Janktop 4 ALPHA RELEASE

[StripeySnake]

This is the initial public release of my open source project, Janktop 4.

This will act as a hub post, not only explaining what the project is, but how to use it and where to access the files. 

To start things off, what is the Janktop?
It's a custom hybrid chassis housing both laptop and desktop components, with the capability to make them work together. This includes Almost any laptop keyboard, (sometimes requiring a bit of modification) A display assembly from and Alienware M17x R3 or R4, although that can house any screen that will fit within it. Later on, I will be designing a fully custom display housing for compatibility with more modern 17.3 inch displays, including high refresh and resolution models. The chassis also houses an inverter board of your choice, as well as another open source project, not by me: https://www.instructables.com/How-to-Make-a-USB-Laptop-Keyboard-Controller/

Many thanks to Frank Adam for this wonderful project.

Last but not least, the chassis is compatible with most MINI-ITX motherboards, flex ATX power supplies, and Dual slot video cards 231mm long or less. Especially "tall" cards may not fit properly however. Additionally, the primary cooling for the chassis comes from the dual 40mm Triple Radiators in the rear, on each side of the power supply. Currently the chassis is only designed around the Alphacool 40mm X-flow triple radiators, but if anyone can find another type of similar size, I may add compatibility in the future. The custom cooling loop has to be used to cool the CPU, as the chassis Does not have room for a low profile CPU cooler. The GPU however, can draw and circulate air from outside the case on it's own. A blower card under 230mm (if you can find one) should perform normally, but more traditional cards will struggle to cool themselves. Expect to see temps close to 50-60 c in light to mid gaming with this setup, and excess of 80-90 under synthetic workload such as FurMark. As I was not satisfied with those temperatures, I have purchased a GPU waterblock, and will update the post when I get temperature results with both the CPU and GPU in my loop. That said, The dual radiators have quite a bit of cooling capacity on thier own, they had no difficulty keeping my 2600x running at 110 watts under 70 degrees during a synthetic workload, and that was with heavily kinked soft tubing, which I will soon replace with nice clean hard PETG. Once again, I will update once I have results on this setup. 

 

Pros/Cons:
Pros:
More portable than most desktops

More powerful than most to all laptops (depending on config)

Modular and standardized, so repairs modifications, and upgrades are extremely easy compared to a laptop. 

Max spec configurations are generally cheaper than laptop performance equivalents.

Lighter than most desktops

Much cheaper to repair than a laptop

 

Cons:

Less powerful than high spec desktops
A bit more difficult to assemble than a desktop

Less cost effective than a desktop

Much heavier than most laptops (Current config is around 18 pounds)

No Battery or integrated pointing device (I could add the latter if there is demand)

 

This design is certainly not for everyone, as it is extremely bulky and heavy, and requires AC power at all times. That said, if you need to bring your device from place to place, but plan on staying stationary for a decent amount of time and don't mind a bit more weight, the Janktop offers great performance and serviceability. The design is meant to fit into a middle ground between heavy, modular desktops, and light unfixable unupgradable laptops.

Building  a Janktop

First things first, you're going to want some basic tools:
A hardline watercooling kit, or at least tools to cut and bend tubing.

A decent amount of fast bonding super glue for holding your nuts in place till assembly. 

A file for cleaning up 3d printed parts.
Any paint, stickers, or vinyl wrap for aesthetics.

And Plenty of time. While the case is only a bit harder to build in then more complex desktops, actually building the case itself takes quite a while, and it took well over 100 hours of printing to print all the chassis components. 

Optional: Soldering equipment to splice your fans onto one fan header. (yes you can technically use adapters, but there is not a lot of space in the chassis, and you want things to be as compact as possible. Splicing is as simple as connecting every lead to it's correlating color on another fan, except for the PWM pin, which instead should simply be carried over from one single fan. If you don't understand this part, just look at a fan header splitter, you're basically doing the same thing as that except more compact and permanent.)

