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Seamonster
Apr 30, 2007

IMMER SIEGREICH
Speaking of which, where have all the aluminum cases gone?

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Truga
May 4, 2014
Lipstick Apathy

PC LOAD LETTER posted:

Yea they're cheaper but the quality in general has dropped big time on your cheap cases. Particularly vs the stuff made in the 80's. Those AT cases were generally built like tanks. If you want a good well built case you still have to spend a fair amount.

Yeah, cases used to be heavy, because all of that metal was like 2-3mm thick. You could drop it a couple stories and it'd bend a bit, you'd bend it back and keep using it like nothing happened. Now when I'm holding a cheap OEM case at work, it feels like it's going to fall apart if I don't handle it like glass, it's so light and flimsy.

My story with cases is, I kept spending $50-60 on cases every couple years. They were all pretty bad or loud or both.

Last year I bought a Corsair 900D and put a bunch of plumbing in it, and now have like 2kW thermal worth of completely silent cooling, with no fan spinning faster than 250RPM and a pump I can't hear. I'm never changing the case again now.

please don't make atx go obsolete :ohdear:

:v:

BOOTY-ADE
Aug 30, 2006

BIG KOOL TELLIN' Y'ALL TO KEEP IT TIGHT

Varkk posted:

Should he also go looking for a game theatre xp soundcard and associated breakout box?
Also some cold cathode lights just inside the rough cut Perspex window.

Don't forget the Dynamat and earplugs either

Shaocaholica
Oct 29, 2002

Fig. 5E

HalloKitty posted:

Man, if you want the most baller case of those times, we're talking an early Coolermaster ATCS case, like the ATC-201.


That's going to be hard to find. I did a full window, fan hole and paint job on a Inwin(?) back in college. Sadly, it was not a rough job and way overkill for what it was. Even did the monitor shell too (Dell/Sony Trinitron).

Shaocaholica
Oct 29, 2002

Fig. 5E

Truga posted:

please don't make atx go obsolete :ohdear:

I'm ready for something new. Legacy has been around too long. Get rid of PCIe slots. Everything on sockets with socket heatsinks. There should be 1 cable going gracefully from the PSU to the motherboard. SSDs can be M.2. HDDs should have some eSATA+P so they can have 1 cable for power and data from the motherboard to the drive. No more power connectors to the GPU, regardless of the wattage, figure that poo poo out.

A Bad King
Jul 17, 2009


Suppose the oil man,
He comes to town.
And you don't lay money down.

Yet Mr. King,
He killed the thread
The other day.
Well I wonder.
Who's gonna go to Hell?

HalloKitty posted:

we're talking an early Coolermaster ATCS case, like the ATC-201.

I like you.

HalloKitty posted:

At the same time, any case with translucent coloured plastic is of the times too. An enormous example is the Juno P6. It's hard to find anything on that case these days.


:psyduck: no please no...

HalloKitty posted:

Whatever you decide, it should probably have some roughly cut blowholes and only 80mm Deltas.

And rip off a few mm of epidermal skin layer while you're trying to route wiring (or for the real experience, just let the wires ratnest about in the case). Blood for the Case Gods.

Truga
May 4, 2014
Lipstick Apathy

Shaocaholica posted:

I'm ready for something new. Legacy has been around too long. Get rid of PCIe slots. Everything on sockets with socket heatsinks. There should be 1 cable going gracefully from the PSU to the motherboard. SSDs can be M.2. HDDs should have some eSATA+P so they can have 1 cable for power and data from the motherboard to the drive. No more power connectors to the GPU, regardless of the wattage, figure that poo poo out.

I totally agree tbh. And that does sound really cool. Maybe with HBM, GPUs will finally get their own proper socket? :v:

I don't actually care about ATX. I can drill a couple mounting holes myself, so unless the form factor goes from mother"board" to mother"something completely different", I'm safe, really.

