Introduction: Toaster PC
This project is a PC built inside a standard 4 bread slice toaster. The project was made in 4 hours for a Hackathon, but it turned out looking pretty cool. The inspiration behind the project was how people call bad PCs toasters. The project has LED lights on the inside to simulate the toaster being on and I was able to keep all the original dials on the front for aesthetics.
Supplies
Materials:
- Old 4 slice toaster
- Parts for PC
- Motherboard, RAM, GPU, SSD, CPU, CPU Cooler, GPU, Power Supply
- Standoffs (like this)
- Acrylic
- Screws
- PCIe Riser Cable
- LED Light Strip
Tools:
- Dremel with Plastic Cutting Discs
- Drill
- Phillips Head Screw Driver
- Hot Glue Gun
Step 1: Gathering the Parts
For this build, I was able to use mostly parts I gathered from the thrift store. I was able to get the toaster for $2.50 and the PC for $10. The PC has an Intel Core i7 3770, 16GB of RAM, a GTX 750Ti, 120GB SSD, and a 550 watt ATX power supply. You will also need a standoff kit with varying sizes to mount the motherboard as well as some scarp acrylic to make a motherboard tray.
Step 2: Modifying the Toaster
To start, I gutted the toaster and test fit the parts to make sure there was enough room for them inside the toaster. The Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo was too large to fit in the toaster, so I opted to use the stock cooler instead. After the internals were removed, all that was left was a plastic shell. I carefully cut holes with a Dremel in the back for the I/O and GPU I/O. I used the I/O shield to outline the cut before I made it and carefully measure the GPU to make cut outs. I also made a cutout for the power supply cable to route out the back.
Step 3: Mounting the Motherboard
In order to mount the motherboard, I had to cut down some screw hole tabs that were in the bottom of the toaster. I then measured the space and found a scrap piece of acrylic from a previous project to make the motherboard tray. I marked out the holes for the motherboard by placing the motherboard on top of the acrylic and using a pen to make the holes. I drilled these out and then mounted the standoffs to this by using a nut to secure them in place. There was enough space between the tray and the toaster to place the SSD inside the gap. I then routed sata cables to make cable management easier.
Step 4: Mounting the GPU and Power Supply
As stated earlier, I made the cutout for the GPU earlier. Before I made this cut out, I tried to fit the GPU in vertically, but this left no room for the power supply. To compensate for this, I used a PCIe riser to mount the GPU horizontally about the CPU. In order to secure the GPU I used some longer standoffs and mounted them on the inside of the toaster to rest on. On the other side the card is supported by the PCIe cover and a small standoff with a screw to hold the bracket in place.
The power supply had very little room to fit inside. There was enough room for it on the left hand side of the toaster. However, it rested on top of the motherboard. Fearing this may short out components, I added some acrylic strips on top of the motherboard that were secured in place on top of some extended standoffs. This meant the power supply was resting on top of these acrylic strips rather than the motherboard.
I was able to get all the cables inside no problem. I routed and plugged all the sables inside before screwing the toaster case back together. The only thing I had to make sure of is that the cables were not interfering with any of the fans. I also added a power button that ran to the top of the toaster that can be pressed by reaching inside the case. Overall, I was glad to have a modular power supply as the cables were everywhere.
Step 5: Add the Finishing Touches
To finish this build up, I added the toaster levers back on to the toaster and hot glued them in place. I also added the dials back to the front. These were still able to be twisted, but they did not serve any function. The top cover was also added back onto the toaster to give it a toaster look. The inside also has LED's which can be changed to any color using a remote and plug into a rear USB port.
In the end this build turned out looking pretty cool. The case is small and transportable and is powerful enough to play eSports titles and do other light gaming. I ran out of time and in the future I hope to add some 40mm fans to prevent components from overheating.