Complete RetroPie in a suitcase

This suitcase contains an old laptop monitor, four wireless Xbox controllers, two small speakers, and a Raspberry Pi with RetroPie (a system for emulating most of the classic gaming systems). All together, this makes an easily movable package containing everything needed to play all the childhood favorites.

Sorry, I don't have too many progress images, but I have tried to explain everything I can think of on the relevant images. The build consists of three main steps:

1. Get the parts you need. This will include:
- a Raspberry Pi (RPi 3 is the newest and fastest right now),
- an SD card for the Pi,
- a power adapter for the Pi,
- speakers,
- a monitor (for example from an old laptop),
- all the required cables for the monitor (will depend on the monitor),
- a suitcase,
- one or more controllers.
- I also recommend a keyboard and mouse to make the RPi setup easier.

2. Install RetroPie/Recalbox (see image #4 for details).

3. Cut and paste rubber foam and cables to make everything fit inside the suitcase.

Enjoy!

Just a regular metal suitcase bought from my local hardware store. I wanted a case just large enough to hold the monitor, four controllers, and a lot of cabling. This one had the perfect size!

The power cord for the system is wrapped around the controllers when the lid is closed. There is a thin sheet of foam rubber in front of the screen, to protect it. As you can see of the marks on it in this image, there's a good reason to have it there.

I was surprised how well the four controllers fit in the width of the case! The controllers are wireless Xbox controllers, but you could use whatever controllers you want. To make it easy for yourself, they should be connected through USB, but it's amazing what you can manage to connect to the Raspberry Pi.

Xbox controllers: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Black-Wireless-Game-Remote-Controller-Receiver-for-Microsoft-Xbox-360-Console-PC-/222401776865?hash=item33c82dcce1:g:m5cAAOSwnHZYmYqY

There are lots of other alternatives, http://www.8bitdo.com/ have a lot of different controllers, but you can also find a lot on Ebay.

The screen protector removed, and the power cord inserted into the wall outlet. The two black squares in the upper corners of the suitcase bottom are the speakers. The rubber foam area between them hides most of the cabling. The Raspberry Pi is inside the lid, behind the monitor.

To actually run the emulators and games on the Raspberry Pi, I use RetroPie. Another good alternative is Recalbox.

Here's a quick guide of how to install and setup RetroPie: https://retropie.org.uk/docs/First-Installation/

And here's one for Recalbox: http://www.recalbox.com/diyrecalbox

I think Recalbox might be the easiest one if you're new to Raspberry Pis.

The uppermost layer of foam is held in place using parts of an old CD cover, which is perfect for creating "barely visible" knobs. Underneat it, there is a lot of cabling. The speakers get their power from the USB port of the Raspberry Pi (which is behind the monitor). The Pi itself and the monitor get their power from the power cord, which is split into two parts right here in this mess (the white splitter).

The box with "Microsoft" on it is the receiver for the wireless Xbox controllers. The box under the receiver is the power adapter for the monitor. The leftmost black box (next to the speaker) is the power adapter for the Raspberry Pi.

It's not very pretty when you take a closer look, but it's good enough. The cables from the bottom part of the case are led through holes in the rubber foam, and behind the monitor. Here, you can also see two USB ports, in case a keyboard or something else has to be connected to the Raspberry Pi.

The speakers are two "Music Angel Friendz", and are connected to the Raspberry Pi through a USB sound adapter, because that was the only way I could get the Pi to send the images through HDMI and the sound to the speakers.

(I think the issue in my case is that the Pi wants to send the sound through HDMI, but there are no speakers in the screen, so that won't work. This may be different with other monitors -- in theory, you should be able to configure it in the Raspberry Pi settings, I just couldn't make it work with my setup.)

For example:
Speakers: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Music-Angel-Friendz-Universal-Portable-Stereo-Rechargeable-Speaker-For-Blue-/222399990856?hash=item33c8128c48:g:y1sAAOSw2xRYl0Nc
USB sound adapter: http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-2-0-Virtual7-1-Channel-Audio-SoundSurround-Card-Adapter-for-Raspberry-Pi-/331506689160?hash=item4d2f56a488:g:OrwAAOxyLN9Sgmnl

If you press your finger into the corner, you can pull the monitor out.

Monitor pulled partly out of the lid. The green board is the monitor controller (on/off, source, etc).

Monitor pulled out of the lid. In the lower left corner, we can see the Raspberry Pi. Above it, there is a small USB splitter, to make room for all the USB peripherals (power for each of the two speakers, a small external USB sound card, the two external ports below the monitor, and the Xbox receiver). The large board on the right hand side is the monitor controller. This monitor is actually a laptop monitor, which needs some extra stuff in order to work outside of a laptop.

In order to use a laptop monitor without the laptop,you need an "LCD screen controller" for your specific screen.

First of all, you have to actually get the screen out of the laptop. This is usually done by removing the screws around the screen, then forcing the plastic away from the screen. This will be different for different models, but you can usually google something like "remove screen from dell latitude 110l", or whatever model name your laptop has.
Here's an example for a random Dell laptop: https://www.laptopscreen.com/English/model/Dell/LATITUDE~110L/

Secondly, you need to figure out which LCD screen controller you need. This is a bit harder, but it can be done by looking at the sticker behind the screen, which contains the model name and some numbers. Then search EBay (or other stores) for "lcd screen controller samsung LTN154U2-L06", or whatever producer and model name you have. The model name usually looks like that, with a few letters first, then mostly numbers. Sometimes it's difficult to find the correct controller -- I usually ask the seller if they have a controller for my screen, and have great experience with the seller "njytouch" on EBay picking the boards I need.
I can't find the exact controller I bought right now, but it looks something like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/HDMI-USB-AV-VGA-TV-PC-Universal-LCD-LED-Screen-Controller-Board-DIY-Monitor-Kit-/271757526668?hash=item3f4602c68c:g:9IAAAOSw-0xYR8HG

You will also need a power cord for the monitor. When you have found the correct controller, it usually says in the store listing which power cord you need. Otherwise, you can ask the seller about that too.
I bought this one, but it will depend on which controller you need: http://www.ebay.com/itm/12V-4A-AC-DC-Power-Supply-4-Amp-12-Volt-Adapter-Charger-LCD-Screen-5-5mm-2-5mm-/361476831331?hash=item5429b2b863:g:oWsAAOxyjxlTPlBo

Finally, you have to connect your new controller board to the screen. This will usually consist of inserting two or three wires from the controller board into the screen (where it was connected to the rest of the laptop).

Here's a nice guide about the entire process: http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Convert-a-Laptop-LCD-into-an-External-Monit/?ALLSTEPS

Starting up one of the best games from my childhood.

Total costs: ~$350

Suitcase: ~ $30
Raspberry Pi: ~$42
Speakers: ~$24 (times two)
Various cables: ~$30 (HDMI, power cords, USB splitters)
Controllers: ~40 (times four)
Monitor: free (from an old laptop)
Stuff to make monitor work: $20
Rubber foam: $20 (a groundsheet for camping)

Note: these are prices in Norway. Everything is expensive here -- you can probably find it cheaper.
I had a lot of it lying around, so it didn't really cost me this much, but if you need everything, it'll probably be a little bit expensive.

EDIT: added the actual total cost.
EDIT: added more explanations to some of the images.
EDIT: fixed spelling, lowered the suitcase costs