Gwaihir
Dec 8, 2009
Hair Elf

Varkk posted:

Should he also go looking for a game theatre xp soundcard and associated breakout box?
Also some cold cathode lights just inside the rough cut Perspex window.

I still have some Sata cables with built in bright blue EL wire :haw:

PC LOAD LETTER
May 23, 2005
WTF?!

Shaocaholica posted:

I'm ready for something new. Legacy has been around too long. Get rid of PCIe slots. Everything on sockets with socket heatsinks. There should be 1 cable going gracefully from the PSU to the motherboard. SSDs can be M.2. HDDs should have some eSATA+P so they can have 1 cable for power and data from the motherboard to the drive. No more power connectors to the GPU, regardless of the wattage, figure that poo poo out.
This sounds real cool but would suck in reality since costs on everything would go up dramatically and any power problems would probably toast your motherboard as well as any attached devices as well.

The fact of the matter is while the current situation is 'messy' and not as small as it could possibly be all that crap is hidden away inside of the case, isn't messed with frequently, and desktop PC's don't really need to be particularly small. Getting rid of legacy stuff just because its old is generally a bad idea too. Plenty of old stuff still not only works great but has widespread support and is cheap to boot.

Truga posted:

Maybe with HBM, GPUs will finally get their own proper socket?
Nah. VRM's still need enough space and put out enough heat by themselves that putting the GPU on a separate PCIe card makes too much sense. The GPU itself is quite the furnace too even with 'cool running' Maxwell GPUs which use something like 250w on the high end. That and they need tons of layers on the board to work. I dunno how many layers current video cards use but years ago 12-16 layers was quite common. Most PC motherboards are 6-10 layers with server boards using something more like 18+. That would add a lot of cost to make the whole motherboard like that.

PC LOAD LETTER fucked around with this message at 16:05 on Jun 12, 2015

canyoneer
Sep 13, 2005


I only have canyoneyes for you
If you're doing a retro :pcgaming: build, you must use the ribbon IDE cables and carefully cut the insulation between the individual wires to give a rounded look.
http://www.overclockersclub.com/guides/sleeving_cable_guide/
:c00lbutt:

NihilismNow
Aug 31, 2003
I'm still running a original chieftec dragon. Thing must be almost 15 years old now. The only reason i won't be using it in my next build (probably) is it only fits 80mm fans. The case itself will last forever.
Relevant to this thread because it has only housed athlon systems (XP 2100+, 3500+, X2, Athlon II X4) and still has the original Athlon XP sticker on the front.

SwissArmyDruid
Feb 14, 2014

by sebmojo
Jesus gently caress, I tried that once. I can't remember how many I hosed up before I just gave up and straight-up bought one from Fry's.

WhyteRyce
Dec 30, 2001

canyoneer posted:

If you're doing a retro :pcgaming: build, you must use the ribbon IDE cables and carefully cut the insulation between the individual wires to give a rounded look.
http://www.overclockersclub.com/guides/sleeving_cable_guide/
:c00lbutt:

I didn't even bother with that, I just folded mine and taped them together. I found folded cables easier to work with than rounded ones, especially the rounded ones you buy that came in a thick rear end sleeve

ProfessorBooty
Jan 25, 2004

Amulet of the Dark
This thread makes me wish I didn't get rid of my Athlon 600 Mhz PC from 1999 last year.

Shaocaholica
Oct 29, 2002

Fig. 5E

canyoneer posted:

If you're doing a retro :pcgaming: build, you must use the ribbon IDE cables and carefully cut the insulation between the individual wires to give a rounded look.
http://www.overclockersclub.com/guides/sleeving_cable_guide/
:c00lbutt:

Not only did I do this but I actually popped the IDE connectors and re-pinned them at the optimal length cutting off the excess. But gently caress that these days when you can get one pre made for cheaps. And gently caress doing it on those 80 wire cables.

Stanley Pain
Jun 16, 2001

by Fluffdaddy
Oh god, IDE Cables :gonk: Never again!

