Retro styled desktop build

TheBoyConor

Hello all.

So I had an idea last week that I'd build my own PC. I'm not gaming or doing anything particularly taxing, so just for everyday usage - web, MS Office, youtube, pornos etc, etc.

I'd like it to be a retro themed build like something out of the mid 90s but the, ie it would have a grey/beige desktop case, grey peripherials and floppy and DVD drives, but the internals would be modern and of a reasonable spec level.

The core spec I've come up with so far is this:

- Asus H110M-C/CSM micro-ATX motherboard
- Pentium G4560 3.5GHz CPU
- 500 Mb SATA HDD
- 8Gb DDR4 RAM
- This desktop style case: "Beige Micro ATX Slim Chassis / Case. 250W. KM2009" (since I cannot post links yet).
- Windows 10
- on-board graphics and sound will suffice since i won't be gaming, 3D modeling etc.

One thing I'm hoping to do is install 5.25 & 3.5 inch floppy drives. Obviously it's obsolete AF but its the vintage theme I'm going for and hopefully I can get them functional without too much hassle. I know these use 34 pin ribbon cables. Problem is the modern MBs won't have these sockets anymore so I hope to use an adapter for them for either on the internal USB headers or the PCI slot. Are such adapters available? Has anyone used them before?

Also I plan to use an external grey/beige DVD or CR-ROM drive like they often used to do back then, hopefully I can find a USB version or use an adapter.
Another option is to use an internal DVD and forget about the 5.25 floppy.

I realise that some of these olde drives will be difficult to find in beige/grey and I might have to use second hand parts if new are not available. Also the adapters/converters will be tricky if the drives don't exist in SATA or USB format.

While I'll use Windows 10 as my OS I also will install Win 95 via VirtualBox so I can play around with it when feeling in a vintage nostalgia mood.

I'm posting this thread just to keep a log and I'd welcome any opinions along the way.

Lu Tze

TheBoyConor wrote: »

Hello all.

So I had an idea last week that I'd build my own PC. I'm not gaming or doing anything particularly taxing, so just for everyday usage - web, MS Office, youtube, pornos etc, etc.

I'd like it to be a retro themed build like something out of the mid 90s but the, ie it would have a grey/beige desktop case, grey peripherials and floppy and DVD drives, but the internals would be modern and of a reasonable spec level.

The core spec I've come up with so far is this:

- Asus H110M-C/CSM micro-ATX motherboard
- Pentium G4560 3.5GHz CPU
- 500 Mb SATA HDD
- 8Gb DDR4 RAM
- This desktop style case: "Beige Micro ATX Slim Chassis / Case. 250W. KM2009" (since I cannot post links yet).
- Windows 10
- on-board graphics and sound will suffice since i won't be gaming, 3D modeling etc.

One thing I'm hoping to do is install 5.25 & 3.5 inch floppy drives. Obviously it's obsolete AF but its the vintage theme I'm going for and hopefully I can get them functional without too much hassle. I know these use 34 pin ribbon cables. Problem is the modern MBs won't have these sockets anymore so I hope to use an adapter for them for either on the internal USB headers or the PCI slot. Are such adapters available? Has anyone used them before?

Also I plan to use an external grey/beige DVD or CR-ROM drive like they often used to do back then, hopefully I can find a USB version or use an adapter.
Another option is to use an internal DVD and forget about the 5.25 floppy.

I realise that some of these olde drives will be difficult to find in beige/grey and I might have to use second hand parts if new are not available. Also the adapters/converters will be tricky if the drives don't exist in SATA or USB format.

While I'll use Windows 10 as my OS I also will install Win 95 via VirtualBox so I can play around with it when feeling in a vintage nostalgia mood.

I'm posting this thread just to keep a log and I'd welcome any opinions along the way.

Beige bleugh! I clicked into this expecting somebody to be putting the innards of an NUC into an amstrad 6128 or something! Now that's retro!

