/ram size. So I believe that I need to use laptop parts or even a whole motherboard, for learning purpose I would like to build my own but I feel like buying those parts isn't available for consumers (maybe on ebay?)

 

Since having windows or any other current OS isn't my priority I could even use a ARM based cpu architecture if I have a way to buy one of them (like a modern smartphone processor) but it seems impossible.

 

Basically, how can a get parts for what I want to achieve? I know that this is really hard and probably out of my knowledge but I would like to learn eventually.

[AndrewB121]

So basically an Intel NUC.

 

As for making one yourself, you basically can't, you would have to source all of the individual components, which won't be easy as laptop parts aren't readily available, and then produce your own motherboard. You can check ebay for parts if you really wanted to do it yourself, but stuff might be hard to find. 

[GoldenLag]

6 minutes ago, TheMode said:

Basically, how can a get parts for what I want to achieve?

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/boards-kits/compute-stick.html

 

a Compute stick is what im assuming you want. 

[TheMode]

2 minutes ago, AndrewB121 said:

So basically an Intel NUC.

 

As for making one yourself, you basically can't, you would have to source all of the individual components, which won't be easy as laptop parts aren't readily available, and then produce your own motherboard. You can check ebay for parts if you really wanted to do it yourself, but stuff might be hard to find. 

Yeah, I got a bit inspired by it. Except that I want mine to be connected to a completely custom "chassis" which will not necessary contains a windows operating system, having the ability to even put a battery in it (those nuc computer cannot be run on them for a long)

 

Sure the problems are the parts... I believe that mobile processors (like snapdragon) are the best I can get (there's even a development kit available), but I really do not have any idea for ram and storage.

 

3 minutes ago, GoldenLag said:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/boards-kits/compute-stick.html

 

a Compute stick is what im assuming you want. 

Saw it just a hour ago and this is the closest I could find. Just that I want to have something more powerful and make my custom adapted devices with a proper connector (not a single usb port)

[AndrewB121]

Quote

Yeah, I got a bit inspired by it. Except that I want mine to be connected to a completely custom "chassis" which will not necessary contains a windows operating system, having the ability to even put a battery in it (those nuc computer cannot be run on them for a long)

In that case your best bet is probably buying a NUC and customising the chassis to add a power supply. You can also wipe it to remove windows. 

 

Quote

Saw it just a hour ago and this is the closest I could find. Just that I want to have something more powerful and make my custom adapted devices with a proper connector (not a single usb port)

Problem is the more powerful you get the more power you need, the bigger it gets etc. 

 

Tbh maybe you could look at somehow adapting parts from a phone?

[GoldenLag]

8 minutes ago, TheMode said:

Yeah, I got a bit inspired by it. Except that I want mine to be connected to a completely custom "chassis" which will not necessary contains a windows operating system, having the ability to even put a battery in it (those nuc computer cannot be run on them for a long)

 

Sure the problems are the parts... I believe that mobile processors (like snapdragon) are the best I can get (there's even a development kit available), but I really do not have any idea for ram and storage.

so a laptop.......

 

you can allways take apart a laptop, but you can also just use them as is. 

[TheMode]

1 minute ago, AndrewB121 said:

In that case your best bet is probably buying a NUC and customising the chassis to add a power supply. You can also wipe it to remove windows. 

 

Those are pretty overpowered for my planned usage and aren't made for a mobile experience (those are desktop cpu). The size in this case is also important.

 

2 minutes ago, AndrewB121 said:

Problem is the more powerful you get the more power you need, the bigger it gets etc. 

 

Tbh maybe you could look at somehow adapting parts from a phone?

Yeah I believe that phone performance is my goal, I find them powerful enough for my use and do not need a really large battery.

I guess that the datasheet for those parts won't be find online? This is a problem, an expected one but still a large one...

 

2 minutes ago, GoldenLag said:

so a laptop.......

 

you can allways take apart a laptop, but you can also just use them as is. 

But smaller, with a motherboard of the size of a phone. That you could swap in any other device (that I obviously made) like a swappable laptops' battery.

The compute stick that you showed is the perfect example, I could have basically asked "how can I make one of them by myself?" without the usb part

[Letgomyleghoe]

try a latte panda, small enough and could probably run on a large battery for a while.

ive seen people add graphics cards to those

 

maybe a raspberry pi

i havent seen anyone add a graphics card to those but im sure its possible