Anime Schoolgirl
Nov 28, 2002

"wait why are all the pins on the connector instead of the socket"

Shaocaholica
Oct 29, 2002

Fig. 5E


Apple made it work pretty well without having to round out cables.

Lowen SoDium
Jun 5, 2003

Highen Fiber
Clapping Larry

Shaocaholica posted:



Apple made it work pretty well without having to round out cables.

I used to be so jealous of those apple cases with the fold out motherboards.

pienipple
Mar 20, 2009

That's wrong!
The board that's gonna be used has two sata ports, so IDE drives aren't strictly neccessary.

GrizzlyCow
May 30, 2011

Seamonster posted:

Speaking of which, where have all the aluminum cases gone?

The $150+ range? Outside mini-ITX cases, only LIAN LI is making pure aluminum cases below $150. Not much benefit over a steel, plastic, and aluminum mix for a not insignificant increase of price.

Shaocaholica
Oct 29, 2002

Fig. 5E

Lowen SoDium posted:

I used to be so jealous of those apple cases with the fold out motherboards.

There's no reason why ATX boards can't also be fold out. I don't see anything in the physical spec that would prevent that in a case design.

Kazinsal
Dec 13, 2011



Case chat: I'd love to find a way to use the chassis from an IBM eServer x3400 for something, maybe a storage server:



I recall them making one even longer than that but I can't find anything about it. I swear it was at least five feet long.

Shaocaholica
Oct 29, 2002

Fig. 5E

pienipple posted:

The board that's gonna be used has two sata ports, so IDE drives aren't strictly neccessary.

Those boards can't boot from USB so I'm pretty much forced to use an IDE optical drive.

pienipple
Mar 20, 2009

That's wrong!

Shaocaholica posted:

Those boards can't boot from USB so I'm pretty much forced to use an IDE optical drive.

It should boot from a SATA optical drive, I had one in it.

Shaocaholica
Oct 29, 2002

Fig. 5E

pienipple posted:

It should boot from a SATA optical drive, I had one in it.

Haha, that's neat. I always thought that optical booting or general usage wasn't supported on sata add-in cards which is essentially what that board has.

pienipple
Mar 20, 2009

That's wrong!

Shaocaholica posted:

Haha, that's neat. I always thought that optical booting or general usage wasn't supported on sata add-in cards which is essentially what that board has.

I am fairly sure it worked, I had to have my optical drive in the lowest drive bay so the cable could reach because the ports are at the very bottom of the board, but it was one SATA optical drive and one HDD for several years.

SwissArmyDruid
Feb 14, 2014

by sebmojo

Shaocaholica posted:



Apple made it work pretty well without having to round out cables.

Away with you, and your sensible ideas! Rat's nest 4 lyfe!

HalloKitty
Sep 30, 2005

Adjust the bass and let the Alpine blast

Angry Fish posted:

:psyduck: no please no...

Oh, I know. I'd have had the good ol' Coolermaster in a heartbeat, but I was just taking a trip down memory lane, and translucent plastic was one of those things that stuck around for longer than it had any business doing so.

Seamonster posted:

Speaking of which, where have all the aluminum cases gone?

Basically only Lian-Li cares about that still, so if you want one, have at it.

HalloKitty fucked around with this message at 21:43 on Jun 12, 2015

Shaocaholica
Oct 29, 2002

Fig. 5E

SwissArmyDruid posted:

Away with you, and your sensible ideas! Rat's nest 4 lyfe!



:pcgaming:

Rastor
Jun 2, 2001


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112435

Shaocaholica
Oct 29, 2002

Fig. 5E

You can gut an old PowerMacG5 for less than that brah

Paul MaudDib
May 3, 2006

TEAM NVIDIA:
FORUM POLICE

Shaocaholica posted:

Those boards can't boot from USB so I'm pretty much forced to use an IDE optical drive.