 

 

As of today, the Cad files for the Janktop design will be available to Print and manufacture. The vast majority of the chassis is 3d Printed, except for the palmrest and Bottom cover. The palmrest should be cut with either CNC, Laser, or Waterjet from 6.35mm (or .25 in) thick polycarbonate. I ordered mine from Xometry, and they did a fine job of manufacturing it for me. Just make sure to select Sheet Cutting for the process, and polycarbonate for the material. The final cost from them is around $140 USD.
Next, the Bottom cover is the only other non 3d printed component. It should be ordered in 2.5 mm Aluminum, Xometry will do it in Aluminum 6061 T6 for around $135 USD. 

Note: You will have to bend the bottom cover yourself. It's much cheaper to order that way, and all you have to do is clamp it to a table and bend it around 3 degrees.

The total cost of printing a chassis, if you do your own printing and order these two parts custom made will usually fall between 300-350 dollars. However, it will be considerably more expensive to order the printed parts, as having someone else print for you saves a lot of time but is noticeably more expensive.
The rest of the chassis is 3d printed, but these two parts are required not to be for the sake of durability and ease of assembly. 

Next up, you'll need to print, or get printed, every 3d printed component that makes up the chassis. I would personally suggest PLA, as that's what I used and it was inexpensive and reliable. It should be noted that this is quite a lot of 3d printing, so I would only suggest doing it yourself if you know your way around a printer, and have one on hand, as it is quite a lot of complex printing. That said, all parts should be small enough to fit on an average sized 3d printer, I printed all of mine on and Ultimaker 2+. You will want to have a file on hand while assembling the chassis, as 3d printed parts don't always want to fit together perfectly first try, and a bit of light filing is sometimes needed to achieve a good fit. A simple nail file does quite well. 
Finally, the chassis is held together via a combination of m3 Screws, Nuts, standoffs, and a couple of m2 screws for the one component that doesn't have holes big enough for m3. I would suggest buying both shorter 6mm and longer 12mm screws, as different parts of the chassis require different lengths to connect. The mechanism that holds most of the chassis together consists of a screw hole on one element, that then passes through another and into a socket in which an m3 nut should be glued. These sockets are hexagonal, and pretty easy to spot. Before assembly, m3 nuts between 5 and 5.5 mm in diameter (which is standard size) should be glued into these sockets with super glue. The super glue is not the thing that ends up holding the nuts in for more areas, however it is good to use to prevent them from falling out before you screw into them. It is worth noting that there are a LOT of nuts and screws in this build, and it is fairly time consuming to build the first time around. With that said, the nature of having all of the components attach to one another via nuts and bolts means that the machine can be disassembled fairly easily in comparison to a normal laptop, and individual 3d printed parts can be replaced without having to replace large portions of the chassis. 

Non Choice Components

As of right now, these are the parts that are not reconfigurable and have to be a certain model:

1. The display assembly has to be from an m17x R3 or 4, as no other display's hinges will properly connect to the chassis. 

2. The watercooling radiators must be two of the Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 Full Copper X-Flow 40mm Triple Radiators.

3. There isn't really another keyboard option other than building Frank Adam's open source Teensy Based keyboard controller. I will provide a teensy script compatible with the Alienware 17 r1 keyboard, which can be loaded onto the teensy to utilize the keyboard over USB.

4. Keyboard. This is a grey area, because while the keyboard support area on the Janktop can be modified to support pretty much any keyboard, and Frank's controller works with the vast majority, it is only currently configured for the 17 R1. If anyone wants to test other keyboards with the teensy and they work, then send me detailed measurements for the keyboard's size and shape and I will happily make an alternate set of supports that are compatible with the keyboard in question.

5. Riser cable. You will need a segmented PCIE cable 500-600 MM long, which can be quite hard to find. This is probably the hardest cable to route, as it is massive and very important.

