Is it possible to build a computer on my wall? (Seriously)

[Quinton595]

Hey tip it, long time no post :)

 

I always come to you guys though, whenever i have a question for basically anything in life (why exactly, i dont know though, haha)

 

So anyways, as some of you might remember, i built a computer for myself way back in the day with your help. (although i probably became infamous on this thread for that build :P )

 

So i still have my old computer, taken out of its casing, and im wondering if it's possible to build a computer somewhere else in my house, but having the computer pieces exposed, and attached to the wall.

 

Now i can see a few problems with this idea,

 

1- The computer will be exposed to dust

On the flipside however, i could dust it often, and the exposure would also keep the computer cool, since air will always be around it

 

2- The metallic circuit sauders could short out on the underside of the motherboard, if they're touching the wall

This is basically what im asking. Could i mount the board directly on to the wall (The walls are wood, not drywall, and they have been painted) or should i keep it floating off the wall with some kind of peices on the back, or something to suspend it off the wood?

 

3- One of the Pins on the CPU got a bit bent.

Now it's an old cpu, so the pins are few, and big, and i was able to bend them back so they could still fit in the slot. Would the computer still work? is there any danger in turning it on to test it?

 

4- Any other concerns?

Is there anything else i should know about mounting the computer (and all its peices, not just the motherboard) on the wall? Like is a Power supply not supposed to be on its side? Can ____ be like ___ , etc.

 

Any helps appreciated, thanks Tip.it

 

:)

~Ty

[Tim]

You can actually build a computer on almost anything (that doesn't conduct static). If I wanted to, I could get a Block of wood and screw the parts onto that and it'd still work. but the hazards are A LOT higher, hence the reason for a case (you'd also need to make a power button). Leaving it exposed you can get dust, moisture, water, bugs etc caught in it very easily. So the answer is yes you CAN do it, but it's highly recommended you dont. :thumbup:

[Nadril]

I guess its possible but there is no real reason to actually do that. I mean you'll have to mount a power supply to the wall as well which would probably be a [bleep], not to mention all of the issues that could happen with it being on the wall.

[Quinton595]

You can actually build a computer on almost anything (that doesn't conduct static). If I wanted to, I could get a Block of wood and screw the parts onto that and it'd still work. but the hazards are A LOT higher, hence the reason for a case (you'd also need to make a power button). Leaving it exposed you can get dust, moisture, water, bugs etc caught in it very easily. So the answer is yes you CAN do it, but it's highly recommended you dont. :thumbup:

 

 

Hmm.. didn't think of bugs.. if you knew where it was then it would be a no no.

 

What if i build the whole thing inside a wodden box with a plexyglass covering. That would basically be.. a case.. just.. a see through one.

 

That would work correct?

[das1330]

1- The computer will be exposed to dust

On the flipside however, i could dust it often, and the exposure would also keep the computer cool, since air will always be around it

 

Dust in and of itself is not harmful to a computer in any way. People simply dislike dust because it clogs up their fans and impedes cooling performance. So long as you make sure to clean out the fans occasionally, you will be fine in this regard.

 

 

2- The metallic circuit sauders could short out on the underside of the motherboard, if they're touching the wall

This is basically what im asking. Could i mount the board directly on to the wall (The walls are wood, not drywall, and they have been painted) or should i keep it floating off the wall with some kind of peices on the back, or something to suspend it off the wood?

You should be fine. While you should be careful to determine that no nails, thumbtacks or other metallic pieces sit on the wall, the board itself hanging from a clean, painted piece of wood will be perfectly safe.

 

 

 

3- One of the Pins on the CPU got a bit bent.

Now it's an old cpu, so the pins are few, and big, and i was able to bend them back so they could still fit in the slot. Would the computer still work? is there any danger in turning it on to test it?

 

When I was ~8 years old I did this to my computer too with an old pentium 4. I bent the pins back into place and everything worked again. While this depends on your particular situation, so long as the pin was not damaged when you bent it back it should continue to work fine. Further, there is no danger in turning it on - if the processor is broken it just won't work.

 

 

4- Any other concerns?

Is there anything else i should know about mounting the computer (and all its peices, not just the motherboard) on the wall? Like is a Power supply not supposed to be on its side? Can ____ be like ___ , etc.

 

So far as I know most components should be perfectly fine no matter which orientation they are in. Just be careful when you nail it to the wall that you coat the nails in something non-conductive to prevent short circuits. Inside the computer itself you should remember that a standard motherboard sits on it's side anyhow, and in different case designs most other components do too, so they are all designed for this. As long as you are not using huge graphics cards it will work fine.

