The Stereo PC Redux: Now with a 17" LCD!
The Problem:
My wife wanted to put a lamp where the Stereo PC was. The only place to reasonably relocate was occupied by the LCD screen that the computer was connected to.
The Solution:
Put the PC and LCD in the same spot, and put Pauli's exclusion principle to the test. Without getting into quantum mechanics (I only had a screwdriver, a hacksaw blade, a file and a drill at my disposal for this task).
The Result:
Okay, so this modification is a little less subtle. But it's not taking up much more space than the Stereo PC alone does (compare), and when you Google "Dell 1702fp" to get a look at what this LCD looked like beforehand, it's a pretty dramatic difference where the unit's footprint is concerned. I would have liked to have the LCD a little more flush with the sides of the stereo, but unfortunately, due to the way I put things together in phase one, it didn't work out that way.
A few changes here. I upgraded the video card on my main PC, so I had a spare. I used a file and a hacksaw to cut a slot for the MSI GeForce 440MX to rest on. The bare circuit boards with the controls and LEDs from the monitor are visible. I just screwed them into the back. Maybe I'll figure out a better use for them later.
So here's the interesting part. The whole reason for the project. The LCD. The astute person may notice that it's been rotated ninety degrees from its natural orientation. This, while being really cool for viewing websites (as well as Winamp with the Album List plugin), posed a problem. My video card is old. Windows Vista is not. So, unfortunately the generic nVidia drivers are a little lacking in features. The relevant feature in this case being the ability to rotate the display. For that I had to turn to iRotate. Problem solved.
The whole setup:
Back to Phase I
UPDATE: Phase III
The Stereo PC + LCD: Front View





