Sleeper PC build

[MackenziesPairOfSock]

I apologise if this post is categorized incorrectly, it's my first one, so be gentle.

 

I have a case from a company I can't identify. Google has not been helpful, and the only things I have to go on are as follows; the motherboard it used to house is an Asus pvi-486ap4, with an Intel i486 dx2. The picture below shows the case and it's front pannel, the plate on the front reads "New tech personal computer"

 

If anyone can shed some light on this for me I'd appreciate it, I would like to know the history of the case, and also the pinout of the front plate so that I can wire up the lights and buttons properly.

[Fasauceome]

I love how hideous that is. Does it fit ATX components?

 

[comicsansms]

The motherboard is baby AT, you are not going to fit an ATX board in that without significant modification.

 

[MackenziesPairOfSock]

Yeah, there's a lot that needs to happen with it. 

[comicsansms]

If you cannot work out the pinout of the front panel connectors, I don't think this is a job for you to take upon yourself.

[MackenziesPairOfSock]

8 hours ago, Comic_Sans_MS said:

If you cannot work out the pinout of the front panel connectors, I don't think this is a job for you to take upon yourself.

I can figure it out, for sure, I'm just really lazy. I'm more interested in figuring out where the case came from, because like I said, I couldn't find it anywhere on Google.

[MackenziesPairOfSock]

21 hours ago, fasauceome said:

I love how hideous that is. Does it fit ATX components?

 

Not yet. I will have some serious work ahead of me, but I'm 98% sure I can make it work. If not, I'm not opposed to using a smaller form factor, though id rather not do that.

[Fasauceome]

40 minutes ago, MackenziesPairOfSock said:

Not yet. I will have some serious work ahead of me, but I'm 98% sure I can make it work. If not, I'm not opposed to using a smaller form factor, though id rather not do that.

I'm sure an SFX power supply's included bracket could be janked into place to accommodate the itty bitty CPU if necessary, since I'm sure you'd rather mess with the bracket than the PSU itself. In terms of I/O, what will you pack with this thing? I've got a dell optiplex 280x that will get a similar treatment to this thing, so I look forward to seeing how you add the motherboard standoffs. The Pics of the motherboard I saw look like a micro ATX ish form factor.

[comicsansms]

8 hours ago, MackenziesPairOfSock said:

I can figure it out, for sure, I'm just really lazy. I'm more interested in figuring out where the case came from, because like I said, I couldn't find it anywhere on Google.

The thing is, it's pretty clear that a generic beige box from before the internet wouldn't have documentation for it. I wouldn't even bother researching an unknown brand case from a computer from a PGA 478 computer (10 years after that), because chances are you'll find nothing either. The most info you will ever find on the case is a photo from a sold listing of a computer on ebay with nothing in the description about the case.

 

7 hours ago, fasauceome said:

The Pics of the motherboard I saw look like a micro ATX ish form factor.

It's not, it's baby AT.

AT (and it's derivatives) were the standard form factor for IBM PC clones (Because that's the form factor IBM used in their PCs), before intel created the ATX standard.

You can easily put a baby AT motherboard in a modern ATX case, but you cannot the other way around. The OP needs to replace the motherboard tray, or cut up the case.

 

Baby AT motherboard in ATX case

Spoiler

 

[MackenziesPairOfSock]

On 9/2/2018 at 5:55 PM, Comic_Sans_MS said:

The thing is, it's pretty clear that a generic beige box from before the internet wouldn't have documentation for it. I wouldn't even bother researching an unknown brand case from a computer from a PGA 478 computer (10 years after that), because chances are you'll find nothing either. The most info you will ever find on the case is a photo from a sold listing of a computer on ebay with nothing in the description about the case.

 

It's not, it's baby AT.

AT (and it's derivatives) were the standard form factor for IBM PC clones (Because that's the form factor IBM used in their PCs), before intel created the ATX standard.

You can easily put a baby AT motherboard in a modern ATX case, but you cannot the other way around. The OP needs to replace the motherboard tray, or cut up the case.

 

Baby AT motherboard in ATX case

  Reveal hidden contents

 

On the first part, thank you for the information. And secondly, pictured below is the inside of the case: I intend to remove the hard drive cage, and the other piece of metal next to it. I would like to leave the other drive cage intact, just for the aesthetics of the build. I'm thinking I might have to do a smaller motherboard than full ATX even after all that. It should be noted that, while this is my first all new build, I have some experience with junkyard building. I'm not super familiar with full or eATX motherboards, just because usually I end up with proprietary motherboards from office PC's. That being said, I intend to make this work, one way or another. 

[Fasauceome]

judging by the size of those expansion slots on the back, it does look like full ATX is a possibility. You'll need to pretty up the holes in the back, maybe angle grinder man can help, but you should take a tape measure to the inside and check the measurements against the ATX form factor dimensions. 8 expansion slots gives the sense that there's more than enough vertical space there, and removing the drive cages might not even be necessary.

[MackenziesPairOfSock]

12 minutes ago, fasauceome said:

judging by the size of those expansion slots on the back, it does look like full ATX is a possibility. You'll need to pretty up the holes in the back, maybe angle grinder man can help, but you should take a tape measure to the inside and check the measurements against the ATX form factor dimensions. 8 expansion slots gives the sense that there's more than enough vertical space there, and removing the drive cages might not even be necessary.

That's what I thought, and I've been looking for my tape measure (roommate moves shit all the time) but the drive cages DEFINITELY need to come out. Vertical clerance isn't a problem, or shouldn't be. I'm also going to try to fit in a 240 rad, for some sick water-cooling.

[Grifterguru]

This could be a very interesting build indeed!

Following to see whatg happens