Cordell

You can buy USB floppy drive (they're cheap) and you can mate it with the old fascia for looks. Same goes for modern optical drives. That case has a **** PSU, I would't use it. I would rather buy an used system and replace all the internals, keeping all the trims and fascias for looks. Turbo button and CPU speed on display FTW

pornos etc

lol

TheBoyConor

Lu Tze. Not everyone's cup of tea I'll admit, but growing up in the 90's with Win 95 I quite like this throwback design that I can still use for my everyday use. I'd even love to get the old Microsoft win 95 mouse and the split ergonomic keyboard if I could get my hands on one. The MB i'm using has the PS2 ports so they should work.



Cordell, yes I was a bit concerned about the PSU being only 250 watts.
Do you think it'll drive my build if I were to try it? Could a lack of power cause damage to the system components?
Really, are fascias interchangeable? I thought the different ages and manufacturers would have all different clip designs, led, eject button shapes/locations etc.

Quote:

pornos etc

lol

Hmm, maybe I do need to get a big fúck off GPU!:pac:

Lu Tze

Don't forget a nice 14" beige CRT to complete the look!

TheBoyConor

Hmm. I was thinking of CRT but then....really? I'm sure decent monitors in beige will be very hard to come by but I do have a decent enough 19" Acer monitor that I was thinking I could dismantle and prep and paint the case and stand for and reassemble and it would still look OK. But if I come across any half decent CRT I will give it a go.

I actually have beige power, VGA and LPT cables from old Olivetti that could find a new use in this project.

Beige speakers will be another item to find i guess.

Cordell

Really, are fascias interchangeable?

They can be, with a bit of persuasion and hot glue

I was a bit concerned about the PSU being only 250 watts.

250W should be enough for this build, if they come from a reputable brand PSU.

Also, make sure that the motherboard supports the CPU out of the box, normally 1xx series motherboards will need a BIOS update to support Kaby Lake CPUs.

K.O.Kiki

Get this ATX case:
https://www.adverts.ie/towers/atx-tower-with-xp-pro/8308249

It's a bit big, mind.

Alternatively, get one of those cheap ones from eBay & trash the PSU.

TheBoyConor

Wow that is a monster case. It's huge. But anyway I'm more inclined towards a slim (micro ATX) desktop shape.

Thanks for flagging the MB BIOS & CPU compatibility. I checked up about it and it looks like the H110M-C BIOS is now compatible with the chosen CPU so all good there.
Thing is tho the website listed it as H110M-C whereas mine is H110M-C/CSM which I think is a slightly updated spec but given that, I assume that it'll also be compatible.

On the PSU I'm not sure of the brand. But if there is any doubt about its quality when it arrives with the case I'll replace it. I don't want to run the risk of a sh!tty Chinese PSU blowing my new MB.

On the OS. I had been thinking Win 10 but I've been reading a bit about MS Server 2016 and that the interface has less "junk" in it which is a common complaint with 10.
Is this a good idea? Will it work with all regularly used apps, programs etc? I know Win 10 can be downloaded and installed free but will continue to prompt for activation from time to time - is the same true of Server 2016 or would you need to actually buy it or buy a product key or whatever?
Or is there any advantage to getting something like Linux, or would that be a nightmare for compatibility with printers, apps etc?

K.O.Kiki

TheBoyConor wrote: »

Wow that is a monster case. It's huge. But anyway I'm more inclined towards a slim (micro ATX) desktop shape.

Thanks for flagging the MB BIOS & CPU compatibility. I checked up about it and it looks like the H110M-C BIOS is now compatible with the chosen CPU so all good there.
Thing is tho the website listed it as H110M-C whereas mine is H110M-C/CSM which I think is a slightly updated spec but given that, I assume that it'll also be compatible.

On the PSU I'm not sure of the brand. But if there is any doubt about its quality when it arrives with the case I'll replace it. I don't want to run the risk of a sh!tty Chinese PSU blowing my new MB.

On the OS. I had been thinking Win 10 but I've been reading a bit about MS Server 2016 and that the interface has less "junk" in it which is a common complaint with 10.
Is this a good idea? Will it work with all regularly used apps, programs etc? I know Win 10 can be downloaded and installed free but will continue to prompt for activation from time to time - is the same true of Server 2016 or would you need to actually buy it or buy a product key or whatever?
Or is there any advantage to getting something like Linux, or would that be a nightmare for compatibility with printers, apps etc?

