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Can you Replace the Guts of a EEE PC with a Pi3B+?

mattig89ch

Hello all,

 

First and foremost, I'm not an engineer.  I'm a network tech by training, and a Help desk tech by profession.  So this is something way out of my normal area of knowledge.  I did take a basic engineering course in colledge, but I failed that class so hard it was almost comical.  3 weeks in, I reach a point of simply not understanding what the teacher was saying.  It was like he was speaking another language.  So I dropped the class, and transferred into the networking field.  The mandatory programming classes were so hard, I barely squeeked by them.  But the actual networking stuff was easy for me.

 

I have a Rasberry Pi3B+ I'm not doing anything with.  Originally, I bought it to turn it into a reto-pi, and put some N64 ROMS on it.  Sadly, I can't see to give it enough power.  Every time I enable the Wi-Fi, it reboots.  I suspect the power draw is too great, so it shuts down.  Then when the power draw isn't as high as it needs to be, it powers up.  The wifi then comes on automatically, and it repeats the process.  I have tried multiple outlets, and and wall adapters (including the official Rasberry Pi power brick!).  So far, nothings worked.

 

I also have an old EEE PC that runs XP-Pro.  Yep, I'm that old.  What I want to do is to gut the thing and replace the innards with this Pi3 B+.  The screen works, the keyboard/track pad work great, and the battery still holds a charge last time I checked.  its just the motherboard/hard drive I want to replace.

 

Is something like this even possible?  If so, where would I look to even begin a project like this?

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    You can put together a PC from separately bought components because the interfaces between them are standardized. Want to plug in a keyboard? Use USB. Connector and protocol are standardized so you you can chose a Logitech or Cherry keyboard as you wish. Want to use a screen? PC outputs HDMI, monitors have an HDMI input. Again, Physical, electrical and software standards mean you can use an Acer or Benq monitor without any problems.

     

    Inside a laptop things are bit cramped. So there won't be an internal HDMI plug and socket from the computer-part to the screen part. Moreover, for transport over usable cable, things are encoded in the computer and decoded in the screen. not necessary in a laptop. So... the interfaces between the components in a laptop are A) not the same as for desktop PCs and B) not standardized. If they want to use a certain screen and a certain graphics chip, and the interfaces do not match, the laptop designer has to find a solution. Either another screen or another graphics chip. They solve problems like this until done. But when you start with a "fixed" screen and "fixed" CPU/graphics chip, you don't get to chose an other CPU if it doesn't have an interface compatible with the screen.

     

    That said, the screen probably uses some form of parallel RGB, and the raspberry pi CPU has that too. But the problem is that not all required pins are available on the outside of the pi board. And the connectors are really really small and difficult to handle.

     

    In short: forget about it.

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  • 0

    You can put together a PC from separately bought components because the interfaces between them are standardized. Want to plug in a keyboard? Use USB. Connector and protocol are standardized so you you can chose a Logitech or Cherry keyboard as you wish. Want to use a screen? PC outputs HDMI, monitors have an HDMI input. Again, Physical, electrical and software standards mean you can use an Acer or Benq monitor without any problems.

     

    Inside a laptop things are bit cramped. So there won't be an internal HDMI plug and socket from the computer-part to the screen part. Moreover, for transport over usable cable, things are encoded in the computer and decoded in the screen. not necessary in a laptop. So... the interfaces between the components in a laptop are A) not the same as for desktop PCs and B) not standardized. If they want to use a certain screen and a certain graphics chip, and the interfaces do not match, the laptop designer has to find a solution. Either another screen or another graphics chip. They solve problems like this until done. But when you start with a "fixed" screen and "fixed" CPU/graphics chip, you don't get to chose an other CPU if it doesn't have an interface compatible with the screen.

     

    That said, the screen probably uses some form of parallel RGB, and the raspberry pi CPU has that too. But the problem is that not all required pins are available on the outside of the pi board. And the connectors are really really small and difficult to handle.

     

    In short: forget about it.

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