I am thinking about a mini-ITX PC build that would weigh 35 kilograms. What would be the best way to carry it around? Would wheels work, or would a reinforced handle be better?
Since the case is reasonably large, larger than a loaf of bread, but smaller than a kitchen cupboard, how well would the weight be spread about?
Would it be feasible to carry this computer around the world, like a very heavy laptop, though I doubt it would be legal to take it on airplanes at all. But just for walking around, would it be feasible or would it be awkward and too heavy?
I am thinking that since it might look odd to carry around a computer case around, would it be good to cannibalize a cheap plastic suitcase and nail/glue/solder the plastic, metal and fabric bits on the outside of the case, so it looks like a normal suitcase and not a PC case?
35 kg is 77 pounds. I’d use wheels. You can probably find a Pelican case for the job.
ETA: Link. Click on Protector Case, find the one that suits your needs.
That’s too heavy to lug around. If you want to get a sample, your local hardware store will have 36 kg (80 lb) bags of concrete mix that you could lift to see.
Other references would be about 5-6 bowling balls, a 10 year old, an older large portable CRT TV, 2-3 loads of wet laundry not rung out in a basket, 9 gallons of water.
77 pounds is pretty damn heavy. You’ll be able to move it between your home office and your car trunk if you lift with your legs, but you’re not going to traipse around town with it like it’s just an oversized laptop.
Airline carry-on weight limit is generally 40 pounds, and for checked bags it’s generally 50 pounds. So imagine the heaviest suitcase you’ve ever checked for a flight, and now understand that your kaiju computer will be at least 50% heavier. A large rolling suitcase will handle the weight OK, but if you’re flying anywhere, the air carrier will charge you extra for your heavy luggage.
If you’re looking to get an idea of what 77 pounds feels like, get a large suitcase and fill it up with heavy things (bricks, books, cans of beer, etc.) until it weighs 77 pounds. If you don’t have a bathroom scale available, get a large trash can and fill it up with 9 gallons of water (8.3 pounds per gallon), and try lifting it (conversion: 1 cubic foot is 7.5 gallons).
On preview, Pasta has the answer. Go to Home Depot/Lowe’s or a hardware store and look for a bag of cement.
(I was also skeptical of the weight, but I don’t know what “min-ITX” means, so I gave the benefit of the doubt that it was maybe a case 90% full of battery packs or something.)
Mhm, I wasn’t really actually planning on taking the PC onto an airplane or anything.
What sort of wheels and wheel hinges would be best to be used? Is there such thing as a wheel/hinge chart for burdens of varying weight? I wouldn’t like to spend days putting wheels on the thing only for the plastic wheels to turn into powder the second they touched down.
Okay, so 28 kilograms then? That’s only a little bit heavier…
No, no. It’s definitely 35 kg, it’s just that I thought about adding some other stuff inside as well to increase portability.
The heaviest mini-ITX cases I could find on Amazon were in the 7kg range with most being more like 3kg. Looking at the volume and the internal arrangements, I don’t know what you could jam in there (that actually has computing value, i.e. not gold bullion) to get it anywhere near the weight you propose.
Yeah, water is heavy. Your PC should not weigh more than an equivalent case filled with water. Unless you’re taking liquid cooling to a-whole-nother level…
Well, adding a water cooling radiator for most of the components is probably reasonably heavy, plus the insulation, ventilation, fans, tubs of water/coolant, isn’t coolant really dense or something?
Plus the case would be reasonably heavy and probably larger than most mITX cases, power supply, alternative power supplies/y it should come to around 35 kilograms.
Okay, so now that I know how heavy it is, what sort of wheels or transporters would be needed?
Also, does anyone know of a good build/setup to ensure no more than 400 watts are used at the maximum, while having at least decent performance? Is it possible to use power from the rolling wheels or a gyroscope to provide power for the cooling fans?
Well, I would assume that the actual components for computing would weigh around 10 kilograms, and the case and accessories would be around 25 kilograms. Of course it might be less than that, maybe around 30 kilograms?
Really, the most important thing is that it not much more than 400 watts to be feasible, otherwise it’s just a waste of time. I know that high-performance laptops use around 300 watts, so surely you could build a decent desktop for maybe 450 watts and then undervolt it or throttle it down to around 400-ish watts?
“Stuffing extra stuff in the system” and “staying below 400 watts” seem to be in contradiction. As does using water cooling, which is used for high-powered, hot systems.
You would assume? Do you mean that you don’t actually have figures for any of that? Where did this 35 kg number come from?
And what are you planning on using this machine for, whatever its weight? Any reasonable answer to your question must be built upon assumptions for that. If it’s going to sit in the back of a van, that’s a lot easier than if you need to carry it to the top of Everest.
