This page will house my R2D2 build process. It’s almost done.  Now it time to share it with the world.

-Nick

Intro…

Many years ago I cam across this 18 inch  R2D2 at Ollies. I love R2D2 so I bought it not knowing what I was going to do with it at first.  I really wanted to make it a “functioning” R2D2 but I knew that wasn’t going to happen. And who wants a 18inch R2. A full size one would be way more awesome… For the last few years I have wanted to make R2D2 into a computer.  I didn’t think anything besides a Raspberry Pi would  fit so I build a computer out of a NES for my first custom build. It went ok but this is about R2D2 not a NES.

After the NES build I kept looking at R2D2 thinking how can I make it work… After many measurements it looked like I really could fit a MiniITX motherboard in R2D2 like I was able to in the NES.

But I wanted it to be more than just surf the web. I wanted to be able to play a few video games, do some graphic design work in Adobe Photoshop / Illustrator and little video editing in Adobe Premier. I knew what I needed, lots of RAM, Fast CPU, big SSD, external graphic card and a way to power it all.

My Specs:
ASRock B450 Gaming-ITX Motherboard
AMD Ryzen 7 2700x CPU – 8 Core, 16 threads
16GB of G.Skill Ripjaws V Series (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin SDRAM (PC4-25600) DDR4 3200
4GB ATI Radeon RX550 Graphic Card (Only Card I could afford that would fit in the space I had)

Custom Parts:
Power Button – NOYITO 16mm Chassis Switch Metal Button Switch with 22inchs Extension Cable Blue Switch Symbol
24 Pin Extender – StarTech.com 8in 24 Pin ATX 2.01 Power Extension Cable
Cast Fan – Cooler Master MasterFan MF120 Halo Duo-Ring ARGB Lighting Fan, 24 Independently LEDS, PWM Static Pressure Fan
Cast Fan Mounts – Noctua NA-SAV2 chromax.Blue, Silicone Anti-Vibration Fan Mount Set (20-Pack, Blue)
CPU Fan – Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 chromax.Black, Low-Profile CPU Cooler for AMD AM4 (Black)
Speak in Foot – HONKYOB USB Mini Speaker Computer Speaker Powered Stereo Multimedia Speaker for Notebook Laptop PC(Black)
Webcam in R2’s Head – 1080P Webcam with Microphone, HD Streaming USB Computer Webcam Adjustable Base
PCI Express 16 extension Cable – Funtin PCIe Riser Cable, 3.0 x16 PCI Express Riser Extender, Flexible High Speed 90 Degree GUP Riser Cable for Graphics Card Vertical Mount (15cm, 90°)
PICO Board for Power – RGEEK 24pin DC ATX PSU 12V DC Input 450W Peak Output Switch DC-DC ATX Pico PSU Mini ITX PC Power
PICO Power – LEDwholesalers 12V 20A 240W AC/DC Power Adapter with 5.5×2.5mm DC Plug and 2.1mm Adapter, Black, 3262-12V

Step 1. System part Test..

System Parts…
ASRock B450 Gaming-ITX Motherboard
AMD Ryzen 7 2700x CPU
16GB of DDR4 Ram
4GB ATI Radeon RX550 Graphic Card
SF600 Power Supply

All working… Time to make it fit in R2D2

Test fit #1. Huston we have a problem…

Time to start trimming off parts.

I removed all the parts that were sticking out into the body of R2D2. Now to make it usable.  Time to Cut out the IO plate.

Now to make it stay in place.  I made a custom mount. First out of a piece of cardboard then out of a thin’ish sheet of metal.  Man I wish I has a custom mill that could have cut this out all nice and pretty. I ended up drilling through the bottom of the one side of R2D2’s bottom and using 2 bolts and nuts to secure it in place.

With the IO Plate done and a mount created it was now time to make the Graphics Card fit.  At first I thought about putting it “face” down making the ports come out the bottom. But that didn’t look like / wouldn’t fit with inside R2 with how I wanted the air flow to go and where I thought some cooling fans should go. I ended up having to flip it upside and install it on the back next to the IO plate to make it fit. I put it upside down so the fan would be on the outside drawing in fresh air.

At first I  tried just cutting out the holes for the DVI, HDMI and Display port but I didn’t like the way it looked and I needed a little more space.  So I bent the graphics card IO plate in half and cut out a whole to make it fit.

Power….

My original thought was to put the smallest power supply I could find R2D2’s head. A friend lent me his Micro ITX power supply and it fit!!!!