Honestly even if the G4560 is "good enough", I'd still save up for a Ryzen 3 2200G & B350 motherboard - for the extra €50 you get a LOT more performance & future-proofing.

OS: I haven't heard a thing about MS Server 2016 & tbh I wouldn't bother. Windows 10 is good enough.
Microsoft don't prompt for activation; after a month they just put a see-through watermark in the bottom corner (that disappears during full-screen).
I haven't used a printer in 10 years outside work.

TheBoyConor

Eek, I bought the parts so they'll have to do now.

I got a 3.5" floppy drive for free with a black face-plate so I'll have to paint that. It's got the 34 pin ribbon connector.

Been researching the possibilities for getting floppy drives to work on a modern MB. A 34 pin FDD ribbon to USB header or SATA adapter doesn't seem to be a thing that really exists nor is there such a thing as an internal USB or SATA FDD. Any search for FDD to USB seems to bring back only floppy emulators that you insert a flash drive into the front and has the 34 pin ribbon connector and is intended for making old industrial equipment accept flash drives instead of floppys.

I have come across this maverick looking item which could work if I connect it up with an internal USB 2.0 header https://www.ebay.ie/itm/34pin-1-44mb-floppy-connecter-to-USB-adapter-cable-34-pin/292491445079?hash=item4419d94357:g:egEAAOSwkl5Xc1oi

I also would have thought that a PCI or PCIe card with a floppy controller and connector would be available but it seems it isn't available new anyway. All i could find was this used PCI card: https://www.ebay.ie/itm/Compaq-178936-001-Deskpro-EN-Riser-Card-Board-4x-PCI-2x-ISA-2x-IDE-1x-Floppy/272110511340?hash=item3f5b0ce4ec:g:URQAAOSwBLlVJ6XV

It's for a Compaq PC so not sure if it'll even be compatible with my MB or even if it is low-profile enough to fit into my slim mATX case.

Given how difficult it will be to get a 3.5" FDD to work in my build I think at this rate I'll ditch the 5.25 floppy drive idea as that has an even older card-edge connector which will probably be even harder to find if it even exists at all. Whats more, even used 5.25" floppy drives are silly money upwards of €73 so feck that.

I also have gotten a full size SATA DVD drive for free which is navy black, so I will dismantle it and paint the plastic parts beige.

Shiminay

No one's used floppy disks for 20 years man, external USB drives are the only player in town really.

TheBoyConor

Shiminay wrote: »

No one's used floppy disks for 20 years man, external USB drives are the only player in town really.

Yeah I know. Even the drive I have is from 2007 and I imagine they were even rarely used even then. Very difficult to find any sort of converters for the internal drives.

I did come across a video where some guy took the USB cable and controller from an external drive and hooked it into the 26 pin IDC ribbon connector in a FDD he had as the external drive also had the same 26pin IDC inside behind the 34 pin. I have the controller card from an external drive i have but any floppy i find only has the 34pin with no 36 pin ribbon so that won't work for me.

I've also seen a 34 pin to IDE adapter that I could use together with an IDE to SATA adapter which seem to be common. But sticking adapters onto other adapters to get where you want isn't really great, it's messy.

Joeface

I have a zip disk drive in my drawer here if you want it 😀

TheBoyConor

Oh that's a nice offer. Thanks.
What connector is on it? Colour?
For a 3.5" or 5.25" bay?

Joeface

3.5inch , Images attached

Cordell

It's on IDE interface? OP will need a IDE adapter card in this case.
I remember my awe when I first saw one of these...

Inviere

I've a 17" Dell CRT monitor you can have if you want. I've no way of testing it to see if it works, but you can have it for free if you want. It's black/grey in colour

TheBoyConor

I think so. It looks like more than 34 pins.

This should slot into the back of it so it will take a set of SATA cables. There are various cards and converters out there for that.
https://www.ebay.ie/itm/3-5-IDE-to-SATA-SATA-to-IDE-ATA100-133-HDD-Converter-Adapter-Cables-WIND-8-7/201971502909?hash=item2f06708f3d:g:QGMAAOSw6YtZVzGj

I got an email there earlier saying that my case has arrived at the pick up locaiton. Woohoo.

