Actions
Engagement
  • Author Author: pchan
  • Date Created: Date Created
  • Last Updated Last Updated:
  • Views 1053 views
  • Likes 3 likes
  • Comments 25 comments
Related
Recommended

Episode 271: Ben Heck’s Xbox One S Laptop Episode

element14's The Ben Heck Show

Join the Ben Heck team every week for amazing hacks! Watch them build and mod community-inspired projects using electronics!

Back to The Ben Heck Show homepage

Community Feedback
Featured Bonus Content
See All Episodes

 

 

Ben assembles an Xbox One S Laptop using parts from a previous teardown of an Xbox One S. The new laptop includes 3D printed parts, an aluminum base cut with a CNC machine, a new power supply to power both the Xbox and LCD screen, and smaller fans powered by a rigged circuit using a Tip 102.

 

The major components of the Xbox One S are a Blue Ray Drive, Power Supply Unit, a Motherboard, and a Hard Drive. Ben takes the motherboard and scans an image of it in Adobe Illustrator. He uses laser patterns to knock holes in the board. This gives him as many options for mounting this as possible.

He puts together all the Xbox One components. He's extended the power cable of the blue ray drive, he's moved the hard drive, he's put the front panel PCB at a right angle and ported out the buttons (eject, bind, and power), he's moved the wifi module to an end degree angle, and he's using the new short HDMI cable to connect to a screen.

He replaces the power supply with a more powerful unit as the added power is needed for the LCD screen. He also replaces the large fans with two smaller fans for his laptop. By keeping the control line, the system can throttle the fans up and down as needed by heat load. To do this he rigs up a circuit using a Tip 102.

The 12 V fans are wired in parallel, 12 V comes from the console and goes into the positive wire, and the negative wire from the fans goes into the collector of the Tip 102 NPN Darlington Transistor allowing you to switch the current on and off. The control line from the Xbox goes through a 1K resistor and into the base of the Tip 102. Finally, the emitter of the Tip 102 goes into ground. The Tip 102 acts as the circuitry inside the fan did allowing the fan to turn on with their speed controlled by the system.

Ben cuts the aluminum base for the Xbox One S laptop with a CNC machine. He can then attach the 3D printed wall sections to the aluminum. Next he attaches the power supply and the blue ray drive to the aluminum base. He then makes adjustments to allow the motherboard to fit.

Before closing the inside off with 3D printed parts, Ben goes over what's inside. There's a new power supply with 13.9 amps, a blue ray player, a wifi module, hard drive, wireless controller module, and a control panel. There's a driver board for the LCD and a heat sink for the APU.

Anonymous
  • in reply to muncherdave

    Or, rather than a full controller, a media remote could be built into the side, allowing you to use your laptop without a controller...

     

    https://www.amazon.com/Xbox-One-Media-Remote/dp/B00IAVDPSA

  • This project is really cool, and is the reason I signed up for this site.  I would definitely of wanted a 4k display instead of the one used, and personally I wouldn't mind it being heavier or having  a larger screen, which might give more ventilation room and help keeps temps down since the components would have more space between each other inside, but that's just because I already own a gaming laptop that has a 17'3" screen.  Saw someone else mention this as well but a keyboard would be great addition, as well as someone mentioned using an SSD, though a bigger HDD would be nice too. Could possibly have it made to where the HDD was in a swap-able tray that you can eject out of the device without taking it apart for switching between drives for more storage, which is a major concern for me as I have around 2.5 TB of games for my xbox one right now, and I just like having it all installed if possible.

     

    I'm not sure if your final build had this, but I would actually prefer to have an hmdi out so that way if you wanted to you could also still plug it in to a tv and use it as a home console.

  • I was wondering, I recently got a new computer, the HP Spectre and was wonder couldn't you make the screen at least QHD? Also I was wondering if you would give this away in a giveaway. I would love to have one of those.

  • Hello,

     

    This was the project I waiting for.

    It's an awesome build, great ideas to start with, a nice design and a functionnal one.

     

    On each build, you take time to explain clearly what you're doing and the use of every little thing, it's really helpfull.

     

    Thank you all for your time and share.

     

    PS : I saved money for the moment we could buy one (just a dream for many of us).

  • What kind of power supply are we talking about? Love the build what a beauty.

  • Just awsome... How about the 2 consoles in one laptop?! With the dual booting?! Would be a great machine...

  • Ben what kind of batteries are we talking to make it truly "portable"

  • Hey great vid I love it. Just has a question. Would it be better to do the Xbox one s portable with out the blue ray drive. And just play digital games. Would that save power? Just wondering the pros of building it with out the blu ray

  • will you be uploading the 3d printed files? i just got a 3d printer and would love to have something useful to print lol!

  • I think I would have taken a cue from traditional laptops and made the power supply external.