6. An FPC HDMI cable. You want to get a very compact HDMI cable to run back into the chassis in order to feed your GPU output to the internal display. Ideally you want 90 degree connectors, and to cover the whole cable in something durable such as strong tape, as they are fairly fragile.

 

Choice Components
1. Most to all MINI-ITX motherboards should fit in the case and function, just make sure the VRM heatsinks don't get in the way of your waterblock. (by extension any CPU is supported so long as a working ITX board exists for it.)

2. Pump. I would heavily suggest going with a hybrid waterblock pump combo, such as the alphacool Eisblock XPX, but be careful, pumps that are too tall or have inlets and outlets on the "top" will not fit because of clearance. The internal chassis clearance around the motherboard is 50mm vertically, but some of that is taken up by standoffs and the motherboard itself. 

3. Storage. The current design has a small intake on the palmrest that provides airflow to most back of the board NVME drives, as such setups are common on ITX boards. There is enough clearance under the board for a small M.2 Heatsink as well. Sata Drives may be mounted in free space around the chassis, and connected to the motherboard. Using a GPU waterblock opens up quite a bit of valuable space for more SATA drives.

4. GPU. Most desktop Dual-Slot GPUS will fit, so long as they are no more than 231 MM long, and only extend 10 mm or so past the lip of the GPU I/O shield. (in a standard desktop this would be facing towards you when looking through a side panel.) I will update the post on whether or not the cooling can handle a waterblocked GPU alongside CPU.

5. Fittings/ Tubing. I would strongly suggest going with tubing at 16mm OD or smaller, due to size constraints. Soft tubing is easy to set up, but gets heavily kinked in this chassis. Hard tubing is strongly recommended for the sake of reliability. Keep in mind there is a fill port on the right hand side of the chassis, so you can top off/drain the loop without disassembling anything.

6. Power supply. As of right now, only Flex-ATX is supported which comes in up to at least 600 watts. However, there are server power supplies of similar size that may be possible to modify to work with standard PC components, in which case the threshold would be well over 1000 watts.

7. A screen and inverter board. You will need a screen that will fit in your m17x Display assembly (the stock screens are fine), and a matching inverter board to convert the signal to HDMI. Since the board uses external power, get a MOLEX to DC12v converter, and you should be able to power it off of your internal PSU, which will make it turn on and off with the computer. Most inverters come with a button board for controlling the display, this will screw into the 3d printed side panel next to the GPU I/O via two M2 screws. 

8. 40mm FANs x6. I would strongly suggest using Noctua PWM fans, as while they are more expensive than alternatives, bad 40mm fans can be very loud and annoying, and the noctua ones are quite soft except at full speed, while moving a decent amount of air.

 

Picture Gallery:

Something to note: these images are of the prototype, Janktop 4 Alpha looks very similar, but is considerably stronger, and more compatible.

This however, is a schematic of the Alpha Chassis, with improved durability, compatibility, and aesthetics.

 

FAQ:
(will expand with time)

Will kits be available?
Currently, I am just starting college, so I don't have a way to manufacture 3d printed parts on my own; so kits will not be readily available from me for quite a while. However, if anyone else wants to make and sell them, that is fine by me. With that said, that's not a complete no, 

printing can be outsourced to a third party company, however this would have to be done on a commission by commission basis, and it is significantly more expensive. I would also only be able to sell the chassis itself with none of the electronics save for the keyboard controller. (as I didn't design it, I'll happily solder one, but I will only charge for the cost of materials on that component.) If this interests you, shoot me a DM on this site, or Discord.