Inviere, that's very generous of you. Any chance of a pic? Where are you based?

TheBoyConor

I've begun the build.
Motherboard mounted in the case and CPU & RAM installed.

The PSU that came with the case is a Fire Bull FB250-60GHT. Seems a reputable brand that is/was used in Compaq computers. I'll see how this goes first before deciding whether to replace.

K.O.Kiki

TheBoyConor wrote: »

The PSU that came with the case is a Fire Bull FB250-60GHT. Seems a reputable brand that is/was used in Compaq computers. I'll see how this goes first before deciding whether to replace.

I've searched through a half-dozen PSU OEM lists & never seen this crowd. Sounds more like a fire hazard than anything! :pac:

Cordell

pics?

eddieb88

TheBoyConor wrote: »

for everyday usage - web, MS Office, youtube, pornos etc, etc.

Every Day!! you'll have nothing left!

TheBoyConor

Hey. Happy easter!

So I have it all done. Well 95% of the way there. This is my first Boards.ie post from the new machine

Here's a pics album on google photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/8USTYqcMeS3B82Mt2

I bought a cheapo Lidl 19" monitor for €10 in a flea market not fully sure whether it was working or not but luckily it does. It was grotty enough but I dismantled, cleaned it and sanded down and painted the bezel and the stand base with matt spray paint. As you can see, I have the paint colour matched pretty good with the case. Also painted up the 3.5" floppy front, dismantling and painting each individually.

Floppy isn't working due to a lack of an adapter. I might just leave it be as a cosmetic thing.

I also have installed Windows 10 Pro and the audio and graphics drivers. All seems to be working smoothly now as I type.
My DVD drive didn't work for some reason so as you see in the pics, I had to "jump start" from the DVD drive in my old PC. This involved leaving the drive in the old PC, powered on. Then I connected the sata cable from DVD drive across into my new build. I couldn't transfer the drive across as the SFF has a different power connector from the SATA one coming from my PSU. Worked fine.

I have yet to activate Windows but I have a laptop running W7 Home Premium that I might be able to transfer the product key from as an upgrade. I've seen this video that might work....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a63SHdiLBAQ Any experiences of doing this? Will the difference in editions be a problem? ie, Pro 10 vs Home premium 7?

Also, I seem to be having an issue with my front panel audio jack. They audio out will only work if I also have speakers plugged into the rear. They are AC97 jacks and they are set up as this in the UEFI. I've also checked the cabling and it's all connected ok. I can hear some quiet buzzing and stuf so there is clearly power going to the jack. Any ideas?

There are dual case fans at the rear of the case. These are run off of the PSU. They are single speed obviously and they are quite loud. I intend to fit a quieter fan to the case that is variable speed and run off of the MB. Any recommendations of what I should do here? There looks to be an additional sport for mounting a fan behind the front panel (pic with the measuring tape)

TheBoyConor

Update. I have got the front audio working now. The RealTek HD Audio manager had to have the front panel set as AC97 also whereas it was set to HD.

Other finishing touches are to get a grey dvd drive; a set of beige PC speakers; a Microsoft Wheel mouse 1.1; a proper retro keyboard - beige with the darker grey keys at either end of the keypad.

Another issue I am having is that my keyboard is not running off the PS2 port. I have to use a PS2-usb adaper. There doesn't seem to be any option to enable a ps2 port in the UEFI Bios. Any ideas?

TheBoyConor

She's looking proper retro now. Customised the interface as much as I could to give the feel of an old Win9x PC.

I was able to use a batch file registry hack to finally activate the OS after a few other failed attempts using various methods.

Thargor

Good way to hide a gaming rig, would burglars even bother stealing that?

TheBoyConor

I'd doubt it.
Keyboard isn't great. Its really ****ty. I must track down a decent one. Maybe the microsoft ergonomic keyboard if I can find one.

TerrorFirmer

Thargor wrote: »

Good way to hide a gaming rig, would burglars even bother stealing that?