 

 

Hope this helps!

[Will H]

If I wanted to do this, and cool idea by the way, I'd saw off the side of a cheap old case that the motherboard mounts on, and then screw that to the wall instead of directly using the holes in the motherboard itself. It would save you from doing too many measurements, as well as any unforseen problems associated with having the motherboard in direct contact with painted wood. The PSU is going to be slightly trickier, though. It can be in any orientation, but drilling holes in it without knowing where the circuitry inside it lies might not be a good idea. Perhaps soldering a flat piece of metal (may as well be from the old case) to the base and then nailing that to the wall might work?

[obfuscator]

If I wanted to do this, and cool idea by the way, I'd saw off the side of a cheap old case that the motherboard mounts on, and then screw that to the wall instead of directly using the holes in the motherboard itself. It would save you from doing too many measurements, as well as any unforseen problems associated with having the motherboard in direct contact with painted wood. The PSU is going to be slightly trickier, though. It can be in any orientation, but drilling holes in it without knowing where the circuitry inside it lies might not be a good idea. Perhaps soldering a flat piece of metal (may as well be from the old case) to the base and then nailing that to the wall might work?

This.

 

Or, you could buy little plastic tubes and attach them to the wall, and put the screws into those...that way the mobo would be off the wall by an inch or so.

Like you said, it's certainly possible - dust would be an issue but other than that it's doable.

[Quinton595]

Thank you all very much, a special thanks to sniper for answering each question in depth.

 

To save myself some trouble, i can just put the power supply on a shelf beside the rest of the computer :wink:

 

Maybe il post a picture when it's all up. Thanks everyone.

 

/Thread

 

EDIT: actually, one more concern. There is a second, miniature heat sink on the MB, and it covers a small chip. Now i foolishly took that off too a while ago, and there was something that was on both it and the chip, as you can see in the picture. However, it is not thermal paste, seeing as how it does not scrape off, and does not come off with rubbing alcohol.

 

Is it glue? or.. what should i do?

 

[Quinton595]

Anyone?

[Sam]

It'll be surely possible to mount a monitor on a wall, too. I'd suggest something from Omnimount to help you attach a monitor to a wall - I'm sure they'd be able to give good advice on mounting a computer to the wall too.

[Quinton595]

Yeah i was going to mount it on the table, i need to, its in front of a window so theres nothing to mount on it.

 

Anyone can help with the weird chip thing?

[das1330]

The small heatsink covers the Northbridge; the chip that handles communication between the processor and the rest of the motherboard. The paste you found is known as thermal glue - it's essentially the same thing as thermal paste, but with a glue component mixed in to make the connection harder to break (as the sink is not designed to be removed by the end user). A similar product can be found here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100013&cm_re=thermal_adhesive-_-35-100-013-_-Product . Simply reattaching the heatsink with the provided clips should be sufficient to ensure thermal conductivity - a perfect bond isn't really necessary.

[Quinton595]

The small heatsink covers the Northbridge; the chip that handles communication between the processor and the rest of the motherboard. The paste you found is known as thermal glue - it's essentially the same thing as thermal paste, but with a glue component mixed in to make the connection harder to break (as the sink is not designed to be removed by the end user). A similar product can be found here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100013&cm_re=thermal_adhesive-_-35-100-013-_-Product . Simply reattaching the heatsink with the provided clips should be sufficient to ensure thermal conductivity - a perfect bond isn't really necessary.

 

 

Ahaha, figures i'd find a way to get it off :rolleyes:

 

Is it possible to just use regular thermal paste, to avoid having to buy two seperate items? (i need to replace the past on the CPU anyways. I'd probably have a few drops left over.

 

Thank you sniper's for your considerably useful wealth of computer knowledge lol.

[Sudn_Death]

You can use normal thermal paste instead of the glue one it doesn't make a difference so long as the clips can hold the heat sink on, I use MX-2 Thermal Paste but they have new pastes out like MX-3 lol.. I just have heaps of MX-2.

 

Also I know Sniper has already mentioned this I just wanted to say it again - Dust is NOT dangerous, I have dealt with computers filled with dust most the time older cases don't even have dust filters on the fans and they actually suck dust and spray it allover the components. This was more for everyone posting about how dust could be dangerous than you lol.

 

Post some pictures when you're finished? :grin:

 

Good luck.

[Will H]

Dust is fine, it's only a problem if your computer runs at a particularly high temperature or if you want to have nice looking components bathed in blue light or something. I once had to fix the computer of a chronic smoker though, think Left 4 Dead.