Will there be more Janktop designs one day?
The only thing I have planned for certain is finally finishing the 4.0 into the 4.5, which will include a fully custom display housing, which will house standard 17.3 inch panels. That said, I have had passing thoughts about designing an ultracompact Janktop,(perhaps 4.5-S) cut down to a 15.6 inch chassis, and about 10-15mm thinner. The current 4.0 is around 70mm thick, so that would make roughly 60 - 55mm thick. Still very chunky, but such is the limitation of MINI-ITX. The other side model would be some form of performance Janktop, with a slightly larger chassis, and improved PSU wattage, as well as cooling. I'm not sure if it's possible, but being able to cool a 3090 in a laptop-ish chassis would certainly turn some heads. 

 

Closing Thoughts
First and foremost, if you see an issue with this Post or project, don't hesitate to shoot me a DM, either here or on my Discord server. 

(That said, please be respectful) If you build a chassis, and something doesn't fit, I will happily adjust the CAD model to negate the issue so that you and nobody else will have to deal with it again.

https://discord.gg/Uey5drgDnw
If anyone wants to modify one of my part designs to achieve a different function, be my guest! In fact, if you send in an alternate design, I will add it to the Alternates file repo on my GitHub(so long as it is a viable part), and you will be credited alongside the part in a text document.

As is the nature of Open-source, I am and always will be the original creator of this project, but if anyone wants to modify, manufacture and even sell copies of the chassis, then they are free to.

GitHub Link:https://github.com/StripeySnake/Janktop-4.0 (all STLs are in mm)

Until Next time,

 

StripeySnake

[jaybee83]

absolutely amazing work on this, my hat goes off for you sir! brilliant contribution to the community here 😃

[StripeySnake]

That took longer than expected. GitHub link is now live and so are the files. I might have to use something like google drive for the autocad files, they are too large for github.

[Eban]

That is a thing of beauty! 

 

I have downloaded the stl files.....now I just need to work out a printer

[Rengsey R. H. Jr.]

How does the keyboard connect to the motherboard ? Is there some type of converter ? 

[Eban]

On 8/13/2022 at 8:24 AM, StripeySnake said:

. The chassis also houses an inverter board of your choice, as well as another open source project, not by me: https://www.instructables.com/How-to-Make-a-USB-Laptop-Keyboard-Controller/

Many thanks to Frank Adam for this wonderful project.

 

 

7 hours ago, Rengsey R. H. Jr. said:

How does the keyboard connect to the motherboard ? Is there some type of converter ? 

a Teensy 

 

[Clamibot]

Now this is what you call a proper laptop!

[Reciever]

I love this, thanks for sharing. Its got me thinking of what kind of layout and cooling I would go with. I didnt even know the teensy was a thing. I may look into that for work purposes

[Eban]

@StripeySnake 

Hi, any further updates on the janktop? Curious minds are enquiring

[Reciever]

Would it be possible to add a couple of slots to cover the I/O, and give it a handle for easier transport? 

 

I have a few ideas for work purposes, no idea if I can move forward yet though, had some recent issues come up in other aspects of life.

[StripeySnake]

Unfortunately, I'm running into the snag of needing to learn a new cad software, but I have a ton of QOL changes planned for the next iteration. First and foremost, I'm going to redesign the palmrest and skeleton chassis elements to give the radiators an extra 20mm of space without really increasing chassis size, in order to slot 60mm double radiators as opposed to 40mm triple. These rads are also a bit less wide, so that leaves more room for the power supply, and I may even be able to get rid of the "Flare" at the back of the machine. This will knock about 70 bucks off cost of radiators + fans, but will also increase cooling capacity significantly. I'm also planning to rotate the gpu slot 90 degrees with the I/O pointing foreward, and put the ports behind a folding panel to protect it. This change will also require a much shorter gpu riser cable of only like 250mm as opposed to 600 which will greatly improve cable cost rarity and stability. I'm also planning to implement a "trackpad" using a small touch display rigged to act as a pointing device for the large screen, while it's display may be used as a sensor panel or such. Finally, I'm going to redesign the display assembly to be compatible with modern EDP displays, and possibly add an optional locking mechanism. I will add the current design is quite sturdy, and the mini itx i/o doesn't really need covering, it's already recessed.

