Does anyone know just how big the motherboard (and power supply) on an Intel 17" iMac (any variety) is? Would it fit inside a Set Top Box enclosure? I've got an Apple STB just languishing away on the shelf looking for something to do, and giving it a new life as a no-kidding 1080p capable STB would be pretty sweet...
Peace,
alk
They are quite big, I have 2 here, one from a 17 or 20" white iMac (I'm pretty sure these were almost the same size), and one from a 24" aluminum both are about 14x9 inches not including the heatsinks, so you'd have to build something, because if the dimensions I'm seeing online for the Apple STB are right, it wouldn't fit without making your own heatsinks.
The power supply is not small, but it's a 2 piece unit, so it's hard to measure, you sould be able to fit it inside there.
I don't think any of them are smaller. I don't think you could do this easily with the iMac Board, the Mac Mini board would be much easier to work with, or is there some reason this wouldn't work for what you're doing?
I wouldn't hack up an original, unreleased Apple Set-Top Box.
Just between you and me (and the internet), I have a pretty low opinion of the STB. They are a dime a dozen on eBay. I bought mine there about 6 years ago for $50. Besides, the hardware is only as interesting as it is useful, and as far as I know, nobody has ever gotten an STB to be anything but a doorstop.
Nevertheless, we're not talking major surgery, here, and no one said anything about hacking up a STB. At most, it would involve removing the electronics from the inside of the case and fitting in an iMac motherboard using whatever openings I can wrangle for ventilation and I/O. The original guts would be preserved safe and sound in my museum next to my Mustang, Comet, Hooper, and Wallstreet prototypes and just below my TAM and FreeStyle tablets.
Peace,
alk
Iile the idea. And besides the black box apple set top boxes were common as they were version 3. I had a prototype version 1 that was cool. If you can make a intel set top box that'd be awesome :). It may actually be easier however to use a a Mac Mini board setup.