CyberDesk Ultra Pro max

Greetings, fellow makers!

So here's something exciting: a CyberDesk PC built from recycled laptop parts.

The purpose of this project was to rebuild my outdated, malfunctioning laptop and turn it into an all-in-one computer that can be used to watch videos on websites like YouTube or read blogs.

This system's motherboard is powered by an AMD E2 processor, which isn't really a powerhouse, making it ideal for online browsing and video viewing.

In terms of construction, I essentially disassembled a laptop and took out all of the necessary components, including the motherboard, display, IO expansion ports, camera module, and HDD. I then put these components on an acrylic sheet and attached it to another acrylic sheet with bolts and nuts to create a see-through PC, which is then secured with additional screws and PCB standoffs.

LATTEintosh PC Project

The LATTEintosh PC Project, which I previously created, was based on the LATTEPANDA 3 Delta SBC and featured the newest 12th Gen Intel Celeron Processor with 8GB DDR4 RAM, onboard 64GB eMMC storage, and even an SSD for making that system super fast.

The performance of this PC, which I built, is nowhere like that of the LATTEintosh PC because it only has one 4GB DDR3 RAM stick, a mechanical 500GB HDD, and a slower AMS E2 7th generation processor.

The biggest advantage of the current PC is that it can be upgraded, which I will do in later iterations. To improve boot time and general performance, more RAM will be added, and a SATA SSD will replace the mechanical HDD.

Material Required

The following were the materials required in this built.

• Donor Laptop
• Acrylic sheet 445mm x 485mm x 5mm (for front and back sides)
• Bolt M5 75mm long
• M5 Nuts
• M3 Nut and bolts
• M3 PCB Standoffs
• 3D Printed Stand x 2
• M3 Screws
• Patience

Donor Laptop

Here is the donor laptop, a Dell Inspiron 15 with an AMD E2 7th generation processor, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, and a 500GB mechanical hard drive.

The laptop's keyboard and trackpad are both completely broken and non-functional, and the screen is not an IPS panel.

I used this donor laptop, a 2017 model, as a device for consuming content for a full year.

We begin the salvage operation by first removing the laptop's back shell and harvesting the motherboard, HDD, IO Board, WiFi card, and display from inside.

Prior to dealing with or handling sensitive parts like motherboards and IO Boards, etc., use caution when salvaging, wear an appropriate ESD strap, and ground yourself.

Deconstructing large sections without causing damage is the primary objective of the salvaging procedure.

Motherboard

Here's the motherboard which has been salvaged from the Donor Laptop.

The motherboard is a compact mini ATX-like board with a fan attached to a heat pipe and processor for heat dissipation. It also has a USB 3.0 port, an HDMI port, an Ethernet port, and an SD card slot. FPC connectors are also available for attaching various devices, such as external IO ports and displays.

The board's core processor, an AMD E2, is paired with a 4GB DDR3 RAM stick.

The AMD E2 1800, also referred to as Zacate, was a single-channel DDR3-1333 memory controller and dual-core notebook processor with integrated graphics.

The AMD Bobcat architecture, which was often used in low-end microprocessors like the E2 in this case, is utilized.

Bobcat cores and GPU cores are utilized in APUs with a TDP of 18 W or less. The CPU uses socket FT1, commonly known as the BGA-413 package, and the technology node is 40 nm.

Overall, this motherboard is not a powerful one that can handle demanding tasks like gaming or intensive computing; nonetheless, we can use it to operate a few Chrome tabs or watch a movie.

Future plans include increasing the system's RAM and adding a SATA SSD to make it a little bit faster so that it can be used as a retro emulation system.

Why not use SBC instead?

I purchased this little SBC computer with an Intel Atom processor from a nearby computer retailer.

This device supposedly ran Windows 7 as its primary operating system and was used to run a few software applications in an industrial press.

It has a single-core Intel Atom N450 CPU with a total TDP of 5.5W that operates on a 45 nm technology node. Although it has been discontinued, more recent versions are currently being produced.

With regard to the RAM, it has a 2GB DDR3 RAM stick and a 32GB mSATA SSD, which is just insufficient for operating anything and is another reason why I didn't utilize this board.

I previously built a Macintosh-like computer by using a LATTEPANDA 3 Delta SBC which contains a 12th-generation Celeron processor, and it's working pretty well, it works so well that it runs Minecraft; do check out that project for more context.

Minimal Configuration

I first connected all of the components of the laptop—including the display cable, power switch FPC cable, hard drive, and wifi adaptor—and booted the machine before beginning the building process.

It used to run Windows 10, but it was corrupted, so I had to reinstall it. Before disassembling the entire system, make sure to verify that the system's OS is functioning.

The motherboard is connected to the display and hard drive, which are the two essential parts needed to make the PC function.

We will also use the IO Board, which has a built-in ON/OFF switchboard, left and right speakers, a charging IN port, and USB 2.0 ports.

Since the laptop's batteries were also damaged, the system's primary power source is its charger IN port.