(this revision may be delayed due to stated cad issues, and current lack of R&D funds, but I assure you it will continue once I have stable income)
Also, as for the prototype, it has it's fair share of small gremlin issues, and I have yet to waterblock the GPU (might wait for bigger rads for that), but it's still going strong. I daily drive it without too many issues for work and gaming.

[StripeySnake]

More to come soonish, but good news! I got access to my CAD software again, and design has resumed with the help of a newfound friend. I'll get more in depth othe 4.1 build I'm planning to have done in coming months, but for now, here's a sneak peek on the progress:

[StripeySnake]

JANKTOP 4.1 - NOW WITH 4090 SUPPORT

>:)

The title is pretty self explanatory. Both the stock 4.1, and 4.1 halfrad designs are now ready for testing. Since my friend plans on printing one, I won't release the files until she's done that, assuming she still wants to, as it may help me iron out any kinks and design flaws. That said, the design is now vastly improved over the prototype, with better cable management, cooling, durability, aesthetics, and much more!
And since the halfrad config supports up to 335mm long dual slot blower cards, there is now officially support for the new blower 4090 in theory, which should perform 1.5 - 1.75x that of a laptop 4090.
Here are a couple of sample pictures of the new design:

P.S. You know how the prototype had bad GPU thermals? Well it turns out I was wrong about that, as the 5700 xt model I have actually normally runs around 80 c, even with good airflow, which means even with the much worse ventilation on the prototype, temperatures weren't actually too much higher than an idea airflow case. 

[Eban]

6 hours ago, StripeySnake said:

JANKTOP 4.1 - NOW WITH 4090 SUPPORT

>:)

The title is pretty self explanatory. Both the stock 4.1, and 4.1 halfrad designs are now ready for testing. Since my friend plans on printing one, I won't release the files until she's done that, assuming she still wants to, as it may help me iron out any kinks and design flaws. That said, the design is now vastly improved over the prototype, with better cable management, cooling, durability, aesthetics, and much more!
And since the halfrad config supports up to 335mm long dual slot blower cards, there is now officially support for the new blower 4090 in theory, which should perform 1.5 - 1.75x that of a laptop 4090.
Here are a couple of sample pictures of the new design:

P.S. You know how the prototype had bad GPU thermals? Well it turns out I was wrong about that, as the 5700 xt model I have actually normally runs around 80 c, even with good airflow, which means even with the much worse ventilation on the prototype, temperatures weren't actually too much higher than an idea airflow case. 

Just WOW! 

 

What was a great idea to my way of thinking just keeps getting better!

Love your work

 

I have resigned myself to going desktop with my next PC. This is a great compromise!

 

[Clamibot]

I love how this idea keeps evolving. I'm loving it!

 

Now I wonder how we could scale it up to something with a 24 or 27 inch screen to allow more space for ATX motherboards and large radiators. You'd definitely need a suitcase to transport it at that point, but it'd be cool nonetheless, and a true fusion between a desktop and laptop with the benefits of both and none of the downsides of either, with the exception of weight.

[Eban]

3 hours ago, Clamibot said:

.....with the exception of weight.

 

I would definitely be down with a larger screen 

 

Laptop 

[Eban]

@StripeySnake

G'day mate. I just watched this video and thought this is something very interesting (how it might work for SFF)...positive air pressure and flow.

 

 

[anassa]

Just found this - bump for end of 2023 update.

[renyn21]

Howdy folks. Long time lurker, I used to look at people that soldered custom heatsinks for different gpu's in the clevo p870. This is an amazing project and I'm exited to start on my first itx system. I have a 3d printer and have known about this project for a while, but I just looked up the github link and it seems to be down, any chance of it being brought back?