You can buy IDE SSDS if you need/want to. I wouldn't trust a crusty old HDD, and SSDs make crappy hardware so snappy.

http://www.amazon.com/Transcend-PSD330-2-5-inch-Internal-Solid/dp/B00AQT2LL6

It would probably be very usable on Lubuntu, but for :pcgaming: you'll obviously want XP.

Paul MaudDib fucked around with this message at 22:46 on Jun 12, 2015

Shaocaholica
Oct 29, 2002

Fig. 5E

Paul MaudDib posted:

You can buy IDE SSDS if you need/want to. I wouldn't trust a crusty old HDD, and SSDs make crappy hardware so snappy.

http://www.amazon.com/Transcend-PSD330-2-5-inch-Internal-Solid/dp/B00AQT2LL6

It would probably be very usable on Lubuntu, but for :pcgaming: you'll obviously want XP.

Yeah I've looked into those but they are pricey. I actually have a 2.5" msata to IDE enclosure but it's iffy in windows.

The throwback box will actually be a mix of windows and Linux. As for windows in going to try to get Win10 working with bypassing some CPU checks. Not for actual use but just to see if it's doable. I know drivers are going to be rear end.

Nintendo Kid
Aug 4, 2011

by Smythe

Shaocaholica posted:

Yeah I've looked into those but they are pricey. I actually have a 2.5" msata to IDE enclosure but it's iffy in windows.

The throwback box will actually be a mix of windows and Linux. As for windows in going to try to get Win10 working with bypassing some CPU checks. Not for actual use but just to see if it's doable. I know drivers are going to be rear end.

Another thing you can do is CompactFlash to IDE or SD to IDE convertors. Particularly for SD the cost of storage is rather low for things that could outdo your typical hard drive from the time in capacity and access time by far, even if they might be a little pokier in sustained reads.

Shaocaholica
Oct 29, 2002

Fig. 5E
I actually have 4.......750GB PATA drives. The were the biggest ever made so I had to get some. But they aint no SSDs. If PATA SSDs would actually work decently. I'm just too busy right now to experiment with PATA SSD configs. I know CF and SD are probably not very well optimized for desktop file systems(?). Probably horrible random performance(?).

Nintendo Kid
Aug 4, 2011

by Smythe

Shaocaholica posted:

I actually have 4.......750GB PATA drives. The were the biggest ever made so I had to get some. But they aint no SSDs. If PATA SSDs would actually work decently. I'm just too busy right now to experiment with PATA SSD configs. I know CF and SD are probably not very well optimized for desktop file systems(?). Probably horrible random performance(?).

They do well enough for random performance these days, so long as you don't buy the absolute cheapest and slowest.

You obviously would not want to use them instead of modern drives, but compared to those of 10-15 years ago you can come out quite far ahead. Especially compared to 4200 rpm drives - slower random perfromance then you might want is massively outweighed by not having hard drive scale seek times.

WhyteRyce
Dec 30, 2001

I've bought sata->ide adapters before. Other than the ide pins being really easy to bend when you pull off the cable they work well

SwissArmyDruid
Feb 14, 2014

by sebmojo
"bend"? You mean "rip out of the hard drive".

I do not miss PATA.

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JnnyThndrs
May 29, 2001

HERE ARE THE FUCKING TOWELS

Shaocaholica posted:

I actually have 4.......750GB PATA drives. The were the biggest ever made so I had to get some. But they aint no SSDs. If PATA SSDs would actually work decently. I'm just too busy right now to experiment with PATA SSD configs. I know CF and SD are probably not very well optimized for desktop file systems(?). Probably horrible random performance(?).

I used an 240gb 840Pro mSATA--->PATA adaptor setup for my old Dell laptop and it works flawlessly, as well as making an ancient machine run relatively well. If you can possibly afford it, I would try my best to go SSD, the improvement is tremendous.

I had poor results with the cheap plastic Chinese msata-IDE enclosure, but the bare PCB-style adaptors worked without a hitch, if that helps.

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