3D Design

Here is how the CyberDesk PC is made; it is made of two acrylic sheets that are bolted together with six M5 bolts. The motherboard, screen, and HDD are all electronics that are placed between two panes of acrylic.

Using an acrylic sheet allows the PC to be completely transparent, which looks amazing.

Additionally, two stands were modeled, holding the entire PC and ensuring its stability when placed on a desk.

3D Printed Motherboard and Hard Disk Holder

We also designed a motherboard holder that uses PCB standoffs and M3 screws to hold the motherboard in place and attach it to the HDD.

This component will be subsequently attached to the acrylic sheet, simplifying assembly.

Red PLA was used to print the motherboard holder, with a 0.4mm nozzle and 50% infill.

Preparing Base from Acyclic Sheet

• Using a power saw, we first cut the acrylic sheet into two pieces, each measuring 445 mm by 485 mm by 5 mm.

Working with acrylic sheet can be challenging; if you use the wrong saw or put too much pressure on it, it could crack. (Overuse of force during cutting caused the front panel to crack from the top side.)

Marking the Sheet for Drilling Holes

• After that, we take one acrylic sheet and arrange all the parts on it before marking holes for PCB standoffs and nut bolts, which will be used to fasten everything to the base sheet.
• In order to later attach six M5 Nuts and bolts to hold two sheets together, we additionally add six mounting holes to the front sheet.
• After marking the locations of the holes, we drill them using an M3 bit for PCB standoffs and an M5 bit for larger nuts and bolts used to join two sheets.

Adding the Motherboard Holder to Acrylic Sheet

• In order to avoid having to directly attach the motherboard to the acrylic sheet, we first attach the 3D-printed Motherboard Holder to the Base sheet using M3 bolts and nuts. This section also holds the HDD.

Adding Display to Acrylic sheet

We then use four 20mm-long M3 PCB standoffs to mount the display to the base acrylic sheet.

Adding IO Extension Board

Next, we place the IO expansion board by using the same 20mm-long M3 PCB standoffs.

Adding Speakers

• Using double-sided tape, we attach two speakers—one left and one right—to the PC's bottom side. We will later connect the speakers' wires to the motherboard.

Motherboard Placement

• The motherboard is then set into position by first connecting it to all of the FPC connectors, including the Display Port, Charging Port, ON-OFF switchboard, Hard Disk FPC cable, speaker, IO Extension Board, and WiFi module.
• Through the PCB Standoffs, we attach the motherboard to the motherboard holder using M3 bolts.

Adding Front Acrylic Panel

• After placing all the electronics, we add the front acrylic sheet by using six M5 Bolts and nuts.

Adding 3D Printed Stand

• Temporarily removing the front panel, we then use three long M3 screws to attach the 3D-printed stand. To make this structure solid, we ultimately add two stands.

Result so far

Here is the end result of the Built Process: a transparent PC with a cool, futuristic appearance.

The entire computer is transparent, allowing us to see the hard drive, motherboard, and other parts like the IO expansion board.

No, this set-up is not an imitation of transparent earbuds or power banks made by Sharkgeek or Nothing.

Testing the PC

I'm going to be completely honest here: This PC stinks.

This computer is only capable of opening files and running a few Chrome tabs.

This computer's cheap motherboard and its extremely underpowered processor, which is incapable of performing any meaningful work, are both its best and worst features.

For testing this PC, I ran a few 1080p YouTube videos, and they loaded without any issues. The speakers work, and the online browsing experience was mostly average.

Using this computer is similar to using a terribly slow computer from five years ago; it works, but that's about it.

This PC's pros was that I tried to run the PPSSPP emulator to try to emulate old PSP games, and they ran smoothly.

Running Games

I installed a game from 2005 which is the LF2 or little fighter 2, I use to play it a lot when I was 10.

It's a nice thing that this machine can run this game smoothly. I tried using other software, like the PPSSPP emulator and the PS2 emulator, both of which worked, but they didn't simply run enough to play any games adequately.

Improvements

Right now, 4GB of DDR3 RAM is just insufficient to perform even some simple tasks, so the RAM is the first component that has to be upgraded, and it should be increased to at least 8GB.

The performance of the OS will be much improved if we use a SATA SSD to boot Windows instead of a mechanical hard disc.

I also noticed that when performing basic tasks, the CPU temperature can rise to 70°C or higher, which is not a good number. I'm planning to add a better cooling solution, which will include cooling fans setup so that one Fan will pull cool air in and the other will push hot air outside the PC body. A much better heatsink will also be added to increase the airflow setup, which should cause the CPU temperature to drop slightly.

Last but not least, if Windows 10 OS doesn't work out, I'll use an Android-based emulator OS like Phoenix OS or Batocera OS to play older games.

If you have any extra laptops laying around, this project is enjoyable and entirely upgradeable overall.

Please avoid from attempting this with a Macbook as you can upset Apple and void your warranty.

This is it for today folks, leave a comment if you need any info or help regarding this project.

Peace out.