Hey what's up I'm new here and I'm going to be starting an NES mod this will be my very first mod andi am going to be putting a low end PC in the case I just need some advice I've seen the NES 3.0 and the one user on here that did it I'm just interested and what I will need to actually build this. How thick should the plexiglass bee that I mount the motherboard on what kind of fiberglass filler should I purchase the type of sandpaper stuff like that any advice helps
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Could you show us a sketch of your project? It would help.
Once I get everything I'll do so but right now I'm just obtaining the right parts and what not to do the job cprrectly
Don't let nintendo see it or they'll try to sue you.
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Lmao
Awesome. This should be a fun project. I wish that I had time to finally get back to mine :(
Obviously the most challenging aspect of a NES build is the space constraints. If you want to be able to fit in a decent GPU and cooling, you either need to use a pico PSU or move the power supply outside of the case. It sounds like you are planning to cut out all the standoffs, remove the channels on the bottom and then level the bottom with a lexan sheet like in the 3.0 build. This should provide you with enough space to fit in a small GPU and use a pico PSU if you want to house all of the components within the case.
I just recently moved, so I'm hoping to get back to my NES build soon. My current plan is to ditch the pico PSU and move the power supply outside of the case so I can fit in a nice GPU and the cooling that I'll need. I'm planning to pick up something like a CORSAIR SF600 SFX form-factor PSU and just use that as the 'power brick' (similar to the original NES kind of lol). I'm probably going to cut a whole in the back of the case and fit a ATX patch-panel of sorts to pass the power cable through to the PSU.
You should be able to use just a standard sheet of lexan plastic that you can pick up from most DIY stores. I used .093-inch thick sheet like the guy used on the NES 3.0 build.
His partial materials list is here on this post:
I used 3M's bondo brand fiberglass filler.
You can use something like this paint palette sheet for mixing the bondo on. Usually you can find cheaper options though at a local art supply store:
You'll also need some spreaders for applying the bondo
Some epoxy
I think I started with purchasing 100 grit and 500 grit. You wouldnt want to use anything more coarse. You can work up from 500 as well to finer-grit sheets as needed.
And you'll need a dremel or something similar (nothing fancy) to do most of the case modifications and some clamps to use during the drying of epoxy and/or bondo.
Depending on how you plan to address the power and reset switches, you'll probably need some of those:
Some other space savers are things like ribbon cables which you can find in random places online. The only issue with these are that they are usually quite spendy compared to standard cables. Here's an HDMI cable that I purchased for my build:
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OOOOOOOOOO a nes build
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so are you going X99, z270, or FM4
Goddammit, I was about to get rid of the atari 2600 in the attic...
Dude thanks for all of this info means a lot right now I'm still in the process of cutting out the plastic T I do the have any parts yet but I think imma go with a low end build
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I think imma go FM4 not sure yet still debating I am gonna get a GTX 1050 ti thosince that's the only low profile card I can find
That would be a pretty dope project the NES o ordered the front cover that Hinds the carterage was broken off so imma just turn that into a large vent hole with some mesh haha
yeah, 1050ti is the go to for low profile at the moment
on my zotac mini itx I could overclock the memory by an insane ammount, it did have samsung chips though
not sure if the low profile version has samsung memory
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The gigabyte one is the one I'm actually gonna go with it's the smallest one that will fit vertically in the NES. I still need to figure out how imma mount it in tho haha. Right now I'm focusing on prep and everything else later. One step at a time I think I'll start a build log
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whoops already posted
and these are the videos that inspired me
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You rock BTW man haha thanks for this info. I've never used Bondo so do I need to mix anything in with it or is it good as is
Magicammo, you might want to slow down a bit.
Have you done any case modding or other projects like this before? It might be good to start with something small just to figure things out. If you've got a raspberry pi or something, do a case mod for that. Find an old monitor and reshell it. You might be biting off more than you can chew, especially if you're trying to wedge a GPU in there too.
I'm also assuming you've build PCs before. You're putting the cart before the horse if you don't have a working PC to build a wicked case for. It's also worth noting that a NES build is going to have some serious restrictions that you wouldn't have in a mini-itx or larger standard case. 3.5" Hard drives are the cheapest way to store your games, and you won't have room for that in a NES if you have a real GPU. Depending what your power supply setup is, it's likely going to be more expensive and less versatile than a regular ATX PSU. The NES has poor ventilation and will make the machine run louder, hotter, and slower as a result of that.
I'm not sure if this is helpful, but have you seen the STX form factor boards? There aren't a lot of them out there right now, but it seems Asus and ASRock have ~$80 boards for Socket 1151 with H110 chipset. I don't know if they are going to release it for other chipsets and I believe it is a proprietary Intel-only specification.
The reason I bring it up is because it not only has a small form factor, but they all have the PSU built in. This would kill having a GPU card, but I thought it might be useful information for other people interested in making a similar build. Either way, good luck! Looking forward to see how this progresses!
Nothing to mix other than adding in the hardening agent that comes with the bondo. Just look for some bondo videos on youtube and you'll be fine.
@Magicammo you'll be fine. Just take things slow. No need to rush. Make sure to think/plan things out thoroughly before making any mods that are hard to undo. The best part about this project is that if you mess up, you can always snag another NES for pretty cheap. None of the mods you are doing should affect the actual PC components, so worst case is the case mods don't go well or something doesn't fit, etc.
Is it more difficult to build a pc inside a small enclosure compared to a massive box? Yes. Will there be some additional thermal issues to consider compared to a standard build? Of course. Just take your time picking components and you'll be fine.