I need a breadboard enclosure... so, what IS a breadboard enclosure?

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jhsachs

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I want to undertake a project that will involve a lot of swapping components in and out on a desktop PC. It will be easier if I can work on a breadboard instead of doing everything within the confines of a conventional enclosure.

I've breadboarded circuits (long ago, before computers were found outside "machine rooms"), and I've done my share of mucking around with PC components, but I've never done the two together. Just how does one breadboard a PC? What sort of equipment is used?

I think I'd have a pretty good "breadboard" if I took the back and bottom off a tower case and laid it on its side, but so far all of the cases I've looked at have a crimped or welded body, making that difficult at best.
 
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jhsachs

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Thank you for the suggestions. Gam3r01's link is about what I want, although I'll be happy if I find something a bit cheaper. Ideally, I'm hoping for tips on how to adapt a scavenged enclosure to my needs.

The Lian Li test benches look lovely, but are probably overkill. I'm trying to gear up for a semi-serious project, not a new career! I didn't see any prices on the page, which usually means that if you knew the price without making personal contact, you'd lose interest! :)
 
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jhsachs

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I do have cats around!

I encountered the "wooden table" suggestion in several places. I'm sure it's ideal for some people, but not for me. Most of the time I'll be swapping one component in and out of a complete system that may stay assembled for days or weeks. The component could be the motherboard, or it could be a display card, for example. When it's not the motherboard, I don't want to mess around with shorting the power switch connector each time I want to turn it on.

The wooden table sounds fine for testing bare motherboards, but for what I'm doing, I want something a more durable.
 
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jhsachs

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When I find a case that's ugly enough, I may try cutting off the bottom and back with a circular saw and metal cutting blade. I can smooth down the edges with a file. It seems to me that removing two sides would make access to the motherboard a lot easier.

It should be an interesting experiment anyway. It will give a whole new meaning to the word "hacking."
 
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USAFRet

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That's not a new meaning, that is one of the original meanings of the word.
 
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jhsachs

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After several months of work with components in an enclosure, I'm trying the "wooden table" technique.

Last night I hooked up the essentials, but didn't apply power. I'm alarmed by how wobbly the display card is with nothing to hold the bracket in place. I'm concerned that the slightest movement might cause a momentary interruption of power on one or more contacts, frying the card or the mobo or both.

Is this a real concern or a bogus one? Or is it a real concern that's somehow manageable?
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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Probably not an issue.
Do place the motherboard so that the lower tang of the graphics card does not hit anything and possibly dislodge the graphics card.
On top of the motherboard or a large book would do.

Even if the graphics card does wobble a bit, no permanent harm will come.
 
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Thank you geofelt. I'm going to quantify this, just in case the new information changes your answer.

The video adapter in question is toward the low end. It's about 1/3 length, with no heavy components and no PCI-E power connector.

When I tried pushing it from side to side with my finger, using an amount of force that might be exerted by a loose data cable, the top of the bracket moved about 3/4 inch (~1.8 cm).
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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Even a heavy card will not be an issue so long as you do not move it much.
If the motherboard is on a flat surface, the bottom of any graphics card will have a tang at the output end that goes into a space in the case.
If left on a flat surface, it will tend to lift the card out of it's slot.

So position the motherboard at the edge of a table so that does not happen.
 
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jhsachs

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I don't want to beat this to death, but I'm not sure we're on the same page. I'm not concerned about "even a heavy card." I'm more concerned about a light card, which has less inertia to resist the force applied, for example, by a loop of the data cable falling off the work surface. The cable pulls on the connector, the connector pulls on the card, and... zzzt? That 3/4 inch of play seems uncomfortably large.

I understand about the tang. I've already positioned the mobo so that the tang hangs over the edge of the support surface. Before I apply power I'm going to put a book underneath the mobo for an extra margin of safety.
 
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I just ran across another little problem of the sort that's hard to foresee. To install RAM I must don a wrist strap and clip it to... what? I usually use an edge of the case, but in this case there is no case.

The power supply is powder coated, so it's probably non-conductive. It doesn't have any clip-size edges anyway.

There are possible grounding points on the mobo itself: hex posts on rear panel connectors and a passive heat sink with fins. Those should work _if_ they're connected to the power supply's ground. Can I count on that?
 
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jhsachs

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I tend to be a by-the-book kind of guy, at least when I don't know enough to write my own book. I feel more comfortable with the strap.

I figured out a solution this morning: thread a long bolt part way into one of the PSU's mounting holes and clip to that!
 
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