[Eban]

On 1/17/2024 at 5:37 AM, renyn21 said:

Howdy folks. Long time lurker, I used to look at people that soldered custom heatsinks for different gpu's in the clevo p870. This is an amazing project and I'm exited to start on my first itx system. I have a 3d printer and have known about this project for a while, but I just looked up the github link and it seems to be down, any chance of it being brought back?

 

Got a backup for ya 

https://www.udrop.com/LqQ2/Janktop_4.0-assets.zip

[StripeySnake]

Hi Everyone,

Sorry for being gone for the past couple of years, I've had a lot on my plate and not much time for R&D on a very important to me but not exactly profitable project. However, I have gotten back to work and am all but ready to print my second and hopefully final prototype in the next couple of months. Anyway, I just wanted to update everyone on where I am and give a little heads up that the project is still alive and kicking, even if it has been a little stagnant for a while. I'll be making a Much more detailed post in the future once I've built the second prototype, but for now I'll leave y'all with some sneak peek images at my redesigned chassis and custom display assembly, as well as what can be expected from the project in the future.

 

Changes vs Prototype 1

New, fully custom sheet metal backed display housing with compatibility for standard 17.3' 16:9 laptop displays (16:10 may be an option one day as well if desired)

 

Replaced 40mm triple radiators with 60mm dual rads, more capacity, better use of space, quieter fans, and considerably cheaper

 

GPU slot rotated 90 degrees, more internal clearance, better GPU compatibility, GPU better protected from damage. (260mm dual slot gpu compatiblity for std. , 340mm dual slot gpu compatiblity for halfrad config)

 

Muscle car style front air intakes, which double as optional front firing speaker grilles. 

 

Massive left side air intake

 

Greatly improved keyboard slot

 

Uses common cabinet style friction hinges, can easily be re configured for many different models of hinge. 

 

Optional slot for laptop style webcam modified to USB

 

Huge improvements to Aesthetics, Durabiity, and Ergonomics!

 

And of course an all new JankTop logo!

 

 

It should also be possible to use a server style direct mount heatsink alongside standard rear mounted fans and airflow channeling to air cool the cpu and gpu for a much lighter and cheaper albeit less powerful configuration. This will be a great option for anyone who wants to use the case now, and upgrade to more powerful hardware in the future, or for not performance oriented setups, such as an air cooled APU system driving a portable storage server. 

 

Prototype two will also feature considerably higher specs, and full watercooling, so we should get to see what the general practical cooling capacity will be (5700xt+5950x)

A major benefit of the combined loop is that any slack in utilization on one part will result in more cooling for the other, which means performance should be stellar in lopsided workloads ( e.g. gaming[high GPU medium CPU] and video editing[high CPU low GPU](usually))

 

Thanks everyone! Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions 🙂

[Clamibot]

Yasss! It's alive!

 

I'm glad to hear this project is still in progress and has not been forgotten to the sands of time. I've been looking for and following similar projects when I find them in hopes I can gather enough knowledge to build my own version of such projects. My only critique would be to allow for an 18 inch screen, but I'm also a go big or go home kind of guy, plus I like big screens. Weight is not a concern for me.

 

I'd really like a return of 19 inch class laptops, but I'd like a rise of mini itx laptops even more.

[StripeySnake]

Actually, modern 18 inch displays are usually 16:10 as opposed to 16:9, and based off the general sizing specs for 16:10 18 inch displays it should actually be possible to slot a modern 18 inch 16:10 display into the new assembly, with nothing more than a swap of the 8 bezel components. Great idea for an alternate design actually, thank you! As for larger sizes, I do plan on designing a more performance oriented janktop with further improved power supply and cooling, provided there is sufficient demand for such a device. I may also design a smaller slimline janktop designed to function more like a typical laptop, but with modular hardware. For now though, I just want to make the 17 inch as good as it can be since it's the perfect size for a jack of all trades machine. I will definitely be designing that alternate bezel in the near future however, as it sounds like an awesome idea that still fits within my current chassis design.