Raspberry Pi Case and Heat Sink From Recycled Desktop

I recently set up a Raspberry Pi NAS (network-attached storage) system. While I could have left it loose in a desk somewhere, I instead turned to an old Lenovo desktop to provide not only an outer structure, but a very large heat sink too!

The computer first had to be stripped of its motherboard and other internal parts, which thanks to a clever design, could mostly be accomplished without tools. Some work with a drill was needed to take out the DVD-ROM cage, as well as an angle grinder created more space as seen in the video below. This produced a wide accessible area on which to place my Pi, USB hub, and hard drives. Components were secured with Velcro, and the Pi was attached also using a custom 3D-printed standoff arrangement (STL available here) and zip-ties.

Beyond a simple enclosure for my components, the desktop's motherboard also provided what is (in Raspberry Pi terms) an absolutely massive heat sink. This was fastened down with thermal tape, and I insulated the overhanging sides with electrical tape so it didn't short anything out. Results were quite good, as seen in the video below.

All things considered, having a Raspberry Pi NAS setup is very helpful. While I still have a backup of some important files tucked away in a safe, it's nice to be able to access photos and older files without having to figure out where its located and connect up to an external drive.

I'm certainly not the first person to build a Raspberry Pi network attached storage solution, but found options for actually "storing the storage" to be pretty sparse. Hopefully this will give you some ideas, and perhaps even keep a computer case or two out of the landfill!