wii nintendo intel intel-nuc modding modded computer-hardware computer hardware hardware-modding

Wii-Sleeper

Using an intel NUC, a complete x64 computer is fit within a Wii chassis

Support Me!

See the stuff I build and support me here!

The Wii NUC, with a USB drive, headphones, and a modded Gamecube controller attached.

Why?

Why did I build this?

I bought a NUC for building a Cyberdeck device. It was initially going to be a module for the Clavier, however I lost a bit of interest in the project, I decided to shift the vision. Around the same time, I picked up a $5 Wii at a local thrift store, which I immediately bought.

Once I realized that the NUC and Wii were really similar sizes, I realized that it would be much cooler to have a Wii Sleeper PC. I saw other console Sleeper PCs online, especially with Gamecubes. These appealed to me, but I love the Gamecube too much to hurt it, and I wanted to try something unique. The Gamecube was much too large for a NUC, and it would have been too easy to make.

That's why I did a Wii, it really wasn't done much before, and I wanted a challenge.

Hardware and Uses

Hardware

The NUC is a NUC8i3BEH kit. I used 8Gb of RAM, and 512Gb of storage.

It's not anything powerful, but with higher-end NUCs, you could theoretically have a newer i7 inside of it.

Uses

Currently the Wii is used as a dual-boot Windows/Linux platform.

The Linux partition is used as a testing platform, just for learning Linux myself. It also has some game platforms so the device can be used as a home theatre machine as well.

The Windows partition is much smaller. It basically is the minimum needed for Windows to boot. Currently it is used for untrusted software, like Lockdown Browser. Could I use a VM for this? Sure, but it takes a lot of work to get Lockdown Browser to work within one, and at this point, I don't have the time or effort to do that. This was a much easier solution so that my privacy was protected a bit better.