[img width=250 align=right]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/repository/125525993946e8d52450f76Xbox-mini.jpg[/img]In 2001, Microsoft took their first steps into console video gaming with the Xbox. Often criticized as being a PC in a box, the hardware's most noticeable feature is its large size and weight in comparison to consoles from previous generations.
In 2007, two years after Microsoft's cessation of Xbox production, a fellow named
ghostravel took it into his own hands to
remedy the size issue. A year of toil, and some specialty craftsmanship (laser-cut custom case, reworked power supply, etc.) have earned him
impressive results.
How did
ghostravel do it you ask? Well, if you've never opened a box before, I can personally tell you that there is plenty of wasted room inside. Under the DVD drive there is almost a good inch of wasted space, in addition to the plastic mount for the hard drive being a bit wasteful. A big space killer is the power supply, residing in the right-hand quarter of the base, with the flat motherboard occupying the rest. Since the Xbox is similar to a PC, it is capable of substituting a much smaller ATA power supply through use of an adapter. The biggest space saver in this remodel is the exclusion of the DVD drive. Instead, backups (legitimate ones, we hope), homebrew, and emulation software can be run (with help from a modchip) from a certainly-not-stock 80Gb hard drive.
Surprisingly he decided to include the eject button, if not for the green light. Add to it a beautiful glossy black finish and you have a sleek box capable of mixing in with shiny next-gen predecessors like the Wii or PS3.
[img width=426 height=320]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/repository/204214574946e8d80ec44cbshiny.jpg[/img] [img width=200 height=320]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/repository/40463364446e8d6313a75e270149252.jpg[/img]