After a quick feel, even a blind burglar wouldn't take it

That's actually great, well done!

jhud

Shiminay wrote: »

No one's used floppy disks for 20 years man, external USB drives are the only player in town really.

I work in IT for an aircraft maintenance facility and they computers on some aircraft still require floppy disks for updates.

Lu Tze

Thargor wrote: »

Good way to hide a gaming rig, would burglars even bother stealing that?

Plays minesweeper at full settings, ergo it is a gaming rig!

TheBoyConor

Yeah thats right, and an awful lot of industrial machinery that's a few years old started out with taking their input from floppy disks. As they get rarer there are USB floppy emulators that are retrofitted into the equipment. Basically these are 3.5" drives with the 34 pin connector but they have a USB socket at the front to accept a flash drive as opposed to the traditional disk.

This is an example: https://www.amazon.com/SFRM72-TU100K-Emulator-Industrial-Control-Equipment/dp/B008HYUDV2

To complete the look, does anyone have any of the following that they'd be prepared to sell to me?
- Microsoft Natural keyboard, or any old grey keyboard. If it has the dark grey keys around the edges all the better.
- grey PC speakers
- a grey SATA dvd or CD ROM drive

Shapey Fiend

I like the idea of beige box stealth PC's. Check out this one I saw on Youtube. Nice phone to match as well.

TheBoyConor

So I've been tipping away with this project over the last while. Adding outdated but functional components as well as modern high stuff.

I managed to find a 3.5 floppy drive that I hooked up to the internal USB3 header using a 34 pin to USB adapter i got on ebay for €7.
I found a CD-ROM drive with an IDE connection that i hooked up with a IDE to SATA adapter off of some other tech website for such small money I bought 2 of them. Handy for reading old IDE hard disks from scrapped PCs.
Both work lovely.

On the other side modern side, I've also installed a 240GB Samsumg Evo 970 NVMe SSD by means of a PCIe expansion adapter on the MB (my MB doesn't have a M2 slot)
I hope to clone the OS onto the SSD in the coming weeks when I get a chance.

I also got hold of a pair of lovely old grey retro looking PC speakers and a more retro looking keyboard.

I will post a picture soon....

TheBoyConor

I've just acquired this lovely old DIN / PS2 connection keyboard off of adverts.ie.
A good scrub up needed to remove the grime but I'm looking forward to hooking it up.
PS2 will work in Windows 10 but I believe it needs a tweak to the registry to activate PS2 support.

TheBoyConor

Finally got a grey CRT monitor you complete the retro build. Here she is completed finally......

Photos attached.....

Sonics2k

Jesus that takes me back.

Samuel T. Cogley

Careful with speakers close to a CRT. The PC ones are fine. Great build.

Skerries

bobble head pope for that retro feel

TheBoyConor

Thanks guys. For a while I was losing hope that it would be possible to get the likes of an old floppy drive to work with a modern MB and Win 10, but perseverance paid off in the end.

Thanks for the warning on the big speaker. Doesn't seem to be any interference at this moment. I will keep an eye on it.
As you will see I am using a Sony car stereo I got off of Adverts.ie as an amplifier for the sound output. I am running it off of a spare PSU I have. Works great, really awesome sound. I have tried various 5.1 and stereo amplifiers but the car stereo was the only one that I was really happy with.

Would you believe, the hardest part to source was the monitor. I thought these would be lying in attics and garages everywhere but it seems that they are actually quite scarce nowadays. Luckily I picked this one up for free off of guy near Buttevant. I really underestimated the size of CRT monitors. I is freaking ENORMOUS and takes up so so much space on the desk. How did we live with these things!

Unseen under the desk I also have a HP LaserJet 2100 which I have gotten to work on the LPT port which I installed onto the MB. It is a bit hit an miss with the working of it, I often get the "out of paper" error. Works flawlessly on the USB adapter cable though.

I also picked up and old school Epson flat bed scanner which I managed to get working by fiddling around with different drivers and patches to make it work in Win 10.

TheBoyConor

At some stage I would like to rebuild the PC in a vertical minitower just for fun, as my first ever computer was a minitower.

Would anyone happen to have an old grey/beige ATX or mATX case lying around that they would be willing to give or sell?