So I bought one…. I got it all crammed in there and ran a the power cable down through R2D2’s leg and out the bottom. The test fit kind of worked, but I was worried about heat.  I had to cut a ton out of the plate that R2D2’s head attaches to to make the cables fit.

And after running some tests I was right… No where near enough air flow.

I did a bunch of googling and research on what other type of power supply I could use without having to have a standard power supply in a box next to R2D2 and some really long cables running out of it. I know I could have gone with a motherboard that had a laptop power port but I wanted more power. Muahahahaahahaha….. I already had my MB so I needed a new power supply. I came across this “RGEEK 24pin DC ATX PSU 12V DC Input 450W Peak Output Switch DC-DC ATX Pico PSU Mini ITX PC Power” on Amazon. I did a bunch of system power test with a P3 P4400 Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor and found out that I was peeking at 130 watts. So the RGEEK board with the LEDwholesalers 12V 20A 240W AC/DC Power Adapter should work. And it works great.  I do want to run the power down through R2D2’s leg again, but for now it’s temporary out his back below the IO plate. I bought a cable to extend it but it wasn’t rated for 20A and it got really hot.

Before I work on anything else I need to get the Air flow figured out.

I added a small slim case fan I bought for a different project that I didn’t use.  Made some brackets to hold it in place and decided to cut out the center top blue circle for the out flow of air. After playing a few games it was not enough air flow even after adding a small fan blowing air up through the body and a card stock air shield to help it draw more air from the body.

Now I have been working on and building computers my whole life.  I even have my A+ cert (not that that means much). I never really got into case air flow dynamics.  There are 2 different types of case fans.  1 for pressure and 1 for volume. To start with I had the wrong type of case fan and it was to small.

I upgraded to the max I could fit and created even more air exhaust holes. I also went RGB.

I kept looking at R2D2’s head and thought it would be great to have a webcam and mic in it. So I bought a cheap 1080p web cam and disassembled it.

Currently I am still working on the mounting bracket for the webcam and mic along with a small speaker I am adding to his head. When done I would love to have  his head turn left and right and then play a few R2D2 sounds on boot up. And year the head is made to move and I have kept that feature working.  I just need to figure out how to make it rotate back and forth…

I also added a custom power button that lights up blue when on.

My big hang up has been the power.  I needed a longer internal power cable to reach the bottom right foot. I searched the internet for adaptors that would work but nothing was the right gage or wattage. My brother in-law works for a company that specializes in “solutions for conferencing, collaboration, customer experience, training, digital content”. He was able to find me a power adapter that connected together and is the correct gage and wattage but didn’t fit my power plug.  I was not confident in my soldering skills to cut the wires and solder them back together.
After soldering the speaker wires back on I decided to just give it a shot.  One end connected into the adapter and the other end I had to solder the new wire to the original wires. This actually works really nice.  I can completely disconnect the leg if I need to now.

I realized that it would not be a good idea to have the speaker right next to the mic in R2’s head and found a perfect place for it, his leg!
The USB speaker had a small circuit board that fit right in his leg. I used hot glue to hold the circuit board and wires in place. I still need to make a speaker cover but that’s for later.

Webcam installed, Speaker installed. Now to put it all back together. Oh I almost forgot. I use a Bic pen’s shaft to make a tunnel from the little hole on R2’s head back to the mic on the webcam circuit board. The mic works but if you are gong to do any serious video conferencing you need a better mic.

I put R2 back together and his CPU temps were crazy.  I couldn’t figure out why.  In my previous put togethers they were fine. After I took him apart I figured out why. My cable protector for the case fan cables had moved and stopped the CPU fan from running. My Bad.  I re-routed the cable behind the 24 pin power extender cable and that held it in place perfectly.

I put R2 back together  one more time and it looks sweet. The temps look good.
I spent a little time customizing the Windows 10 sounds. Now when the computer boots up and you log in make a R2D2 sound. I also set various other sounds to different R2D2 sounds.  I really want to make the head move back and forth on boot up. I am still working on that idea.

I am still trying to decide on if I want to add screen covers to the open top. I am afraid it will block to much of the air flow.

After playing a round of CSGO I now know that I need more ventilation.  It does fine for Photoshop and Rocket League but not CSGO.

Next steps.. More Ventilation. Don’t worry. It’s dry erase board marker.

I added the additional vents to the back.  It seems to good now, but I still am thinking about added additional venting where the big rectangle area is.