Ultimate Vive Rig

[zdog16]

I have been kicking this idea around for a few weeks, but last night I sat down and actually did put something on paper, and I’m looking for some feedback from you guys.

As a HTC Vive owner I have been lugging my desktop tower around to give Vive demos to family and friends. This is obviously not a great solution and I know there are VR ready laptops out there but I had an idea for a different solution. My idea was to build a computer into a pelican case that also has room to store all of the Vive parts. So I came up with some parameters for this project.

• 1.       Must be mobile enough to fit into someone’s car for transport.

• 2.       Must be able to store everything needed to run the Vive.

• 3.       Minimal setup once at location.

• 4.       One Power input via D-Plug or Edison lead coming out of the case.

• 5.       Durable enough to be moving around constantly.

• 6.       Easily up-gradable.

• 7.       Included monitor and additional Video output for plugging into external displays if necessary.

Hardware

I want to be able to build this system as cheaply as possible with the ability to upgrade later so I spec’d an Intel i5 a Micro ATX motherboard 16GB of RAM and a modest 500w power supply. I have an original GTX Titan laying around from before I upgrade my primary machine so I threw that in there. For storage I’m just going to throw in a 500GB or 1TB SSD.

·         Intel Core i5-4590 3.5 Quad Core

·         MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard

·         16GB DDR3 Memory

·         500GB to 1TB SSD

·         4x 120mm Fans

I created a wiring diagram so I could wrap my head around all the hardware and how it needs to connect together so I could keep that in mind while placing the components in the case.

Case

Since I want this to be mobile and durable I’m looking at a Pelican Storm case. After throwing all of the hardware I had chosen into Sketchup I modeled the foam inserts from the original Vive case and put it all together to figure out what size case I need.

I settled on a case from Casebuilder.com that matched my space requirements nicely.

http://www.mycasebuilder.com/skb-3i-3019-12-custom-foam-case.html

It’s not small but it has plenty of latches, and can roll so I think it will work nicely.

I started modeling out all the foam, added a power strip to fulfill my 1 power plug criteria and put in a faceplate to hold the fans and make the unit a bit cleaner when in use. I added a generic monitor model to the top of the case that will hopefully be mounted in the lid. I added a couple places underneath and next to the foam inserts for storage of other accessories (mouse, Xbox controller, lighthouse power cables). I want to cut as few holes in the exterior of the case as possible but I realize that makes ventilation difficult. I have 4 fans on the faceplate the idea is for the three in the back to be intakes and the one in the front to be exhaust.

Since I only need a couple specific ports available when the system is in use the motherboard/graphics card IO is hidden under the faceplate and would be plugged directly into the correct hardware under the faceplate. The Vive breakout box sits flush with the faceplate for easy access, and I want to also have a custom IO plate for HDMI, USB, power button, and status lights.

Here is the part where I want some feedback. I have built a couple of computers from scratch before but this is a whole different beast. I still have a lot of things to work out but I wanted to see what you guys think. My biggest concern is how I’m going to mount all the hardware. I want the case to be foam lined for durability but then how do I mount the motherboard and graphics card? Should I put long studs through the foam and bolted to the case, or do I somehow attach it to the foam itself? I know that the graphics card is going to need some sort of support, or it may need to be moved away from the motherboard with a PCIE extender. I think the monitor can be mounted to the lid using the Vesa holes bolted directly to the case.

I want your guy’s help on this here is a dropbox with all my files so you can take a look.(Mods if this is against policy please remove, I didn't know of a better way to share the files)

I look forward to your ideas and comments.